STD in CIBIL: DPD, SMA, SUB, DBT and LSS Codes Explained
Every code on your payment history grid, the RBI rules behind it, and what a lender reads into each one.
STD in CIBIL stands for "Standard". It means your lender classes the account as a standard, performing loan, not a bad loan. STD is the code you want to see. SMA flags an account that's overdue but under 90 days late, while SUB, DBT and LSS mark a loan that has turned bad, in rising order of damage.
Key TakeawaysThe codes come from RBI asset classification rules: SMA-0 is overdue up to 30 days, SMA-1 is 31 to 60 days and SMA-2 is 61 to 90 days (RBI).A loan overdue for more than 90 days becomes a non-performing asset (NPA), shown as SUB, then DBT after 12 months as sub-standard (RBI).DPD (days past due) is the number of days a payment is late. "000" is on time and "XXX" means nothing was reported.Only wrong codes can be disputed. An accurate late payment stays on your report.
The codes on your payment history run from STD, the best, to LSS, the worst.
What Does STD in CIBIL Mean on Your Report?
STD is short for Standard. The STD full form in CIBIL reports is simply "Standard asset", a term borrowed from the RBI's lending rules. To your lender, your loan is an asset. If it's performing, it's standard.
You'll usually find STD in the payment history grid of each account, the row of month-by-month cells. Some months show a DPD number such as "000". Others show an asset classification code such as STD. Both describe the same thing: how that account stood when the lender reported it.
So what does a CIBIL report's STD mean for your score? It's mostly good news. A long row of STD or 000 is the strongest signal on a report. If you're new to reading the full file, start with our guide to the CIBIL report and its five sections, then come back here for the codes.
STD has one catch. Under RBI rules, a loan stays a "standard" asset until it's more than 90 days overdue. An account can be a few weeks late and still not be an NPA. That's why lenders read the DPD number alongside the code, and why you should too.
Every Code on Your Payment History, Decoded
Here's the full set you'll meet on a CIBIL report, and on Equifax, Experian and CRIF reports too. The asset classes come from the RBI's rules for banks and NBFCs. The bureaus don't invent them.
| Code | Full form | What it means | How lenders read it |
|---|---|---|---|
| 000 | Zero days past due | Paid on time that month | Good |
| XXX | Not reported | No data for that month | Neutral |
| STD | Standard | Performing loan, not an NPA | Good |
| SMA-0 | Special mention account 0 | Overdue up to 30 days | Early warning |
| SMA-1 | Special mention account 1 | Overdue 31 to 60 days | Warning |
| SMA-2 | Special mention account 2 | Overdue 61 to 90 days | Serious warning |
| SUB | Sub-standard | NPA, overdue more than 90 days, for up to 12 months | Bad loan |
| DBT | Doubtful | Sub-standard for 12 months | Very bad |
| LSS | Loss | Loss identified, not fully written off | Worst |
The SMA buckets and the 90-day NPA line are set by the RBI's asset classification rules for lenders. A special mention account is the RBI's early-warning label: something is overdue, but the loan hasn't turned bad yet. A non-performing asset (NPA) is a loan where payment has been overdue for more than 90 days.
The same ladder appears on every bureau's report, because lenders report one uniform format to all four. Our CRIF credit report guide shows how that bureau lays the codes out.
What Is DPD in CIBIL?
DPD means days past due. It's a count of how many days late a payment was on the date the lender reported it. You'll see it as three digits:
- 000 means nothing was overdue.
- 030 means a payment was 30 days late.
- 090 means 90 days late, right at the NPA line.
The number climbs each reporting date until you pay. Lenders now report to bureaus every week, so a DPD can appear quickly. Under RBI rules, a lender must also send you an SMS or email when it reports a default or DPD on your account, if it has your contact details. If that message ever surprises you, open your report the same day.
DPD and the asset code tell one story from two angles. DPD says "how late". The code says "how worried the lender is". A single 030 followed by 000s is a stumble. A row of climbing numbers ending in SUB is a fall.
Missed a payment recently? Our guide on how to recover from a missed EMI covers the first 30 days, when acting fast matters most.
How a Missed EMI Moves Through the Codes
Here's an illustrative example of how one missed EMI travels through the codes if it's never paid. Arjun, GroScore's credit coach, uses this ladder to explain why the first month is the one to fix.
Illustrative: each step down the ladder costs you more than the last.
Say Neha, 33, has a personal loan with an EMI of Rs 8,000 due on the 5th. She misses the March EMI and pays nothing after that. Under the RBI's asset classification buckets, her account would move like this:
| Days overdue | Code a lender can report | What it signals |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | STD, DPD 000 | All fine |
| 1 to 30 | SMA-0 | Early warning |
| 31 to 60 | SMA-1 | Warning |
| 61 to 90 | SMA-2 | Last stop before NPA |
| 91 onwards | SUB | NPA, a bad loan |
| 12 months as SUB | DBT | Doubtful recovery |
Now say she pays the overdue EMI on day 20. The account goes back to normal reporting, but the month that showed a delay stays in her history. A 20-day blip reads very differently from a slide past 90 days. So the cheapest fix on this ladder is always the earliest one.
One more thing for borrowers. Upgrading an NPA back to standard needs the entire arrears of interest and principal paid, per RBI asset classification rules. A part payment doesn't reset the code.
Settled, Written-off and Other Status Remarks
Separate from the monthly grid, an account can carry a status remark. These often matter more than any single code:
- Closed: paid in full and shut. It's the remark you want.
- Settled: you paid less than you owed and the lender closed the account. Lenders read it as a loss.
- Written-off: the lender has given up collecting some or all of the dues.
- Suit filed or wilful default: legal action or a deliberate default was reported.
Settled looks closed, but lenders read it as a partial loss.
If you see "Settled" against an old card, you can often pay the remaining dues and ask the lender to report the account as closed. Lenders decide whether to update it. Nobody can promise the remark will change, and an accurate history of late payments before the settlement stays either way. Our plan to improve your CIBIL score after settlement covers the next steps.
How Long Does a Late Payment Stay on a CIBIL Report?
A late payment stays longer than most people hope. No RBI rule lets an accurate late payment be deleted early, and bureaus keep credit history for years. Most reports show several years of month-by-month payment history for each account.
Its weight is what changes. A late payment from four years ago, followed by a clean run of 000 and STD, weighs far less than one from last month. Lenders look hardest at the recent 12 to 24 months. That's an industry rule of thumb, not an RBI rule, and every lender sets its own policy.
STD only means the loan isn't an NPA, so always read the DPD next to it.
So "CIBIL repair" agencies that promise to remove true entries are selling something the rules don't allow. Errors are different. A wrong DPD, an SMA you never earned, or a closed loan still showing SUB can be disputed for free. Our step-by-step guide to raise a CIBIL dispute shows how. Under RBI rules, a complaint must be resolved within 30 days of filing. If it isn't, you're owed Rs 100 for every day of delay.
Put numbers on that. Suppose a lender wrongly reports your closed loan as SUB and the fix takes 40 days. That's 10 days past the RBI's limit, so you'd be owed Rs 1,000, paid to your bank account within five working days of the resolution.
What Would GroScore's Coach Flag on Your Report?
There are four credit bureaus registered with the RBI, according to the RBI's list of credit information companies: TransUnion CIBIL, Equifax, Experian and CRIF High Mark. A CIBIL report is one of four, and the codes look much the same across all of them.
GroScore is a free credit score app and personal credit coach from Vitrak Technologies (GroMo). It shows your Equifax credit score and full report with a soft check that never affects your score, explains in Hindi or English what is holding the score back, and gives a step-by-step plan to fix it. GroScore is not a lender. It shows your Equifax report, not your CIBIL report, and it can't remove accurate entries.
Here's the order a coach would check your codes in:
- Any SUB, DBT or LSS. These are the heaviest marks. Confirm they're yours and accurate.
- SMA-1 or SMA-2 in recent months. If an account is overdue right now, paying it before day 90 stops the slide to NPA.
- Settled or written-off remarks. Know they're there before a lender asks.
- Codes on loans you don't recognise. Possible fraud. Act on it first.
- Old 030s followed by 000s. Accurate and fading. Nothing to do but keep paying on time.
Check the heaviest codes first, then the recent ones.
GroScore says about 1 in 5 reports, or 20%, carries an error (groscore.in, retrieved 2026-10-05). If one of those errors is a wrong SUB or SMA code, a dispute can be worth more than months of on-time payments. Lenders report to all four bureaus, so check your Experian credit score for it too.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does STD mean in a CIBIL report?
STD means "Standard". The lender classes your account as a standard, performing loan rather than a non-performing asset. It's the best asset code on a report, but read the DPD beside it too, because a loan can be up to 90 days late and still be standard.
What is DPD in CIBIL?
DPD means days past due: how many days late a payment was when the lender reported it. "000" means on time, "030" means 30 days late and "090" means 90 days late, the point where a loan becomes an NPA.
What do SMA, SUB, DBT and LSS mean?
SMA is a special mention account, overdue up to 90 days: SMA-0 up to 30, SMA-1 from 31 to 60 and SMA-2 from 61 to 90 days. SUB is a sub-standard NPA, DBT is a loan that's stayed sub-standard for 12 months, and LSS is a loss asset.
What does XXX mean in a credit report?
XXX means the lender didn't report anything for that month. It's common for a new account, a closed one or a gap in reporting, and it doesn't count against you.
How long does a late payment stay on a CIBIL report?
An accurate late payment can't be removed early, and bureaus keep payment history for years. Its weight fades with time, especially once it's followed by a long run of on-time payments.
The Bottom Line
STD and 000 are the codes you want. SMA is a warning you can still fix, and SUB, DBT and LSS are the marks that stay with you longest. Read the code and the DPD together, fix anything overdue before day 90, and dispute only what's wrong. Then follow our steps on how to improve your credit score while the old marks fade.
Disclaimer
This article is for general education and is not financial advice. GroScore provides credit scores and reports sourced from Equifax, an RBI-licensed credit bureau; scores differ between bureaus and change as lenders report new data. Credit score improvement depends on your individual credit behaviour and bureau reporting timelines, and results are not guaranteed. Loan and card decisions are made by lenders on their own criteria. GroScore is not a lender. Figures and rates shown are indicative.
