Dicom is the name Chileans use for Equifax's credit report, the database that banks, retailers and other companies check before lending money. Being "in Dicom" means having an unpaid debt on record, and getting out requires paying or restructuring that debt and then checking that the record has been updated. The law sets specific deadlines for that process, and knowing them is the fastest way to avoid staying listed longer than you should.
The problem is widespread. According to the Universidad San Sebastián and Equifax, 53rd Delinquent Debt Report, as of June 2026 there were 4,006,977 people with delinquent debts, 25.2% of the population aged 18 and over. Total delinquent debt reached USD 11,382 million, 12.2% more than a year earlier in real terms, and average arrears per person were CLP 2,619,855.
View the data as a table
| People in arrears | 4,006,977 |
| Delinquency rate | 25.2% |
| Total delinquent debt | US$11,382 million |
| Average arrears | $2,619,855 |
Debt burden by region: the north and the far south are the most stretched
The national Universidad San Sebastián and Equifax report does not publish a regional breakdown. The most recent official source with data for all 16 regions is the CMF, 2025 Indebtedness Report (data as of June 2025), which measures the debt burden: the share of monthly income each bank debtor spends on debt payments (median). Nationally it is 11.9%. The highest are in Aysén (16.2%), Antofagasta (15.5%), Tarapacá (15.3%), Magallanes (15.2%) and Atacama (15.0%); the lowest in Ñuble (10.9%), while the Santiago Metropolitan Region stands at 11.3%.
View the data as a table
| Debt burden | |
|---|---|
| Aysén | 16.2% |
| Antofagasta | 15.5% |
| Tarapacá | 15.3% |
| Magallanes | 15.2% |
| Atacama | 15.0% |
| Coquimbo | 14.1% |
| Los Lagos | 12.4% |
| Biobío | 12.3% |
| La Araucanía | 12.3% |
| Maule | 12.2% |
| Valparaíso | 12.1% |
| O'Higgins | 12.0% |
| Los Ríos | 11.9% |
| Arica y Parinacota | 11.8% |
| Metropolitana | 11.3% |
| Ñuble | 10.9% |
The debt burden is not the same as delinquency, but it helps explain it: people who devote a larger share of their pay to instalments have less room when something unexpected happens. According to the same CMF report, as of June 2025 there were 369,000 bank debtors with debt at least one day overdue, 6.1% of the total, with a median unpaid amount of CLP 322,000. The USS-Equifax figure of 4 million people in arrears is larger because it also covers retailers, protested cheques and other debts besides banks.
How delinquent debt has evolved
After two years of declines, delinquency rose again in the second half of 2025. The rate went from 24.5% in June 2025 to 25.2% in December and stayed there through the first half of 2026. The amount owed grew faster than the number of debtors: the group owing more than CLP 3 million grew 13.9% over twelve months.
View the data as a table
| Delinquent debt | |
|---|---|
| Jun 24 | US$10,210 |
| Sep 24 | US$9,933 |
| Dec 24 | US$10,162 |
| Mar 25 | US$10,102 |
| Jun 25 | US$10,145 |
| Sep 25 | US$10,373 |
| Dec 25 | US$10,888 |
| Mar 26 | US$11,100 |
| Jun 26 | US$11,382 |
View the data as a table
| Delinquency rate | |
|---|---|
| Jun 24 | 25.6% |
| Sep 24 | 25.4% |
| Dec 24 | 25.1% |
| Mar 25 | 24.8% |
| Jun 25 | 24.5% |
| Sep 25 | 24.7% |
| Dec 25 | 25.2% |
| Mar 26 | 25.2% |
| Jun 26 | 25.2% |
The report does not cover every debt. By law, unpaid bills for basic utilities (electricity, water, telephone and gas), debts taken on to pay for education, health-care debts, toll-road debts and Indap farm loans may not be reported.
Does your company offer debt restructuring, financial education or responsible collection services? Reach Pauta Financiera readers.
See advertising optionsHow to get out of Dicom, step by step
- Check which debts are listed. Law 19,628 gives you the right to ask, free of charge, whoever runs a registry for information about your data, its source and who receives it. If the registry does not respond within two business days, you can go to a civil court.
- Identify the creditor and the updated amount. Ask for a statement of the debt with interest and collection costs before paying.
- Pay or restructure. The law bars reporting obligations that have been rescheduled, renegotiated or novated. A restructuring only helps if the new instalment fits your budget: if you fall behind again, the new debt can be reported.
- Make sure the payment is reported. After payment, the creditor must notify whoever reported the arrears within seven business days at the latest. You can also request the change yourself with proof of payment, releasing the creditor from that obligation in writing.
- Check that the record has been cleared. Anyone using data from the registry must update it within three days of the payment being reported, or block it in the meantime.
- Keep your receipts. If the record is not corrected, the breach can be taken to a civil court under article 16 of the law.
- Day 0You pay or settle the debtFrom that moment it may no longer be reported.
- Up to 7 business daysThe creditor notifies the registryOr you request the change with proof of payment.
- 3 days laterDatabases using the registry are updatedIf they cannot, they must block the record.
- 5 years after the debt fell dueMaximum period for reporting an unpaid debtAfter that it may not be reported even if still unpaid.
There is an additional, little-known protection: arrears that arose while a person was unemployed may not be published. The unemployment fund administrator reports its beneficiaries to the Boletín de Informaciones Comerciales (the commercial bulletin) so it blocks that data, and people outside unemployment insurance can prove their status with their severance document for three months, renewable once.
If your debts exceed what you can pay
When debts can no longer be paid from income, there is a formal and free route: the insolvency renegotiation procedure for individual debtors under Law 20,720, handled by the Superintendency of Insolvency and Re-entrepreneurship. Under article 260, it is open to anyone with two or more obligations more than 90 days overdue, from different sources, totalling more than 80 UF (about CLP 3.3 million at the 4 November 2026 UF), provided they have not been sued for liquidation. Child support, among other obligations, is excluded.
Before reaching that point, it is worth talking to each creditor: many offer restructurings or discounts for paying old debts in a lump sum. The key is to get in writing the final amount, the number of instalments and the commitment to report the payment, and not to sign up for an instalment you cannot keep up with.
The laws that changed Dicom
The best remembered is Law 20,575, published on 17 February 2012, which set the purpose principle: debt data may only be used to assess commercial risk and grant credit. Its transitional article ordered that unpaid debts due before 31 December 2011 stop being reported when the person's total owed was below CLP 2,500,000 in principal. Bans on reporting education and health-care debts followed.
- 28 August 1999Law 19,628Privacy protection: five-year cap and end of reporting after payment.
- 17 February 2012Law 20,575Purpose principle and erasure of debts under CLP 2.5 million due up to 2011.
- 28 February 2020Law 21,214Bans reporting debts taken on for education.
- 10 November 2022Law 21,504Bans reporting health-care debts.
- 3 July 2024Law 21,680Creates the Consolidated Debt Registry run by the CMF.
Laws 21,214 and 21,504 gave registries 180 days to delete that data (Law 21,214, Law 21,504). Law 21,680 created a Consolidated Debt Registry run by the CMF which has been in force since April 2026, as the CMF reported on 22 June 2026.
After getting out of Dicom: how not to go back
The next step is to get remaining debts in order. If the plan is to refinance with a new loan, it is worth checking how to compare consumer loan rates and CAE: the gap between an instalment loan and a revolving card balance can be almost 20 percentage points a year.
With accounts up to date, building a cushion helps avoid falling behind again when something unexpected happens. A short-term saving vehicle does that job, and here we explain how much a time deposit pays today.
And anyone thinking of buying a home should know that banks review credit history before approving a mortgage; this guide shows today's mortgage rates and how to estimate the monthly payment.
Frequently asked questions
How long after paying do I get out of Dicom?
A paid debt may no longer be reported. The creditor has up to seven business days to notify the registry, and databases using that information must update it within the following three days.
Is a debt removed from Dicom after five years?
Yes. The law bars reporting an unpaid debt five years after it fell due, even if it remains unpaid. The debt itself does not disappear: the creditor can still pursue it if it has not expired.
How many people are in Dicom in Chile?
According to the Universidad San Sebastián and Equifax report, 4,006,977 people had delinquent debts as of June 2026, 25.2% of adults.
In which region do debts weigh most?
According to the CMF's 2025 Indebtedness Report, with data as of June 2025, the median debt burden of bank debtors is highest in Aysén (16.2% of income), Antofagasta (15.5%) and Tarapacá (15.3%), and lowest in Ñuble (10.9%). The 2026 USS-Equifax report does not publish delinquency figures by region.
Disclaimer: this information is journalistic and educational, not financial advice. Check the terms and the total cost (CAE) with the institution before signing up.
