Bank Rules About Children as Authorized Users
Children who are 18 and older can be added as authorized users without issue. Some banks may not allow children under a certain age to be added as authorized users.
Adding a minor as an authorized user can help build the minor's credit. In some cases, card issuers report to the credit bureaus the payment histories of every individual who has a card in their name — cardmembers and authorized users alike.
Typically, the minimum age to be an authorized user is 13, but some card issuers like Capital One, Citibank and Wells Fargo don't specify the minimum age.
The action of adding your child to your existing credit card account won't have any impact on your credit score. Nothing on your credit report indicates whether your credit card is used by authorized users or just the primary account holder. Yet your credit could be impacted if your child makes charges on the account.
To add an authorized user to your Capital One card, you'll need some information about the user like their Social Security number and date of birth to get them set up. There's no additional cost to add a user to your account. Removing an authorized user is just as easy.
The most common way for a child to have a credit report is for the parent to list the child as an authorized user on one of their credit card accounts. While not all lenders report authorized user accounts to the credit reporting companies, many do.
Note, however, that kids cannot open their own credit card account. Anyone under the age of 18 can only be added as an authorized user on an adult's credit card account, which doesn't come with the exact same privileges — or the liability.
When you add an authorized user to your credit card account, information from the account — like the credit limit, payment history and card balance — can show up on that person's credit reports. That means their credit can improve as a result of being added to a credit account you keep in good standing.
Adding a child as an authorized user on your credit card can help those with limited or no credit history start building a credit file. This allows them to get better credit offers (loans, mortgages, car leases and more) once they are older.
The best way to get credit cards for minors is to add them as an authorized user. A minor cannot get their own credit card account. You must be at least 18 years old to do so. But all major credit card companies allow customers to get authorized-user credit cards for minors.
Use of a child's Social Security number for fraudulent purposes can go undetected for years, since parents may not check to see if their children have credit reports. It's only later, when the child is a young adult and may be attempting to rent an apartment or get a credit card, that the identity theft is discovered.
Adding an authorized user won't hurt your credit—unless they spend too much and leave you in a lot of debt, or they exceed your credit limit. If you're considering adding an authorized user, we've got the information you need to make the right decision.
2. Being an authorized user might not impact your credit at all. Credit scoring models only consider information that's currently on your credit report—nothing more and nothing less. So, in order for a credit card to affect your scores, it must show up on your credit reports with Equifax, TransUnion and Experian.
Does being an authorized user affect your credit? Being an authorized user can affect your credit in both positive and negative ways—but it can also have no effect on your credit whatsoever.
Build credit
When you add a friend or family member as an Authorized User to your Discover® card, you help them build a credit history, with responsible use.
Freezing a child's credit is a smart move to protect against identity theft that otherwise might hide for years. Many or all of the products featured here are from our partners who compensate us. This may influence which products we write about and where and how the product appears on a page.
It's likely that your child will need to be at least 13 years old before receiving a card. However, these accounts may not come with the custom spending controls, parental oversight or feature-filled mobile apps many new debit cards for kids provide.
A. Minors who are 16 or 17 may request their own security freeze, and can do so by phone or by mail. You must be 18 years old to create a myEquifax account, which enables you to manage your security freeze online.
How old do you have to be to get a credit card? You can be an authorized user as young as 13, but you have to be 18 to sign up for your first credit card on your own. When you're ready for this step, you'll need to be prepared to show some documentation.
Children 13 and older can check their credit the same way adults do. By visiting AnnualCreditReport.com – the only website federally authorized to provide credit reports from Experian, Equifax and TransUnion for free – your child can enter his or her personal information to receive a copy of each report.
According to a 2018 study done by Credit Sesame, people who had a fair credit score saw their credit score improve nearly 11% just three months after becoming an authorized user on someone's credit card.
Authorized users usually won't run into this problem, as there's generally no credit check involved. The authorized user strategy is common for parents who want to help their children build credit. If your parent has established a positive credit history, you may want to ask them to add you as an authorized user.
How long does it take for an authorized user to show up on a credit report? If this information is reported, it will typically show up on your credit score in around thirty days. However, some lenders do not report authorized users to credit bureaus, in which case the authorized user may not appear at all.