How to Get Your Free Credit Report

Thinking about getting a loan but noticed a change in your credit score recently? Maybe you want to figure out why, or maybe you just want to check that there’s no inaccurate information on there – mistakes do happen.

Your credit report is a helpful way to manage your financial data, holding information like your payment history and credit history, which financial institutions depend on to decide whether you’re a worthy borrower. Keeping an eye on your credit report, therefore, is crucial if you plan on taking out any huge loans, like a mortgage, in your lifetime.

Typically, you are entitled to a free credit report from one of the three major credit bureaus every 12 months. Normally, accessing a credit report any more than this will cost you.

However, with many facing harsh financial times as a result of COVID-19, everyone is entitled to a free financial report each week from Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. And accessing them is simple!

In this guide we’ll show you how you can get your free credit report from the three major credit bureaus, why they matter, and how often you should check them to help keep your score in tip-top shape. 💪

What is a Free Credit Report? 📝

Under the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act, you are entitled to a free copy of your credit report from the three major credit bureaus once a year – you just need to request it. You can do this through either Experian, TransUnion, or Equifax.

These three companies collect information on your financial history including your record of paying bills, public records related to debt (like bankruptcy) and any inquiries made about your credit.

These reports make up the basis for your credit score and so, companies buy them to help them decide how much risk a customer poses when deciding whether to offer loans, credit cards, insurance, and even to assess your ability to take on a new position.

John Ulzheimer, a credit expert who formerly worked with Equifax and FICO said, “The importance of checking your credit report can’t be understated.” The reports can also help determine your likelihood of becoming a victim of identity theft.

How do I Obtain My Credit Report for Free? 🆓

You can access a copy of your free credit report from one of the three major credit bureaus. 

Website: To get your free Experian credit report, you can visit www.AnnualCreditReport.com. After answering some questions, you can download the report. We suggest downloading the report there and then. It could be up to 12 pages long, depending on the length of your credit history, like if you’ve applied for a mortgage before, or credit cards.

Toll-free number: If you call 877-322-8228, the report can be mailed to you.

Mailing address. To conduct the process almost entirely by mail, download the annual credit report request form, fill it out and mail it to Annual Credit Report Request Service, P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281.

What Does a Credit Report Look Like? 🔍

A credit report holds all of the fantastic and not so fantastic elements of your credit history in plane site. The reports have been designed specifically in such a way that they are relatively easy to read and understand.

The first part of the report will display your personal information like your number, addresses dating back decades, contact information, and current and former employers. Following this are the public records, for example a bankruptcy.

After this, all the details about problem accounts appear, such as anytime you missed a payment or any that went to collections. Negative marks can stay on your credit file for up to seven years. 

Keep an eye out for a drop in your credit score if your repayments were accommodated in any way by creditors throughout COVID-19. After some creditors began helping ease the financial stress for consumers, some people are now noticing it has impacted their credit score.

If this has happened to you it would be a good idea to contact Experian, or one of the three major credit bureaus and ask them to investigate, and correct the issue.

Following this is the list of satisfactory accounts – these are the ones that have been reported to be in good standing.

Moving on, you’ll see the inquiry section. This will show the various request types for your credit information. The promotional requests reference the companies that have received limited information about your credit to help them determine your risk for loans, credit cards or insurance. 

You might see some other credit inquiries displayed from a time when you compared loans or mortgages, for example. Thankfully, these kinds of credit inquiries are not as detrimental to your overall report as they once were. You can begin making notes on what you want to get removed from your credit report to begin the process of improving your credit score.

Why Should You Review Your Credit Reports? 📝

Reading and understanding reports takes time and patience. Taking a quick look through and tossing it for recycling won’t do it justice. Experts recommend you set aside a fair amount of time – perhaps about an hour – to review it thoroughly.

We suggest three stages of review for each report. First, read through and note any questions you have. When you’ve done this, try and find the answers on a reputable site or get in touch with the credit bureau.

After this, you should attempt to highlight any inaccurate, out-of-date, or misinformation. Should you find any, you can dispute this information online or by mail. To finish, take a look at it from the lender’s perspective.

Don’t make the mistake of thinking that because you pay your bills on time you’ve nothing to worry about. Mistakes happen.

Your report can end up being confused for someone else, or it could show that you are at a higher risk for fraud. Knowing how to build credit, and what could prevent you from building credit will help make the overall process easier. 

How Often Should You Check Credit Reports? 🗓

Think about it like any other necessity in your life, visiting a dentist, a doctor. It’s not the most fun, but doing so once a year will improve your life. Checking your report once every 30 days is probably the most ideal because credit reports go through a full cycle of changes in this time.

If you haven’t had a chance to pull a free credit report in some time – or maybe ever – then consider pulling three reports at once so you’ll have a good idea of how you are rated on each of the credit reporting companies.

Free Credit Report Amid COVID-19 🦠

Typically, you can only access a report from the three major credit bureaus once every 12 months. However, throughout COVID-19, the credit reporting bureaus are offering free credit reports each week for the next year. To get your free report, go to annualcreditreport.com.

Reports should be free and accessible and no one should have to pay to see their own credit history.

If you need to pull out a credit card to pay for a credit report then you haven’t tried hard enough to find the numerous free options. Be careful not to go overboard with monitoring.

Doing so any more than once a month can make an already time consuming process slow and painful. You will see slight changes and additions here and there, but there won’t be any drastic differences.

It’s also worth noting that explanatory notes in credit reports have little impact because scoring formulas can’t read, so additional words won’t improve your score.

Another option to think about is a credit freeze. This would enable you to restrict access to your credit report. By law, the three major credit reporting agencies allow you to freeze your credit for free.

You can also contact Experian, or one of the other two reporting bureaus to request fraud alerts or credit freezes, or you can opt out of prescreened credit offers:

Experian

888-EXPERIAN (888-397-3742)

Equifax

800-685-1111

TransUnion

888-909-8872

Watch Out for Fraudulent Websites 🖥️🚩

There is only one website authorized to fill orders for your free credit report – annualcreditreport.com. This doesn’t mean that other websites won’t claim to offer a “free credit report”, “free credit monitoring”, or “free credit scores”. These are not covered under federal law. 

In some cases like these, the “free” product might have strings attached. For instance, some sites might ask you to sign up to a “free” service that changes to a paying service once the trial period ends.

If you fail to cancel this period, you might be unknowingly agreeing to paying fees for the service. Some fraudulent, or imposter sites hijack the term “free report” or similar in their names; others will put a misspelled version of annualcreditreport.com in their name with the hope you mistype it on the official site.

Other times, you might be directed to other sites that try to convince you to buy something, or worse, try to collect personal details.

Experian, or any of the other credit reporting bureaus, will not request personal information from you by email. Should you receive an email or phone call, or get hit with a pop-up ad from a service claiming to be Experian, or any of the other reporting agencies, do not click on a link or respond to the message because it is more than likely a scam.

What to Do if You Find Fraud in Your Credit Report ⚠️

While mistakes do happen, some are more serious than others. Minor variations on your name and a listing of an address you never lived at could be a tell-tale sign of fraud. In addition, if you discover accounts in default that are not yours, this could be a sign of fraud, too.

The first thing you should do to rectify this is to contact the credit bureaus and the creditors to assess the information, and potentially dispute it. For example, if an unpaid debt shows on the account you might need to file a police report and affidavit.

This will help you stand out from those who tell creditors and credit bureaus the same thing, when their intention is simply to get out of paying a bill.

The Right Time to Check Your Credit Report 🕑

If you think you might want to make a major purchase in a few months or even in a few years, you should regularly check your free credit report to make sure it is accurate.

To give you more options and better interest rates, you should try to keep a high credit score, or work to improve it, if not. Don’t think you’re too young, either. From the age of 18 years, looking at your credit report is important, especially if you plan on making a big purchase in the future.

You are probably interested in owning a house during the course of your life. It’s a huge purchase, so getting the best interest rates possible can make a significant difference.

After all, excellent credit is one of the best ways to build wealth – it’s far more to your benefit to pay a 2% APR over a 4% APR on things you plan on buying.

About the author

Tim Fries

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Tim Fries is the cofounder of The Tokenist. He has a B. Sc. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Michigan, and an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. Tim served as a Senior Associate on the investment team at RW Baird's US Private Equity division, and is also the co-founder of Protective Technologies Capital, an investment firm specializing in sensing, protection and control solutions.