Metro 2 Field Reference

Complete documentation for all 104 Metro 2 format fields. Each field includes position, length, allowed values, validation rules, and common errors.

50 Required

54 Optional

8 Categories

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Identification Fields Account Information Payment Information Date Fields Amount Fields Consumer Information Compliance Fields Special Purpose Fields

Record Types

Header Record

Identifies the data furnisher and file characteristics

Base Segment

Primary account and consumer information

J1 Segment

Additional consumer information for joint accounts

J2 Segment

Second additional consumer for joint accounts

K1 Segment

Original creditor information for transferred accounts

K2 Segment

Purchased portfolio information

K3 Segment

Mortgage information

K4 Segment

Specialized information

L1 Segment

Employment information

N1 Segment

Consumer statement

Trailer Record

File totals and record counts

Identification Fields

25 fields

Fields used to identify the data furnisher, account, and consumer

Field #	Name	Position	Length	Required
1	Record Descriptor Word Indicates the total length of the logical record. For the Base Segment only, thi...	1-4	4
2	Processing Indicator Indicates the processing format of the record. Value 1 indicates fixed-length ch...	5-5	1
4	Consumer Account Number The unique account identifier assigned by the data furnisher. Should be consiste...	11-40	30
3	Identification Number Your organization's unique identifier assigned by the credit bureaus. This is yo...	6-10	5
H-2	Record Identifier (Header) Constant value that identifies the first physical record of the file as the Head...	5-10	6
H-3	Cycle Identifier Optional two-character code that identifies the billing/reporting cycle the file...	11-12	2	-
H-4	Innovis Program Identifier The subscriber/program code assigned to the furnisher by Innovis. Populate it on...	13-22	10	-
H-5	Equifax Program Identifier The subscriber/program code Equifax assigns to the furnisher. Required when the ...	23-32	10	-
H-6	Experian Program Identifier The five-character subscriber code Experian assigns to the furnisher. Required w...	33-37	5	-
H-7	TransUnion Program Identifier The subscriber/program code TransUnion assigns to the furnisher. Required when r...	38-47	10	-
H-12	Reporter Name The legal or operating name of the data furnisher submitting the file. Bureaus u...	80-119	40
H-13	Reporter Address The mailing address of the data furnisher. Provides the bureaus with a contact a...	120-215	96
H-14	Reporter Telephone Number The ten-digit telephone number for the data furnisher, used by bureaus for opera...	216-225	10
H-15	Software Vendor Identifier The name of the software vendor or in-house system that generated the Metro 2 fi...	226-265	40	-
H-16	Software Version Number The version of the software that generated the file. Used with the Software Vend...	266-270	5	-
9	Cycle Identifier (Base Segment) Optional cycle code at the Base Segment level for furnishers who report several ...	22-23	2	-
J1-1	J1 Segment Identifier Constant value identifying the appended segment as a J1 (associated consumer who...	1-2	2
J2-1	J2 Segment Identifier Constant value identifying the appended segment as a J2 (associated consumer who...	1-2	2
K1-1	K1 Segment Identifier Constant value identifying the appended segment as a K1 (Original Creditor Name)...	1-2	2
K2-1	K2 Segment Identifier Constant value identifying the appended segment as a K2 (Purchased From / Sold T...	1-2	2
K3-1	K3 Segment Identifier Constant value identifying the appended segment as a K3 (Mortgage Information). ...	1-2	2
K4-1	K4 Segment Identifier Constant value identifying the appended segment as a K4 (Specialized Payment Inf...	1-2	2
L1-1	L1 Segment Identifier Constant value identifying the appended segment as an L1 (Account Number / Ident...	1-2	2
N1-1	N1 Segment Identifier Constant value identifying the appended segment as an N1 (Employment). Carries t...	1-2	2
T-2	Record Identifier (Trailer) Constant value identifying the final physical record of the file as the Trailer ...	5-11	7

Account Information

17 fields

Fields describing the account type, ownership, and characteristics

Field #	Name	Position	Length	Required
17A	Account Status A two-character code indicating the current status of the account. This is one o...	109-110	2
27	Terms Duration For installment loans: the number of payments. For revolving: use 'REV'. For ope...	191-193	3	-
28	Terms Frequency Indicates the frequency of payments. Most common is 'M' for monthly....	194-194	1	-
15	Account Type Two-character code indicating the type of account being reported. Determines val...	84-85	2
14	Portfolio Type Single character indicating whether the account is installment, revolving, mortg...	83-83	1
10	ECOA Code Equal Credit Opportunity Act code indicating the consumer's relationship to the ...	63-63	1
34	Consumer Transaction Type Indicates whether the account involves a new purchase, refinance, or other trans...	219-219	1	-
27I	Interest Type Indicator Single-character indicator describing whether the account carries a fixed or var...	0-0	1	-
K1-3	K1 Original Creditor Name The name of the original creditor for an account that has been sold or placed fo...	3-32	30
K1-4	K1 Creditor Classification A code categorizing the original creditor's industry (for example retail, financ...	33-34	2	-
K2-2	K2 Purchased/Sold Indicator Single-character code stating whether the named party is who the account was pur...	3-3	1
K2-3	K2 Purchased/Sold Name The name of the party the account was purchased from or sold to, paired with the...	4-33	30
K3-2	K3 Agency Identifier Single-character code identifying the mortgage agency or registry associated wit...	3-3	1	-
K3-3	K3 Mortgage Identification Number The agency or MERS mortgage identification number tied to the loan. Lets investo...	4-21	18	-
L1-2	L1 Change Indicator Single-character code stating what changed: the consumer account number, the ide...	3-3	1
L1-3	L1 New Consumer Account Number The new consumer account number when the account number has changed (for example...	4-33	30	-
L1-4	L1 New Identification Number The new identification number when the furnisher's internal identification numbe...	34-53	20	-

Payment Information

3 fields

Fields related to payment history, patterns, and delinquency

Field #	Name	Position	Length	Required
17B	Payment Rating Single character indicating the payment performance for the current reporting pe...	111-111	1
18	Payment History Profile 24-character field containing the month-by-month payment history for the past 24...	112-135	24
K4-2	K4 Specialized Payment Indicator Single-character code describing the type of specialized payment arrangement, su...	3-3	1	-

Date Fields

10 fields

Fields containing dates for account activity, status changes, and reporting

Field #	Name	Position	Length	Required
11	Date Opened The date the account was opened, in MMDDYYYY format. This date cannot change onc...	66-73	8
24A	Date Closed The date the account was closed or paid off, in MMDDYYYY format. Required for cl...	164-171	8	-
24B	Date of Account Information The date the account information was collected, typically the statement date or ...	172-172	8
19	Date of First Delinquency The date of the first delinquency that led to the current derogatory status. Cri...	136-143	8	-
20	Date of Last Payment The date the most recent payment was received, in MMDDYYYY format....	144-151	8	-
H-8	Activity Date The date through which account activity in the file is reported — effectively th...	48-55	8
H-9	Date Created The date the file itself was generated. It can be on or after the Activity Date ...	56-63	8
H-10	Program Date The date the furnisher's reporting program (software) was created or last revise...	64-71	8	-
H-11	Program Revision Date The date the reporting program was most recently revised. Optional; used togethe...	72-79	8	-
K4-3	K4 Deferred Payment Start Date The date on which deferred payments begin, reported when the K4 indicator denote...	4-11	8	-

Amount Fields

16 fields

Monetary fields for balances, limits, payments, and past due amounts

Field #	Name	Position	Length	Required
21	Current Balance The current outstanding balance on the account as of the Date of Account Informa...	146-154	9
22	Amount Past Due The amount currently past due on the account. Must be zero for current accounts ...	155-163	9
25	Credit Limit The credit limit for revolving accounts. Leave blank for installment loans. Righ...	173-181	9	-
26	Highest Credit/Original Loan Amount For installment loans: the original loan amount. For revolving accounts: the hig...	182-190	9
29	Scheduled Monthly Payment Amount The regular scheduled payment amount. Right-justified, zero-filled. Leave blank ...	195-203	9	-
30	Actual Payment Amount The actual payment amount received for the current reporting period. Useful for ...	204-212	9	-
N/A	Aging: 1-30 Days Past Due Dollar amount in the 1-30 days past due aging bucket. This is a virtual import f...	0-0	9	-
N/A	Aging: 31-60 Days Past Due Dollar amount in the 31-60 days past due aging bucket. When this is the highest ...	0-0	9	-
N/A	Aging: 61-90 Days Past Due Dollar amount in the 61-90 days past due aging bucket. When this is the highest ...	0-0	9	-
N/A	Aging: 91+ Days Past Due Dollar amount in the 91+ days past due aging bucket. When this bucket has any no...	0-0	9	-
23	Original Charge-off Amount The dollar amount that was originally charged off, reported when Account Status ...	213-221	9	-
K4-4	K4 Balloon Payment Amount The dollar amount of a balloon payment due at the end of the loan term, reported...	12-20	9	-
T-3	Total Base Records The count of Base Segments in the file. Bureaus compare this number to the recor...	12-20	9
T-4	Total of Status Codes A control total summarizing the count of records by Account Status across the fi...	21-29	9	-
T-5	Total J1 Segments The count of J1 segments appended across the file. One of several segment-count ...	30-38	9	-
T-9	Total K1 Segments The count of K1 (Original Creditor) segments appended across the file. Relevant ...	66-74	9	-

Consumer Information

27 fields

Fields containing consumer name, address, SSN, and demographics

Field #	Name	Position	Length	Required
7	Social Security Number The consumer's Social Security Number. Primary identifier for credit matching. M...	46-54	9
8	Date of Birth The consumer's date of birth in MMDDYYYY format. Important for identity matching...	55-62	8
5	Surname The consumer's last name. Left-justified, space-filled. Use uppercase letters....	41-65	25
6	First Name The consumer's first name. Left-justified, space-filled. Use uppercase letters....	66-85	20
37	Country Code Two-character country code for the consumer's address. Defaults to US for domest...	287-288	2	-
38	First Line of Address The consumer's street address (number and street, or PO Box) in the Base Segment...	289-320	32
39	Second Line of Address Optional second address line for apartment, suite, or unit details that do not f...	321-352	32	-
40	City The city portion of the consumer's address in the Base Segment....	353-372	20
41	State Code Two-character US Postal Service state abbreviation for the consumer's address....	373-374	2
42	ZIP Code The consumer's ZIP code. A five-digit ZIP is left-justified and blank-filled; a ...	375-383	9
43	Address Indicator Single-character code describing the type or quality of the reported address (fo...	384-384	1	-
44	Residence Code Single-character code indicating the consumer's residence type, such as owned or...	385-385	1	-
16	Telephone Number The consumer's ten-digit telephone number associated with the account. Optional;...	73-82	10	-
5G	Generation Code Single-character suffix that distinguishes generational name parts such as Jr., ...	0-0	1	-
6M	Middle Name The consumer's middle name or initial. Optional but improves the bureau's abilit...	0-0	20	-
J1-3	J1 Surname The last name of the associated consumer reported in the J1 segment. Required to...	3-27	25
J1-4	J1 First Name The first name of the associated consumer reported in the J1 segment....	28-47	20
J1-5	J1 Middle Name Optional middle name or initial for the associated consumer in the J1 segment....	48-67	20	-
J1-7	J1 Social Security Number The nine-digit SSN of the associated consumer in the J1 segment. Strongly recomm...	69-77	9	-
J1-8	J1 Date of Birth Date of birth of the associated consumer in the J1 segment, in MMDDYYYY format. ...	78-85	8	-
J2-3	J2 Surname The last name of the associated consumer reported in the J2 segment....	3-27	25
J2-4	J2 First Name The first name of the associated consumer reported in the J2 segment....	28-47	20
J2-7	J2 Social Security Number The nine-digit SSN of the J2 associated consumer. Recommended for identity match...	69-77	9	-
J2-12	J2 First Line of Address The street address of the J2 associated consumer. Because the J2 consumer lives ...	99-130	32
N1-3	N1 Employer Name The name of the consumer's employer reported in the N1 segment. Optional support...	3-32	30	-
N1-5	N1 Occupation The consumer's occupation or job title reported in the N1 segment. Optional....	33-52	20	-
N1-4	N1 Employer Address The employer's address in the N1 segment. Optional; provided when the furnisher ...	53-100	48	-

Compliance Fields

6 fields

Fields related to FCRA compliance, disputes, and special conditions

Field #	Name	Position	Length	Required
31	Special Comment Two-character code providing additional context about the account. Can explain c...	213-214	2	-
32	Compliance Condition Code Indicates special regulatory or compliance conditions affecting the account. Oft...	215-216	2	-
33	Consumer Information Indicator Provides additional consumer-level information such as military status or identi...	217-218	2	-
J1-10	J1 ECOA Code The ECOA (association) code describing the J1 consumer's relationship to the acc...	95-95	1
J1-11	J1 Consumer Information Indicator Optional indicator for special consumer conditions (such as bankruptcy or deceas...	96-97	2	-
J2-10	J2 ECOA Code The ECOA (association) code describing the J2 consumer's relationship to the acc...	95-95	1

Special Purpose Fields

0 fields

Fields for specialized reporting scenarios and optional data

Field #	Name	Position	Length	Required

Understanding Metro 2 Field Structure

The Metro 2 format is a fixed-length record format where each field occupies a specific position within the record. Understanding field positions, lengths, and data types is crucial for accurate credit reporting.

Key Concepts

Position - The character position within the record where the field starts and ends (1-indexed)
Length - The exact number of characters the field must occupy
Type - Whether the field contains alphabetic, numeric, or alphanumeric data
Required - Whether the field must contain data or can be left blank

Padding Rules

Numeric fields - Right-justified, zero-filled on the left
Alpha/Alphanumeric fields - Left-justified, space-filled on the right
Date fields - MMDDYYYY format, zero-filled

Automate Field Validation

Metro2 software automatically validates all fields against Metro 2 specifications, catching errors before submission.

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