Metro 2 Field Reference

Complete documentation for all 31 Metro 2 format fields. Each field includes position, length, allowed values, validation rules, and common errors.

19 Required

12 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

4 fields

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

Field #	Name	Position	Length
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

Account Information

7 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	-

Payment Information

2 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

Date Fields

5 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	-

Amount Fields

6 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	-

Consumer Information

4 fields

Fields containing consumer name, address, SSN, and demographics

Field #	Name	Position	Length
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

Compliance Fields

3 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	-

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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