German top court overturns rulings forcing Schufa to disclose more on credit scores

Germany's Federal Court of Justice (BGH) on Wednesday overturned rulings that had ordered credit bureau Schufa to give consumers more detailed information about its scoring. The cases were brought by four private individuals who consider the old scoring method opaque and the information they received in 2023 inadequate. The cases now return to the appeals court.

The Higher Regional Court in Dresden had partly sided with the plaintiffs and ordered Schufa to disclose, among other things, how the score criteria are weighted. The BGH said the lower court's findings were not sufficient to justify that order. In particular, it had not adequately examined whether an automated decision with legal effect or significant impact under the EU's General Data Protection Regulation was involved. At a hearing in June, the court's First Civil Senate had already pointed to that question and to a 2023 ruling by the EU Court of Justice.

In the reopened appeal, the plaintiffs may correct flaws in their claims, and the court must decide how far the right to information extends. The dispute concerns Schufa's old score: since March 17, 2026, the company has used a new score meant to be easier to understand, and it plans to phase out the old one by the end of 2028. An amendment to Germany's Federal Data Protection Act aimed at making credit scoring more transparent takes effect on Nov. 20.