You can get your credit report free once a year from each of the three major credit bureaus
Your credit report is a record of your borrowing and payment history that lenders use to decide whether to give you money and at what interest rate. You are may have access to to one free copy per year from each of the three companies that collect this information: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. The official way to request it is through AnnualCreditReport.com, a government-authorized website run by the three bureaus together.
You do not need to pay for your report, and you do not need to use a third-party service. Going directly to AnnualCreditReport.com takes about 10 minutes and gives you the same document that costs money elsewhere.
Key Takeaways
- You can request one free credit report per year from each of the three major bureaus (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion) through AnnualCreditReport.com.
- The free report shows your payment history, accounts, and inquiries, but does not include your credit score — you have to request that separately or pay for it.
- You can space out your three free reports across the year (one every four months) to monitor your credit more often without paying.
- If you spot an error on your report, you can dispute it directly with the bureau that issued the report at no cost.
How to request your report through AnnualCreditReport.com
Go to AnnualCreditReport.com and click "Request Your Reports." You will be asked to enter your name, address, date of birth, and Social Security number. The site will then ask you which bureaus you want reports from — you can request all three at once or pick one.
You have two options for how to receive your reports. The online option shows your report when ready on the screen and lets you read or print it right away. The mail option takes 7 to 10 business days but sends a physical copy to your address on file. Most people choose online because it is faster.
After you request your reports, you will see them organized by account type: credit cards, loans, payment history, and inquiries (times a lender checked your credit). Read through each section carefully. The report does not include your credit score — that is a separate number calculated from the information in your report, and you will need to pay for it or find it through your bank or credit card company.
What information appears on your credit report
Your report lists every credit account you have opened in the past seven years, including credit cards, car loans, mortgages, and personal loans. For each account, it shows the creditor's name, the account number, when you opened it, your credit limit or loan amount, your current balance, and your payment history — whether you paid on time, paid late, or missed payments.
The report also shows inquiries, which are times a lender or creditor checked your credit. There are two types: hard inquiries (when you explore for credit and a lender pulls your report) and soft inquiries (when a company checks your credit to send you a pre-approved offer or when you check it yourself). Hard inquiries can slightly lower your credit score and stay on your report for two years. Soft inquiries do not affect your score.
At the bottom of your report, you will see a summary of negative items: late payments, collections accounts, charge-offs, or public records like bankruptcies. These items stay on your report for seven years from the date of the first missed payment, except for bankruptcies, which stay for 10 years.
Why you should check your report regularly
Checking your report helps you catch identity theft, errors, and accounts you do not recognize. If someone opened a credit card in your name without permission, it will show up on your report before you notice it on your own. Catching it early means you can dispute it and prevent damage to your credit score.
Errors happen more often than you might think. A payment might be reported as late when you paid on time, an account might be listed twice, or an old account might not show as closed. These mistakes can lower your score and make lenders think you are riskier than you are. If you find an error, you have the right to dispute it for free.
Many people spread their three free reports across the year — requesting one from each bureau every four months — so they can monitor their credit without paying. This is a practical way to catch problems early without having to buy a credit monitoring service.
How to dispute an error on your credit report
If you find something wrong on your report, contact the bureau that issued the report directly. You do not have to go through the creditor first, though you can do that too. Each bureau has a dispute process on its website.
To dispute, you will need to write a letter or submit a form explaining what is wrong and why. Include a copy of the relevant part of your report and any documents that support your claim — for example, if a payment is marked late but you have a bank statement showing you paid on time, include that. Send it to the bureau's dispute address (listed on your report).
The bureau has 30 days to investigate. They will contact the creditor and ask them to verify the information. If the creditor cannot verify it, the bureau must remove it from your report. If the creditor confirms it is correct, the item stays. You will receive a written result in the mail.
Where to find your credit score if you need it
Your free annual credit report does not include your credit score. However, many banks and credit card companies now show your score for free in their online banking portal or mobile app — check your account to see if yours does. Some credit card issuers update it monthly.
If your bank or card company does not offer a free score, you can find free estimates through sites like Credit Karma or Credit Sesame. These use a slightly different scoring model than the official FICO score that most lenders use, but they give you a reasonable picture of where you stand. If you need your exact FICO score, you can buy it from myfico.com for a small fee, or you may receive it free if you are denied credit — lenders are required to tell you where to find it.
What to do if you cannot access AnnualCreditReport.com
If you have trouble with the website or prefer not to use it, you can request your report by phone or mail. Call 1-877-322-8228 (the official number for all three bureaus) and follow the prompts. You can also mail a request to each bureau separately — their mailing addresses are listed on their individual websites.
Be cautious of other websites that offer "free" credit reports. Many of them are legitimate but will sign you up for a paid monitoring service unless you cancel within a trial period. AnnualCreditReport.com is the only site authorized by the Federal Trade Commission to provide the free annual report without requiring you to buy anything.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I get my credit report more than once a year?
You get one free report per bureau per year. However, you can request them at different times — for example, one from Equifax in January, one from Experian in May, and one from TransUnion in September. This spreads out your monitoring. If you want to check all three more often, you will have to pay, or use a free credit score service that updates regularly.
Will checking my credit report hurt my credit score?
No. Checking your own report is a soft inquiry and does not affect your score. Only hard inquiries — when a lender checks your credit because you applied for credit — can lower your score slightly. You can check your report as many times as you want without any penalty.
What if I find accounts I do not recognize?
Contact the creditor listed on the report and ask about the account. If you did not open it, report it as fraud to the creditor and to the credit bureau. You can also file a report with the Federal Trade Commission at IdentityTheft.gov. The sooner you report it, the sooner the bureau can investigate and remove it.
How long does it take to get my report if I request it by mail?
Mail requests take 7 to 10 business days to arrive at your address. If you need your report faster, use the online option at AnnualCreditReport.com, which shows your report when ready.
Do I need to dispute an error with the creditor or the bureau?
You only need to dispute with the bureau — they will contact the creditor as part of their investigation. However, you can also contact the creditor directly to ask them to correct the error on their end. Doing both sometimes speeds up the process.