CIBIL Report Codes Explained: DPD, STD, SMA, SUB, DBT, LSS

Your CIBIL report uses short codes to describe how every loan and credit card has been repaid. 000 or STD means paid on time, a number such as 030 or 090 is days past due (DPD), and SMA, SUB, DBT and LSS are the RBI classes for loans that are overdue or bad. Account labels like Settled, Written-off and Suit Filed sit on top of these and hurt the most. This guide decodes each one and shows how to read a real payment-history row.

If you have not downloaded your report yet, start with our guide on how to check your CIBIL score for free.

Where the codes appear in your report

A TransUnion CIBIL consumer report has a score section, personal and contact details, an account section and an enquiry section. The codes this article covers live in the account section, where each loan or card shows:

• Account type (personal loan, home loan, credit card, gold loan and so on) and ownership (individual, joint, guarantor, authorised user).
• Dates: opened, last payment, closed, and the date of the latest report.
• Amounts: sanctioned or credit limit, current balance, amount overdue.
• Status (Active, Closed, Settled, Written-off and others).
• Payment history: a month-by-month grid of up to 36 months, with either a DPD number or an asset-classification code in each cell.

The bureau only displays what the lender reports. If a code is wrong, the lender has to correct it, which is covered in our CIBIL report error dispute guide.

Days past due (DPD) codes

DPD is the number of days a payment was late as of the reporting date. Lenders report it as a three-digit number.

A single 030 in an otherwise clean three-year history matters much less than a string of 030, 060, 090. Recency also matters: a late payment last month weighs more than one from two years ago.

Asset classification codes: STD, SMA, SUB, DBT, LSS

Some lenders report an asset classification instead of, or along with, a DPD number. These codes come from RBI's prudential norms that every bank and NBFC uses to classify its loans.

The SMA bands follow RBI's early-warning framework for stressed loans; a loan becomes a non-performing asset (NPA) once dues stay unpaid for more than 90 days. On a consumer report, STD is the code you want to see. SMA is a warning, and SUB, DBT and LSS tell a new lender that a previous lender treated your loan as bad. Some lenders and bureau summaries describe STD loosely as "payments within 90 days", so treat STD as acceptable but check that the DPD cells around it are 000.

Account status labels

The status field describes how the account ended or where it stands now. These labels often matter more to an underwriter than the score itself.

"Settled" is the label people most often want to change. It can usually be converted to "Closed" by paying the amount the lender waived, though the late-payment history stays. Our step-by-step guide on how to remove settled status from CIBIL explains the process. For the background, read loan settlement vs closure.

Ownership and enquiry codes

Two smaller fields also cause confusion:

• Ownership: Individual means the loan is yours alone. Joint means you share it and its history fully. Guarantor means you are liable if the borrower defaults. Authorised user usually means an add-on card. See co-applicant and guarantor liability.
• Enquiry purpose: Each hard enquiry lists the lender, date, product and amount applied for. An enquiry you do not recognise can be the first sign of identity misuse; see fake loan in my name on CIBIL.

Worked example: reading a payment-history row

Suppose your personal loan shows these last eight months, most recent first:

Reading it from oldest to newest:

1. March: 000. On time.
2. April: XXX. The lender sent no data that month. Not negative, but note it.
3. May: 000. On time.
4. June: 031. One EMI missed; 31 days past due at the reporting date, which is SMA-1 territory.
5. July: 062. The June EMI was still unpaid and the July EMI was missed too. 62 days overdue is SMA-2.
6. August to October: 000. You cleared both arrears and have paid on time since.

What a lender sees: a two-month slip about four months ago, fully cured. It will hurt, but much less than a 090+ entry or a Settled tag. If you clear arrears like this, keep the loan running cleanly. Each extra clean month pushes the 031 and 062 further back.

Now compare a card that shows 090, 120, 150 followed by status Written-off with ₹48,000 written off. A lender will usually decline or ask for a closure letter before considering you, because the account was treated as a loss.

Score trouble from codes like these also shrinks the loan you can get. Run your numbers through our loan eligibility calculator before applying, so you do not collect rejections.

How fast codes update

Under RBI's amended credit reporting directions, effective 1 July 2026, lenders submit data to bureaus four times a month (the 9th, 16th, 23rd and last day). A paid overdue can therefore move from 030 back to 000 within days of the next submission, though past months stay as reported. Disputes over wrong codes must be resolved within 30 days, with ₹100 a day of compensation for delay, as explained in our CIBIL report error dispute guide.

Keep in mind that each of the four bureaus receives data separately, so a code can be correct at one bureau and wrong at another. Our comparison of CIBIL vs Experian, Equifax and CRIF explains why.

What to do about bad codes

• Wrong code: dispute it free with the bureau and write to the lender with proof such as a bank statement or no-dues certificate.
• Correct but recent DPD: pay the arrears now and keep paying on time; the entry fades with time.
• Settled or Written-off: ask the lender what it would take to close the account in full and get it reported as Closed.
• Suit Filed: get legal advice and resolve the dispute or dues; ask for the status update in writing once it is settled.
• Do not pay "CIBIL repair" agents. No one can legally delete accurate data, and many such offers are scams that collect fees and documents. Disputes are free.

For the habits that rebuild your score once the report is clean, see how to improve your CIBIL score.

Key takeaways

• 000 means on time; any other DPD number is days late, and 090+ is the danger zone.
• STD is good, SMA-0/1/2 are early warnings (1–30, 31–60, 61–90 days), and SUB, DBT and LSS mark the loan as non-performing.
• Settled, Written-off, Suit Filed and Wilful Default are the most damaging status labels.
• XXX means no data reported, not a default.
• Wrong codes can be disputed free within RBI's 30-day timeline; accurate ones only fade with time and clean repayment.