How to get your reports for free
The official site for free credit reports is AnnualCreditReport.com. Equifax, Experian and TransUnion made free weekly reports there permanent in September 2023. You can request them:
- Online at AnnualCreditReport.com.
- By phone at 1-877-322-8228.
- By mail using the request form on the site.
A few things to know:
- Get all three. Not every lender reports to every bureau, so each report can be a little different. Lenders may check any of them.
- No score is included. The reports show the information your scores are built from, not the scores themselves. Our guide to what a good credit score is covers where to see those.
- Watch for look-alikes. Other sites advertise "free" reports and then try to sell you a subscription. You never need a credit card to get your free reports.
- Checking is safe. Pulling your own report is a soft inquiry and does not affect your score. See hard vs soft inquiries.
The parts of a credit report
Each bureau lays out its report a little differently, but the CFPB says they all contain the same main sections.
Personal information
Your name and any other versions of it, current and past addresses, date of birth, Social Security number (usually partly hidden) and phone numbers. Some reports also list employers.
This information does not go into your score, but it is still worth reading closely. A name or address you have never used can mean your file is mixed with someone else's, or that someone has used your details.
Accounts
This is the longest section, and the one your scores rely on most. Each account, sometimes called a tradeline, gets its own entry. Here is what to look at in each one:
| Item | What it means | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Creditor and account type | Who the account is with, and whether it is revolving (a card) or installment (a loan) | You recognize it and it is really yours |
| Status | Open, closed, paid, or a negative status such as charged off | A closed account is not shown as open, and a paid one is not shown as owed |
| Dates | When it opened, and when it closed or was last reported | The opening date is right, since it affects your account age |
| Limit, balance and amounts | The credit limit or loan amount, and what was owed when last reported | The limit is correct, since a missing limit can make utilization look higher |
| Payment history | Usually a month-by-month grid marking each payment as on time or 30, 60 or 90+ days late | No late marks for months you paid on time |
| Responsibility | Whether you are the individual owner, a joint owner or an authorized user | It matches your real role on the account |
Collections
Debts that a lender or service provider handed to a collection agency, often after several months unpaid. The same original debt can sometimes appear twice, once from the original creditor and once from the collector, so check that the details line up.
Medical debt is a special case. The three bureaus have said they do not report paid medical collections, wait a year before an unpaid one appears, and leave off medical collections that started under $500. See rebuilding after late payments for details. A federal rule that would have removed more medical debt from reports was struck down by a court in July 2025, so larger medical collections can still appear.
Public records
Today, the CFPB says this section covers bankruptcies. Most people's reports have nothing here.
Inquiries
A list of companies that have looked at your report. Your own copy shows hard inquiries from your credit applications and soft inquiries such as your own checks and account reviews. Lenders see only the hard ones.
Statements and alerts
If you have placed a fraud alert, a freeze, or added a short personal statement, it usually appears near the top or the end of the report.
How long things stay on your report
| Item | How long it can stay |
|---|---|
| Late payments and most other negative information | Up to 7 years |
| Bankruptcy | Up to 10 years |
| Hard inquiries | Up to 2 years (FICO counts them for 1 year) |
No one can legally remove accurate negative information before these limits. The CFPB is clear on this point. Anyone who promises to do it for a fee is someone to avoid.
What to check for errors
Go through each report with a pen, or use this list:
- Names, addresses or a birth date that are not yours.
- Accounts you never opened.
- Accounts listed as yours that belong to a relative with a similar name.
- Late payments for months you paid on time.
- A closed account still shown as open, or an account you closed shown as "closed by creditor."
- Wrong balances or missing credit limits.
- A paid-off debt still showing a balance.
- The same debt listed more than once as unpaid.
- Negative items older than the time limits above.
- Hard inquiries from companies you never applied with.
- A note saying you are deceased. It happens by mistake, and it can stop you being scored at all.
If you are just starting to build credit, also check that your new account is showing up. If it has not appeared after a couple of statements, ask the issuer which bureaus it reports to.
If you find a mistake
You can dispute errors yourself, directly with the bureau that shows them, at no cost. It is a good idea to dispute with the company that supplied the information as well. Our step-by-step guide to disputing a credit report error covers what to send and what happens next.
You do not need to pay anyone for this. Credit repair companies cannot do anything you cannot do yourself for free, and they cannot remove accurate information.
Freezes and fraud alerts
If you find signs of identity theft, or just want extra protection, you have two free tools. The FTC explains the difference this way:
| Credit freeze | Fraud alert | |
|---|---|---|
| What it does | Blocks new credit from being opened in your name, including by you, until you lift it | Tells lenders to take extra steps to confirm it is really you |
| Cost | Free to place and lift | Free |
| How long | Until you lift it | 1 year, renewable. 7 years for an extended alert if you are a victim of identity theft |
| Who to contact | Each of the three bureaus separately | Any one bureau, which must tell the other two |
A freeze does not affect your score or your existing accounts. If you plan to apply for credit, lift the freeze first, at least at the bureau the lender will use, and then freeze again afterward.
How often to check
Because weekly reports are free, there is no cost to checking often. A good habit is to look at all three before any big application, a few months after you open a new account, and any time something seems off, such as a bill you do not recognize.
General information only, not financial or legal advice. Terms change often; confirm the current terms on the provider's own site before you apply. Some links may pay us a commission. Disclosure.