{"id":9266,"date":"2021-12-21T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-12-21T16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lexingtonlaw.com\/blog\/?p=9266"},"modified":"2025-05-14T16:12:07","modified_gmt":"2025-05-14T22:12:07","slug":"how-young-is-too-young-to-start-building-credit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lexingtonlaw.com\/blog\/credit-101\/how-young-is-too-young-to-start-building-credit.html","title":{"rendered":"What Age Can You Start Building Credit?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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The information provided on this website does not, and is not intended to, act as legal, financial or credit advice. <\/em>See Lexington Law\u2019s editorial disclosure for more information.<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Financial literacy is a crucial part of growing up and being independent. Having a solid foundation of financial knowledge can give you a big step up in life, especially as it helps you understand how credit works sooner rather than later. Knowing this, many young adults\u2014and their parents\u2014begin to wonder when financial literacy should become a priority. And, more specifically, at what age can you start building credit?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The short answer is that 18 is the minimum age for financial products such as loans and credit cards. But anyone can potentially start building credit before 18 if they\u2019re an authorized user on an account.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to start building credit before you\u2019re 18<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

You can\u2019t get a card in your own name until you\u2019re 18,<\/a> but there are ways you can start building your credit even before that age. The trick is to become an authorized user on someone else\u2019s card. Some card issuers allow parents to add minors as young as 13 as authorized users on their accounts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When someone adds you as an authorized user, you share access to the credit card account and usually receive your own card to use. In a situation where you\u2019re not old enough to have your own credit card, someone who has a credit card adds you to their account and essentially vouches for your activity. They allow you to use their card and accept legal responsibility for the payment of all transactions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As an authorized user, you start to build a credit history from all the payments associated with the card. If the payments are made on time and in full, you\u2019ll benefit from a positive credit payment history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the same can be true for the reverse\u2014if payments are late or missed, it can damage both the cardholder\u2019s and the authorized user\u2019s credit. As a result, you should only become an authorized user on the card of a person you know and trust to be financially savvy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course, there\u2019s also a considerable risk to the cardholder when adding an authorized user. They need to trust that you won\u2019t use their card without their permission or overspend to the point they can\u2019t pay their monthly bill off. Some cardholders will add an authorized user but won\u2019t give them a physical card to reduce the risk of unsupervised transactions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lastly, note that some card issuers don\u2019t report to the bureaus on the activity of minors who are authorized users. If you\u2019re becoming an authorized user for the sole purpose of building your credit, check your card issuer\u2019s policy on reporting on minors. Otherwise, all that effort won\u2019t work to benefit your credit at all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whether you become an authorized user or not, you can proactively learn how credit cards and loans work so you can hit the ground running when you\u2019re old enough to have your own credit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n