Are you facing loan rejections because of late payment history in your CIBIL report? Basically, your credit report is a comprehensive record of your financial obligations and their payment pattern, illustrated by a crucial metric known as DPD (Days Past Due). This indicator reflects how consistently you have been repaying your loans and credit dues. If you have DPDs or delayed payments on your credit report, it not only affects your credit score negatively but can also lead to loan rejections. Therefore, having an in-depth knowledge of DPD and its implications will empower you to make more informed financial decisions. In this article, we have explained what is DPD in CIBIL report, how it is calculated and its impact on your credit health and most importantly—how to clear DPD in CIBIL report.
What is Days Past Due (DPD)?
In simple terms, Days Past Due (DPD) refers to the number of days a loan or credit card payment has been delayed beyond its due date. Basically, it shows whether you’ve missed any EMIs or credit card payments—and if so, how many instalments were missed and by how many days.
Typically, when you avail of a credit facility and start to pay the EMIs, the respective lender updates the particular loan account in your CIBIL report along with the loan repayment records. The same process applies to credit cards as well.
Based on your monthly repayment behaviour—whether timely or delayed—lenders report them periodically in your CIBIL report. This builds a detailed repayment history for each credit facility. However, TransUnion CIBIL maintains only the last 36 months of repayment data in your credit report, regardless of the total loan tenure.
But this raises an important question: if a borrower defaults on a loan account, how exactly is the DPD calculated?
How does Days Past Due (DPD) calculate?
DPD (Days Past Due) especially denotes the number of days your loan EMIs or credit card bills have missed its deadlines. It represents the gap between the actual payment date and the scheduled due date.
For example, suppose you have a personal loan with an EMI due on July 5th. Due to insufficient funds, you missed the deadline and made the payment on July 20th. At the end of the month, when the lender submits their monthly report to the credit bureau (CIC reporting), they will report a 15-day delay in payment — that is, a DPD of 15.If you skip the July EMI entirely and pay it in August, your DPD will increase to 25.
In case, you continue to default on your loan EMIs, after every subsequent reporting cycle, the DPD will go on increasing, such as 25, 55, 85, 115, 145 and so on. If no payment is made for an extended period (such as over three years), the DPD will eventually reach the maximum value of 900 and continue to be reported as 900 thereafter.
Different DPD values in CIBIL report and their meaning:
If you’ve ever checked your CIBIL report, you may have noticed that DPD (Days Past Due) is not always reflected as the exact number of delayed days. Instead, lenders sometimes use abbreviations such as ‘SMA’, ‘SUB’, ‘DBT’, or ‘LSS’. Let’s understand what these terms mean and what they indicate about your credit status.
STD or 000:
STD and 000 both represent ‘Standard’, which means you have paid your monthly instalments on time, as per the due date. Consistently making timely payments reflects disciplined credit behaviour and has a positive impact on your credit score.
SMA:
It denotes Specially Mentioned Account, mostly reported by the PSU (Private Sector Undertaking) Banks. SMA in CIBIL acts as an early warning to the lenders and helps them to identify the potential risk of default.
Now, SMAs are categorised into three parts
- SMA 0: When the payment is delayed just for a few days, but not more than 30 days
- SMA 1: When the payment is delayed for more than 30 days, but less than 60 days
- SMA 2: When the payment is delayed for more than 60 days to max 90 days. This indicates financial stress and is more likely to become NPA soon.
However, in individual CIBIL reports, you will typically see only “SMA 0” or simply “SMA” mentioned. However, classifications like “SMA 1” and “SMA 2” usually appear in Commercial CIBIL or Company CIBIL reports.
SUB:
It denotes “Substandard”, reported by the lender when a payment has been delayed for more than 90 days but less than 12 months. At this stage, the credit facility is classified as a Non-Performing Asset (NPA). However, there is still a strong possibility that the borrower may repay the outstanding dues or opt for a settlement with the lender.
DBT:
It stands for Doubtful, reported in a CIBIL report when the repayment is not made for more than 12 months.
LSS:
It determines an account identified as Loss and has a very less chance of recovery.
XXX:
This is a special case where the lender did not report the repayment history for that specific period. It can appear in both regular payment accounts and defaulted loan accounts. However, it has no negative impact on your credit score and is considered a neutral or safe value.
How does DPD impact CIBIL score and credit eligibility?
Impact on CIBIL score:
Did you know that nearly 35% of your overall credit score is determined by your credit history and loan repayment track record? Even a single month’s delay in repayment can have a significant negative impact on your credit report, potentially reducing your credit score by 20 to 50 points. If the defaults continue for six months or more, the damage becomes even more severe, making it harder to regain a healthy credit score.
Impact credit eligibility:
If you delay your loan payments by just a few days or miss EMIs for 1–2 months due to medical emergencies or financial difficulties, bank managers often take a lenient view and may consider your situation.
However, if you default for three consecutive months and your DPD (Days Past Due) exceeds 90 days, you’ll be classified as a high-risk borrower. In such cases, you are likely to face loan rejections from public sector banks (such as SBI, PNB, Indian Bank, etc.), especially when applying for unsecured loans.
As an alternative, you may need to approach private banks or NBFCs, but these institutions often charge comparatively higher interest rates. Ultimately, late payments in your CIBIL report bound you to compromise with less favourable loan terms and conditions.
As an alternative, you may need to approach private banks or NBFCs; however, these institutions often charge relatively higher interest rates. Ultimately, late payments reflected in your CIBIL report may force you to accept less favourable loan terms and conditions.
How to check DPD in CIBIL report?
Typically, DPDs (Days Past Due) are reported in the account section of your CIBIL report, specifically under each credit facility. To check your DPD status, you need to generate your CIBIL report from the official TransUnion CIBIL website. If you’re a first-time user, you must register using your KYC details. Otherwise, simply log in using your existing username and password.
Once you generate your latest CIBIL report, review it thoroughly — especially the account section.As mentioned earlier, TransUnion CIBIL maintains repayment records for the past 36 monthsfor every credit facility you’ve availed, whether it’s active or closed. So, check carefully for recent defaults or inaccurate late payment entries, as these can significantly impact your credit score. Now, let’s understand how to clear DPD in CIBIL report?
How to clear DPD in CIBIL Report?
Case 1: If the DPD is reported in an unknown loan account.
As we all know, TransUnion CIBIL maintains a vast database of millions of Indian borrowers. In some cases, due to similarities in name, date of birth, address, or other identification details, the credit data of two individuals may get mixed up. As a result, you might find unfamiliar loan accounts listed in your CIBIL report.
If you notice that DPDs (Days Past Due) or late payments are reported under such unknown loan accounts– in that case, not only the DPDs, you can remove the entire default loan from your CIBIL report.
Solution:
In such cases, you need to raise an online dispute on the CIBIL portal under the reason: “The loan does not belong to me.” Once verified, CIBIL will remove the default loan from your credit report accordingly.
Case 2: incorrectly in your CIBIL Report:
In some cases, lenders report delayed payments in CIBIL mistakenly on a regular account. This can happen due to some technical fault or mistakes by the bank staff. Additionally, in some rare cases, lenders report late payments in moratorium periods.
If you find that the delayed payments reflected in your CIBIL report are incorrect, you should immediately raise a dispute with both the respective lender and CIBIL for necessary correction. Be sure to attach your loan account statement or any supporting documents to substantiate your claim.
Solution:
Follow the below-mentioned method to remove incorrect DPDs from your CIBIL Report.
- Raise an online dispute in CIBIL:
To raise an online dispute with CIBIL, log in to your CIBIL Portal and navigate to the “Raise a Dispute” section. Select the specific loan account for which you want to correct or remove the late payment entry. Update the DPD (Days Past Due) value to ‘0’ or ‘STD’, and then submit the request. Upon successful submission, you will receive a Dispute ID (e.g., P04082025…) for future reference.
Additionally, you can also file a complaint through the official CIBIL support page:
https://ssp.cibil.com/contact-us/newApplicationForm/cd3f3
Briefly explain your issue and upload relevant supporting documents—such as your CIBIL report, loan account statement, or payment proof. Once submitted, you will receive a Service Request Number, and further updates will be shared with you via your registered email ID. - Send a request to the lender:
Typically, when you raise a dispute with CIBIL, they forward the disputed information to the respective lender for verification. Based on the lender’s confirmation, CIBIL makes the necessary updates. Therefore, it is crucial to also send a separate complaint directly to the lender at the same time to ensure a faster resolution.
Make sure to follow up regularly with both CIBIL and the bank until the dispute is fully resolved.
- File complaint against CIBIL and Bank:
As per the RBI’s latest guidelines, both the bank and CIBIL are obligated to resolve your query within 30 calendar days. If they fail to do so, or if you’re not satisfied with their response, you can escalate the matter to the Reserve Bank of India through the CRPC Portal or by emailing crpc@rbi.org.in.
In your complaint letter, clearly explain your issue and attach all relevant documents, including previous complaint IDs and email or conversations you’ve had with the bank and CIBIL. This will help the RBI understand your case better and take appropriate action.
Case 3: If you made delay in loan repayment:
In the case of genuine DPDs (i.e., you’ve delayed in EMI payments), lenders typically do not remove them from your CIBIL report. However, if the loan account has been closed, you can request the lender to remove the previous late payment records. In some cases, lenders may consider your request and agree to remove the DPDs, but the chances are quite low — usually around 10–15%.
However, the important thing is: when you pay off the entire outstanding balance of a loan account and close it, then the last month’s DPD should be ‘0’ or ‘STD’ in the repayment history. If it is not so, then obviously it’s a mistake and requires rectification.
Solution:
The impact of the DPD reduces with time. Therefore, focus on rebuilding your credit score through timely payment and responsible credit behaviour.
If you’re finding it difficult to get an unsecured loan due to a high DPD history, consider opting for a secured loan first. Use it to build a strong repayment track record and gradually restore your credit standing.
Additionally, enable the auto-debit option to avoid missing any future payments and prevent further defaults.
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