DPD stands for days past due. It is the number of days a payment on a loan or card was overdue when the lender reported it to a credit bureau. RBI’s credit information directions use the same term.
A bureau report usually shows DPD as a string, one value for each month:
000 000 012 000 000 034 028 000
Here, 000 means the account was not overdue that month. 034 means it was 34 days overdue. Display order and format vary by bureau and report, so check which end is the newest month.
Reading a string
Look at more than the worst number.
| Question | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| How recent is it? | Late payments last month may mean more than ones from two years ago |
| How often? | One late month and repeated small delays can suggest different things |
| Is it rising? | 012, 034, 061 suggests a problem that is getting worse |
| Which product? | A late card and a late home loan may not carry the same weight |
Each lender decides how much these matter. For the regulatory categories that sit around DPD, read the current RBI directions that apply to your institution.
Sources
- Non-Banking Financial Companies – Credit Information Reporting Directions, 2025 (RBI/DOR/2025-26/349), Reserve Bank of India, as updated