How to Check Your Credit Report for Free (and What to Look For)

Independent guide - not affiliated with or endorsed by any card issuer, bank, card network or credit bureau. For your own account, contact your issuer through its official website, app or the number printed on your card.

You can get free credit reports from Equifax, Experian and TransUnion through AnnualCreditReport.com, the official site set up for this purpose. Federal law gives you at least one free report from each bureau every 12 months, and the bureaus currently let you view them more often online for free. Checking your own report does not hurt your credit score.

Before you apply for a new card, after a card is closed or declined, or simply once or twice a year, a quick review of your reports can catch errors and signs of identity theft. Here is how to do it.

Where to get your free reports

The CFPB explains that you have the right to request one free copy of your credit report each year from each of the three major consumer reporting companies, and that you may be able to view free reports more frequently online. You can request them in three ways:

• Online at AnnualCreditReport.com.
• By phone at (877) 322-8228.
• By mail, using the request form on that site, sent to Annual Credit Report Request Service, P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281.

Be careful with lookalike websites. The CFPB warns consumers to be cautious of websites that claim to offer free credit reports; some sign you up for paid services. Type the address yourself rather than clicking ads.

Credit report vs credit score

Your credit report is the record of your accounts and payment history. Your credit score is a number calculated from it. The free reports from AnnualCreditReport.com do not have to include a score. Many card issuers show a free score in their apps; just remember there are several scoring models, as our guide to FICO vs VantageScore explains, so numbers from different places will not match exactly.

Does checking hurt your score?

No. Looking at your own report is a soft inquiry and does not affect your scores. Hard inquiries happen when a lender checks your credit because you applied for credit; see does applying for a credit card hurt your score.

What to look for, section by section

• Personal information. Names, addresses, date of birth and employers. Unknown addresses or name variations can be a sign of mixed files or identity theft.
• Accounts (tradelines). Check that every card and loan is yours, that limits and balances look right, that closed accounts show as closed and that late payments are accurate. An account you never opened needs action now.
• Payment history. Look for late payments you believe you made on time.
• Collections and public records. Check amounts, dates and whether a debt is duplicated by both the original creditor and a collector.
• Inquiries. Hard inquiries you do not recognise can signal fraudulent applications.

Compare all three reports. Not every lender reports to every bureau, so an error may appear on only one.

How to dispute an error

1. Gather proof, such as statements, payment confirmations or letters.
2. File a dispute with each bureau that shows the error, online or by mail. Explain what is wrong and what the correct information is.
3. Consider also disputing directly with the company that supplied the information, such as your card issuer.
4. Keep copies and note dates. The bureau must investigate and tell you the result.
5. If the problem is not fixed, you can submit a complaint to the CFPB.

If you find signs of identity theft

Report it at the FTC's IdentityTheft.gov, which creates a recovery plan, contact the companies where fraudulent accounts were opened, and consider a security freeze with each bureau. Our guide on how to freeze your credit explains the steps, and if a card was used without permission, see what to do if your credit card is lost or stolen.

When to check

• A few weeks before applying for a new card or loan, so you have time to fix errors.
• After a card application is declined or an account is closed. See why did my credit card get closed.
• After a data breach notice or a lost wallet.
• At least once a year as routine, spreading the three bureaus across the year if you like.

Common errors people find

• Accounts that belong to someone else, often a relative with a similar name, or a previous resident at your address.
• Duplicate debts, where the same old balance appears under the original creditor and again under a debt collector, both showing an amount owed.
• Wrong account status, such as a card you closed showing as open, a paid-off balance still showing as owed, or an account shown as closed by the creditor when you closed it yourself.
• Incorrect late payments, for example when a payment was made on time but processed late, or during an agreed hardship plan.
• Outdated negative items. Most negative information, such as late payments and collections, can generally stay on reports for up to seven years; bankruptcies can stay longer. Items older than that should drop off.
• Wrong credit limits, which can make your utilization look higher than it is.

A simple yearly routine

Set a reminder once or twice a year. Download all three reports, save them as PDFs and compare them with last year's copies. Look for new accounts, new inquiries and changes in personal details first, then check balances and payment history. If everything is accurate, there is nothing more to do. If you see an error, start the dispute the same week while your records are fresh. This routine takes less than an hour and can save you from a declined application or months of untangling identity theft.

Sources

• CFPB: How do I get a copy of my credit reports?
• AnnualCreditReport.com: the official site for free credit reports
• FTC: IdentityTheft.gov