Debt & Credit Help Paying Off Debt

Are Authorized Users Responsible for Credit Card Debt?

Answers to all your questions about authorized users and debt.

By Robin Kavanagh
and Harrison Pierce

Edited by Becca Borawski Jenkins

Updated Dec. 17, 2024

If you’re too young to get a credit card or your credit history is too poor to qualify, becoming an authorized user can help you access credit and establish a credit history. Authorized users are not held liable for debt — even for spending they do. So, you should only make purchases the primary cardholder can pay off. If not, both your credit scores will be impacted.

What is an authorized user?

An authorized user on a credit card account is permitted by the primary account holder to use the card but not legally obligated to pay the debt. Authorized users do not go through any kind of credit check since they are being added to someone else’s already-established account.

This can be great for the authorized user if the primary account holder has a strong history of making timely payments and keeping balances low. But it can also be a bad thing. The credit card’s activity often gets reported to the credit bureaus and added to an authorized user’s credit profile, contributing to their credit history. This can help the authorized user out for the better — or worse — depending on how they and the primary cardholder use the card.

My experience

I became an authorized user on my parents' account in high school. This let me make pre-approved purchases and helped me establish a credit score. Then, when I turned 18, I was approved for a card that required good-to-excellent credit. If my parents hadn’t helped me this way, building my credit and getting the cards I wanted would have taken much longer. – Harrison Pierce, Contributor

What an authorized users can and cannot do

Authorized users can:

Receive their own credit cards
Make purchases using the card
Review their purchases
Dispute any unapproved purchases
Make payments on the account (though not required)

Authorized users cannot:

Redeem rewards/cash back
Close the account
Request a credit line increase or product change
Add an additional authorized user
Become the primary cardholder
Change contact information

Is an authorized user responsible for debt?

Most of the time, authorized users are not responsible for repaying the debt for the credit card they’re attached to. That said, if the primary cardholder, who is responsible for the debt, fails to pay off the balance, delinquencies and high credit utilization can hurt the credit scores of both the primary cardholder and the authorized user.

Is an authorized user responsible for credit card debt after death?

If the primary cardholder dies, an authorized user isn’t responsible for debt like a joint account holder might be. However, it’s important to see if your state has community property laws, which could mean that a spouse or legal partner is responsible for a cardholder's outstanding debt after passing, regardless of whether they were an authorized user.

Most of the time, the cardholder's estate will be responsible for any credit card debt they leave behind. This is a long process, so if the account becomes delinquent while waiting to be repaid, this can impact the authorized user’s credit score.

If you’re an authorized user and find yourself in this situation, we urge you to stop using the card immediately — this is illegal in many states. “If the authorized user continues to use the card after the cardholder’s death, it can be considered a form of fraud,” says Leslie Tayne, a financial attorney and author of Life & Debt. “Additionally, the creditor could sue the authorized user for the entire balance of the cardholder’s debt if the card continues to be used, where the authorized user would otherwise not be responsible for paying off the debt.”

How and when to get removed as an authorized user

In some cases, getting yourself removed as an authorized user can be a smart move to protect yourself and minimize your risk.

You can usually do this for yourself by contacting the credit card issuer. If not, ask the primary cardholder to remove you. You might want to be removed because you have successfully established a positive credit history and are ready for your own credit card, or you no longer need access to credit. You might also want to get taken off someone’s account if they’ve started falling behind on their payments and are collecting debt.

Check your credit reports after being removed as an authorized user to ensure it’s successful. If your credit report still shows an authorized user account, dispute the error with the reporting credit bureau. Make sure your report is correct with all three credit bureaus: Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian.

Pros and cons of adding an authorized user

You might consider adding an authorized user to one of your credit cards if you’re a business owner, a parent who wants to help a teenage child under 18 establish a credit score, or you want your partner to receive cardholder benefits but don’t want to pay an additional annual fee.

Pros

You can help someone access credit and build a credit history.
You can keep your account active if you rarely use it.

Cons

You are legally responsible for every purchase the authorized user makes.
Some cards charge an annual fee for authorized users.

Pros and cons of becoming an authorized user

Pros

You get access to credit and can build your credit score.
You can learn healthy financial habits in a controlled environment.
You can make purchases without the primary cardholder present.

Cons

Your credit score is impacted if the primary cardholder fails to pay on time.
The primary cardholder sees every purchase, so you have little privacy.

Alternatives to becoming an authorized user

Get a secured credit card

You can get a secured credit card if you have poor credit and are uncomfortable asking to become an authorized user on someone’s account. These are also available to people with very limited credit, as they tend to have much more lenient credit requirements than unsecured cards. Many credit card issuers, including Capital One, Discover, and Bank of America, offer secured cards.

This can be a costly option, as you’ll be responsible for putting up a security deposit as your credit limit. You might also pay annual fees. But I recommend secured credit cards if you want to build your credit independently and potentially avoid credit pitfalls like overspending.

Take out a credit-builder loan

If you’re focused on building both your credit and savings, a credit-builder loan can be better than becoming an authorized user. When you take out a credit-builder loan, you make monthly payments to a lender, which gets deposited into a savings account. Then, at the end of the term, the lender returns that money to you. This could be an effective way to build an emergency fund while simultaneously working on your credit score. Self is a solid choice for this type of loan.

Warning

Note that you’ll pay interest like any other type of loan, so be sure to read the conditions before applying.

Open a beginner credit card

A beginner credit card could be a viable option if you're brand new to credit but want to jump right in. These have lower credit requirements — and lower credit limits — than other cards, putting them within reach of many people with limited credit. Check out student cards if you’re enrolled in a higher education program or a card you can get without a credit score.

FAQs

Will adding someone as an authorized user hurt my credit?

Adding someone as an authorized user will not directly hurt your credit. However, if the authorized user makes large payments you can’t afford, which causes you to have a higher credit utilization ratio or miss a payment, your credit score can be impacted.

Does Chase report authorized users to credit bureaus?

Yes, Chase reports information about all account users to the three major credit bureaus.

Can an authorized user take over a credit card?

Authorized users are often approved to make purchases on the account but do not have complete access. As such, they cannot become the primary cardholder or close the account.

Bottom line

Becoming an authorized user on someone else’s credit card can help you establish a positive credit history. There are a lot of good reasons to do it — and you won’t be responsible for any of the debt on the card, whether you put it there or not.

If you’re considering adding an authorized user to your account, make sure you trust this person. You’re responsible for paying for the purchases they make on their card, so you can quickly find yourself in a bad situation if you don’t know what purchases they’ll make.

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