The Metro 2 file format is the fixed-width data standard that banks, credit card issuers, and other lenders use to send consumer account information to Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. Every account in a Metro 2 file is broken into fields that sit in defined character positions, so each character carries a specific meaning. A single field pushed one position out of place will corrupt every field that follows it in the record. Understanding the layout is what separates clean submissions from a return report full of rejected tradelines.
How a Metro 2 File Is Organized
Every Metro 2 transmission follows the same three-part shape. It opens with a Header Record, runs through one Base Segment per consumer account (with optional segments attached where needed), and closes with a Trailer Record. The bureaus’ intake systems read these pieces in order, so a structural problem at the top can kill the entire file before any account data is processed.
Header Record
The Header identifies the sender and the reporting period. It carries the furnisher’s name, mailing address, and phone number, along with unique identifiers assigned by each bureau. It also includes an Activity Date (when account balances were last updated) and a Date Created field. The header uses a fixed 426-character format, with each field in specific positions. The Equifax identifier sits in positions 23–32, the Experian identifier in positions 33–37, and the TransUnion identifier in positions 38–47. Wrong or missing bureau identifiers cause the receiving bureau to reject the file outright.
Base Segment
The Base Segment is the core of the file. Each consumer account gets one, and it holds everything the bureau needs to build a tradeline: the consumer’s full legal name, Social Security number, date of birth, current address, account number, account type, date opened, date of last activity, current balance, credit limit or original loan amount, and most recent payment amount. Every field sits in a predetermined position.
Two fields inside the Base Segment shape most of what a consumer sees on the finished credit report. The Account Status code is a two-digit value describing the overall condition of the account. Common values include 11 for a current account, 13 for a paid or closed account with a zero balance, 71 for 30–59 days past due, 78 for 60–89 days past due, 80 for 90–119 days past due, and 84 for 180 or more days past due.1U.S. Department of the Treasury. Appendix 1 Credit Bureau Report Key The Payment Rating code is a single character that runs alongside the status: 0 for current, 1 for 30–59 days late, 2 for 60–89 days late, up through 6 for 180 or more days late, with G for collection accounts and L for charge-offs.
Trailer Record
The Trailer closes the file with totals: how many Base Segment records are included, how many associated consumer segments were reported, and how many of each optional segment type appeared. The bureau’s system compares those totals against what it actually received. If the counts disagree, the file is flagged as incomplete and may be rejected.
ECOA Codes and Consumer Liability
An account can involve more than one consumer, and Metro 2 uses the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) code to record how each person relates to the debt. It’s a single character in the Base Segment. Code 1 means the consumer is individually liable. Code 2 signals joint contractual liability. Code 3 marks an authorized user, who can use the account but isn’t contractually responsible. Code 5 identifies a co-maker or guarantor, and Code 7 marks the primary maker when a guarantor exists.1U.S. Department of the Treasury. Appendix 1 Credit Bureau Report Key A T code marks a consumer who has terminated the association, and an X code marks a deceased account holder.
Miscoding the ECOA field is one of the most common Metro 2 errors, and the fallout reaches the consumer’s report. Coding a spouse as individually liable (1) when the liability is joint (2) means the tradeline won’t appear on the other spouse’s report. Coding someone as a co-maker (5) when they’re actually an authorized user (3) assigns liability the person doesn’t legally have.
Optional Segments Beyond the Base
Not every situation fits in the Base Segment. Metro 2 defines several optional segments to handle the ones that don’t. Files that skip a segment when it’s required will see those records rejected.
- J1 Segment: Reports an associated consumer (cosigner, joint holder, or authorized user) who shares the primary consumer’s address. Base Segment account data carries over automatically.
- J2 Segment: Reports an associated consumer at a different address. Required whenever a cosigner or joint holder has a separate mailing address. The J2 includes its own name, Social Security number, date of birth, and full address fields.2Collect! Metro 2 Format – J2 Segment
- K1 Segment: Carries the original creditor’s name when a debt has been sold or transferred to a collection agency or debt buyer.
- L1 Segment: Used when an account number or identification number changes, linking the old and new numbers instead of deleting and recreating the tradeline.
- N1 Segment: Contains employment information for the primary consumer, such as employer name. Rarely required, but useful for matching records to the correct consumer profile.
Special Comment Codes
Special comment codes add context that the status and payment rating fields can’t capture on their own. They sit in a dedicated field in the Base Segment and matter most during unusual circumstances. Common values include:
- AW: Account affected by a natural disaster.
- AU: Account paid in full for less than the full balance, used for settled debts.
- CP: Account in forbearance.
- CN: Loan modified under a federal government plan.
- CO: Loan modified outside a federal government plan.
- AI: Consumer recalled to active military duty, triggering Servicemembers Civil Relief Act protections.
- BL: Credit card reported lost or stolen.
- AV: First payment never received, which can flag possible fraud.
One trap worth remembering: leaving the special comment code blank in a later cycle removes any previously reported code. The bureau will not carry it forward on its own. Furnishers have to reassert these flags each cycle they still apply.
Submitting the File
Most furnishers transmit Metro 2 files through encrypted channels such as Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP) or bureau-specific web portals. Each bureau runs its own onboarding process and prefers its own submission method, but the underlying format is identical across all three. Data must be encrypted in transit given the sensitive consumer information in every record.
Furnishers are expected to submit updated files monthly, typically at the end of each billing cycle, covering both accounts in good standing and delinquent accounts.3TransUnion. Credit Data Reporting Changing reporting frequency requires notifying the bureau in advance. Once the bureau receives a file, its intake system runs automated validation checks for structural errors, missing required fields, and invalid codes, then returns a report identifying rejected records for correction and resubmission.
Correcting Errors and Deleting Records
Corrections use the same format the original file used. The furnisher submits a revised file with specific processing codes telling the bureau what action to take. For deletions, a DA code removes an entire account for reasons other than fraud, and a DF code deletes an account after a completed fraud investigation.1U.S. Department of the Treasury. Appendix 1 Credit Bureau Report Key A Z code in the ECOA field deletes a specific consumer from an account without removing the account itself.
Deletion is reserved for genuinely inaccurate data. Paid collection accounts, for example, should be reported as paid rather than deleted. Routinely deleting accurate-but-negative tradelines draws scrutiny from the bureaus and potentially from regulators.1U.S. Department of the Treasury. Appendix 1 Credit Bureau Report Key
Getting Approved to Submit Files
A business cannot simply generate a Metro 2 file and start sending it. Each bureau runs a credentialing process that screens applicants for legitimacy, data security practices, and compliance with federal law. It typically involves a formal application, a Data Furnisher Agreement, and a testing period during which sample files are validated before the furnisher moves to production.3TransUnion. Credit Data Reporting The Consumer Data Industry Association (CDIA) publishes the Metro 2 technical specifications furnishers must follow.4Consumer Data Industry Association. Metro 2 Format for Credit Reporting
Bureaus also set minimum volume thresholds. TransUnion generally requires at least 100 records to begin reporting. Equifax may require furnishers with fewer than 500 monthly records to subscribe to its Automated Data View tool at $50 per month, which lets smaller furnishers review their tradelines as they appear on Equifax reports. The credentialing review also checks compliance with the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act’s financial privacy provisions. Approved furnishers sign an approval letter and move from testing to live production.3TransUnion. Credit Data Reporting
Accuracy Obligations and Penalties
Federal law puts real consequences behind Metro 2 accuracy. Under the FCRA, a furnisher may not report information it knows or has reasonable cause to believe is inaccurate.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1681s-2 – Responsibilities of Furnishers of Information to Consumer Reporting Agencies A furnisher that later discovers previously reported data is incomplete or inaccurate must promptly notify the bureau and provide corrections.6GovInfo. 15 USC 1681s-2 – Responsibilities of Furnishers of Information to Consumer Reporting Agencies When a consumer voluntarily closes an account, the furnisher must report that closure in the next reporting cycle covering the period when the account was closed.7Federal Trade Commission. Notice to Furnishers of Information
Dispute Investigation Timeline
When a consumer disputes an item, the bureau forwards the dispute to the furnisher. The furnisher must conduct a reasonable investigation, review all relevant information the bureau provides, and report the results back within the same window the bureau has for its own reinvestigation: 30 days from the date the bureau received the dispute, with a possible 15-day extension if the consumer supplies additional information during that period.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1681s-2 – Responsibilities of Furnishers of Information to Consumer Reporting Agencies8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1681i – Procedure in Case of Disputed Accuracy
Willful Versus Negligent Violations
The FCRA creates two tiers of liability. A furnisher that willfully violates the law faces actual damages or statutory damages between $100 and $1,000 per violation, plus potential punitive damages and the consumer’s attorney’s fees.9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1681n – Civil Liability for Willful Noncompliance A furnisher that is merely negligent is liable for actual damages plus attorney’s fees, but not statutory or punitive damages.10Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1681o – Civil Liability for Negligent Noncompliance The distinction matters in litigation, and it is why furnishers invest in Metro 2 compliance infrastructure rather than treating the format as an IT afterthought.