How to Get Your Free Credit Report Online: A Step-by-Step Guide
Tuesday, 27th October 2009 (by Adam Baker) This article is by GRS staff writer Adam Baker.
The statistics on credit reports errors are staggering. A 2004 U.S. PIRG survey showed that 79% of credit reports contained either serious errors or other mistakes of some kind. 79%? Seriously? How can that be?
I guess it doesn’t help that as of 2006, 27% of adults had never checked their report for errors. Not once. Ever.
Getting your hands on a free copy of your credit report and checking it for errors is one of the easiest ways to help your financial health. Correcting even a small mistake can make a huge difference to your score. A higher score means lower interest rates, insurance quotes, and can even help you land some types of jobs. And it’s never been easier to get a copy of your free credit report.
AnnualCreditReport.com is a government-approved site that enables most people to gain access to their reports within minutes. Under law, you have the right to obtain a free credit report from each of the three major credit bureaus once every twelve months. Courtney and I stagger our requests so that we are able to access a different bureau every four months.
I don’t think people realize just how simple it can be to check your report! Below, I’ve taken step-by-step screen shots of each leg of the process:
- Next, enter the required information (marked with a red *).
- I recommend checking the box (I’ve highlighted with the red arrow) to hide your social security number should you print out the report.
- Enter in the security code and select “Continue”.
- On this page you can select the bureau (or bureaus) you’d like to get your credit report from.
- You can view all at once, but you’ll have to wait another full 12 months before re-visiting the same bureau. (In other words, if you pull all three at the same time, you can’t check any of them for free for an entire year.)
- Courtney and I stagger our request and only pull one every four months.
- Click “Next”.
- This screen is just a confirmation that you’ll be visiting the specific site of the bureau you selected.
- Click “Next”.
- You are now asked to verify your identity on the specific site of the bureau.
- This is Experian, although TransUnion and Equifax have similar confirmation screens.
- Enter your information and press the red “SUBMIT”.
- Experian would now like to make a quick buck.
- Avoid the upsell, and click “Annual Credit Report” highlighted below.
- Next is the Order Summary screen.
- Verify the amount is $0.00 (Free).
- Check the Terms & Conditions box. (If your name is J.D., you’ll want to read the whole damn thing before checking the box.)
- Click the red “SUBMIT” button.
- Lastly, you have one more confirmation screen before gaining access to the report.
- Experian asks you four security questions regarding information on the file.
- Answer the questions (some may very well be “NONE OF THE ABOVE”).
- Click the red “CONTINUE” button.
- Now you have access to your credit report!
- Look over the Summary, Negative Items, Accounts in Good Standing, Requests, Personal Information, and Personal Statement tabs at the top.
- Notice the “print your report” link I’ve highlighted in case you want to retain a copy.
- As always, avoid the upsells to keep your access free!
Note: Courtney and I have placed a security freeze on our credit reports since paying off our last credit card. Even with a credit report freeze, you can still obtain your free copy through AnnualCreditReport.com.
In the rare case you are denied access…
If for one reason or another you are unable to obtain online access, you still have options for getting your free reports. You can:
- Call 1-877-322-8228 to obtain a copy by phone; or
- Complete the Annual Credit Report Request Form and mail it to: Annual Credit Report Request Service, P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281.
So what are you waiting for? If you’ve put this off in the past, schedule a time to get your free copy and review it for errors! Your credit score and your wallet will thank you.
Special thanks to Andrew Norcross for his technical help in enabling me access to take these screenshots from New Zealand!
This article is about Money Hacks, Tools
Nice instructional post! I remember getting scammed on that freecreditreport.com site a couple years ago. (They sign you up for some credit monitoring service). Plus I hate their commercials!
Thanks for showing us the right way to check your credit report.
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Thank you so much for writing this! This is a huge help. I’m 24-years-old, and now I will finally check my credit report for the first time.
The screenshots are a little blurred, so I apologize if I’m asking something that’s supposed to be visible: Do you see your actual numerical credit score on the Report Summary screen?
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I have a question, but this website is so not setup to ask them a question.
I just changed my name. Like. A couple weeks ago. (Got hitched.) Not all of my accounts have made the switch, but most have. Is this thing going to freak out when I put my soc. number with my new name?
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Note that AnnualCreditReport checks to see if you’re located in the US first, and won’t let you access your credit report otherwise. Quite a hassle for financially-minded Americans living abroad.
@Stephanie: No, you won’t get your actual credit score, just a report where you can validate information and report inconsistencies.
Does anyone know how to get your credit score for free? (I’ve heard of people signing up for 30-day trials and cancelling, but I’m always wary of that method.)
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I stagger my 3 free lunches too.
It’s worth noting that an error can exist on one report and not the other – it happened to me.
On Experian only I was the proud owner of a $294,000 mortgage from 5/3rd (what kind of a stupid bank name is that anyway?) but did not actually own the house accompanying the mortgage!
I made a few calls and had it removed, it was pretty simple really. Apparently there was a guy with a very similar name and SSN#.
Anyway, take Baker’s advice here – only use that free site and go get your report(s).
Cheers!
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@Stephanie – As Bob accurately pointed out, you will not receive your numeric score, but rather just the report. Good to hear you are going to look it over, though!
@Bob – I only know of the 30-day trials. Like you, I’m extremely weary of any of those options. I’ve heard decent things about MyFico.com’s trial, but am not familiar with it enough to recommend it.
@Matt – You make a great point! Usually this Identity Theft issue only shows up on one of the reports. The others do a better job of keeping it from being put back on.
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Stephanie (#1),
You don’t get to see your actual “credit score” by viewing the free report. You only get to see all the elements that go into making up the score.
In order to your numerical credit score, you have to sign up for the 30-day trial.
If you decide to do this, know that you will get to see your credit score…for free…but getting these kinds of sites to cancel your free trial can be a real hassle. If you’re not firm and consistent with them until they cancel it, you’ll likely end up paying for a service you never actually wanted.
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I love annualcreditreport.com! I recommend it to all my clients. Great explanation here, Baker!
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You can get your credit score for free on Creditkarma.com. I’ve used it for a few months and it’s pretty accurate. My score was within a few points of when we got a real credit score pulled by our mortgage lender when we bought a new home in July.
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I’ve used creditkarma.com to get a free score in the past after reading good reviews about the site, but I believe they only report from one agency. Better than nothing, I suppose.
If you’re strong willed, a free 30 day trial is probably the easiest way to get all 3 scores.
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great post and explanation, thanks.
As a former credit card company employee, I’d second the recommendation to keep track of your credit history. Errors are made on a regular basis, they can hurt your credit scores – but they are usually easy to fix if you notify the credit reporting agency and the creditor that is reporting the incorrect information. Even seemingly minor details – like the fact that an account was closed at YOUR request, vs. the creditor’s request, can make a difference. And making sure that accounts that you closed are reflected as closed can help your scores. My husband and I were both able to raise our credit scores significantly before we applied for a mortgage just by making some “minor” corrections to our credit histories.
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Is there a Canadian equivalent to this site?
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Thanks Baker, Creditkarma.com does give you a free credit score but it’s only from Transunion. The good news is you can get it as often as you like even though it’s only updated once a month AND it’s a soft pull.
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Thank you! I’m 26 and have been terrified of money my entire life (terrified in the sense that I earn it and then put it in a savings account and go, “Don’t do ANYTHING. Just stay where I can see you.” *watches it nervously, to make sure it doesn’t go getting me in debt somehow*), and have just started trying to learn about personal finances so I can get over that—paying close attention to the terms of the accounts I hold, learning about my 403(b), checking my credit reports, etc. Any service like this that makes it easier to gain access to the information I need is much appreciated! I’ll use this to check out my credit report this weekend.
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Thanks for the walk-through, it was very helpful. However, then I went to creditkarma.com to see my actual numerical score – got that – but there’s no explanation of whether it’s good or bad. Where do I find that?
Second question: If the government really wanted this to be easy, wouldn’t you think it WOULD be easier? Why do I have to go to an outside source to get my numerical score? Why don’t they tell you right on the results page, what that score means? Why, in other words, is it so fucking complicated? My spidey sense tells me that the credit industry wrote the bill requiring consumers to be able to access their reports and scores…
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I’ve never understood how this “industry” gets away with having such influence over Americans and keeps so much information concealed. Don’t want to get political here, but this is one of the few spaces that I would really like to see the government add more rules and regulations, and during the entire financial fallout no one even breathed a word about it. Sorry to get on a soapbox but I really find the whole credit score system to be rather obscene and Orwellian. Anyone else with me here or am I missing something?
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Baker, screenshots are SO oldschool! Video is way better. Plus, it gives me an excuse to see you in that sexy white T-shirt again.
-Erica
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I know this makes me an outlier amongst those on GRS, but for years I obtained my free reports, staggered every 4 months, but it’s so much of a hassle (and sometimes you get bounced even when you answer the questions right – part of a marketing strategy of course) that I now gladly pay for USAA’s credit monitoring service and can access reports and scores anytime without hassles.
Yes, it costs me money, but it also saves me much time and hassle. To each their own, right?
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I tried the one from Experian and it was around $20 to see my report 3 times and $20 per month to monitor changes in credit score.
I recently changed to Bank of America’s Privacy Assist and for $20/month it gives me all 3 credit scores and reports and emails me whenever there is any change. It is the cheapest one that does everything I have found so far. They were a bit of a pain to start though – I had to fax them proof I was me.
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I stopped caring. Five years ago I fell behind on a lot of bills, and ended up with a really crappy credit report. I just decided “oh well, I can live life without a high credit score.”
I can. It’s easy. My life now, five years after I stopped caring about my ruined credit score, is better than it’s ever been. Keep in mind that it takes *seven* years for items to fall off your credit report, so I’ve been doing just fine with all my late payments and accounts sent to collections and whatever else still on there.
It’s in the credit industry’s best interest to convince you your credit report is important — it makes it more likely they’ll get paid. But really, it doesn’t matter nearly as much as everyone says.
I have a friend who’s 31 years old and has never had a credit score. He’s never borrowed money for anything. He buys cars cash and has been saving to buy a house in cash when he decides he wants one. I think he’s got about enough saved up by now, too. I don’t know exactly how much, but he’s got six figures in savings and investments. He’s never needed a credit score in his life and he’s better off financially than pretty much everyone, and he’s only 31.
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Nice guide, a lot of help guides give the basics but really those are still too tough for a newbie. Thanks for the guide, will help when the times comes.
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I stopped caring as well, but for a different reason. It was high enough. I pay my balance in full every month, never had a missed payment and had a credit card since 18. Never closed one either. The only time I cared was when fishing for a mortgage. I checked, it turned out all accurate and then I found a free “score estimator” that said I was in the 780-800 range so I just went ahead with the mortgage work. Don’t Carry a balance on a card and the score/report only matters at key moments and can be fixed before hand.
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I’d like to know the process for disputing multiple errors on credit reports. I looked at my credit report recently and found that a lot of information on it belonged to a girl who has my same first and last name that I used to attend classes with in college–and who lives in the same county as I do! Her information includes bank accounts, a mortgage(!), SSN, telephone numbers, addresses, and other info that is definitely not mine–but is all mixed in with my own info.
How do I begin sorting this out? What is the best, least time-consuming way for me to I prove to the credit companies that I am me and not her?
The problem is I’ve opened up and closed a lot of bank accounts in my day because I alternated between full-/part-time employment and full-time course loads throughout my college career (spending all of the money I earned while working when I went back to school, effectively draining my checking accounts). Now I can’t remember what exactly what accounts I opened, so I don’t know how to begin sifting through the dozens of accounts on my credit report and identifying which ones are mine…
Help!
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@Tyler – the only problem with your approach is events like car insurance, job interviews, renting an apartment, even getting a cell phone, etc usually pull a credit report/score.
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Baker, this is a very important post. A few months back I checked my credit for the first time, and while I am happy to report I am in excellent standing, the report wasn’t without its errors.
Apparently there was some random credit card that I have had for 3 years that I knew nothing about. Ensuring that everything on your credit report is accurate is really easy to do and could potentially save you a lot of headache further down the road. Thanks for posting such a useful guide!
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@ Christina- I know that consumer credit counselors can help with credit report issues. I believe they provide a service where they pull your report and help you with inaccuracies and any disputes you may have. There is a small fee for the service but well worth it to have someone help you with the headache.
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If you really want to know your ACTUAL credit score without paying any money, go to your local credit union and apply for a car loan. They’ll do a hard pull, so it will ding your score by a couple points, but hey, i never actually said it wouldn’t cost you anything. I then asked the employee to tell me my score and they did.
The only score that matters (or the one referred to as THE credit score) comes from FICO. As far as i can tell, creditkarma uses their own formula, so it’s only an estimate. Nowhere on the site does it explain how it arrives at your score.
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Great post. I don’t think most people realize that there is a 100% free way to get your credit report without having to signup for some other bogus offer. Nicely done!
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@Kevin M:
I’ve got car insurance, a good job, rent a house, and have no problem whatsoever getting cell phone service. You say this is “the only problem” — what problem is that exactly? I have all those things.
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@threeoutside – FICO scores range from 300-850; anything above 700 is considered good enough to help you obtain better terms. Although a score below 700 won’t automatically disqualify your application, you may not be able to obtain the best rates, and scores below 660 may prevent you from qualifying for certain credit. VantageScore’s range is from 501-990. A score above 700 is considered good enough that a consumer shouldn’t be denied credit solely based on the score. A score below 700 may prevent you from obtaining credit in certain cases.
If you’re planning to apply for a mortgage or other loan, always ask your creditor what credit score will obtain the best terms (because creditors’ definitions will vary!)
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Its great that you provided screenshots. There are lots of other ripoff sites out there whose names are very close to the real thing
Good stuff
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I’m a user of creditkarma.com. I also use quizzle.com. CreditKarma.com soft pulls from TransUnion and Quizzle.com soft pulls from Experian. Quizzle.com also allows you to see your credit report as well. Both website have their own features on rating or comparing how your credit is. So then it becomes a question of playing with the features and seeing what you like better. I use them to get actual scores and credit information. Very useful
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I checked my free annual credit report, but only one of the agencies could actually verify my existence, the other two said they couldn’t find me. I am 27, I have student loans, a number of credit cards (one from 2002), a savings and checking account, a car loan, etc.. How could I not exist to two of the three agencies? I was out of the country for a couple of years, but have been back for a while and am established here now. Creditkarma has had no problem finding me.
When I applied for another credit card recently, I was refused, the reason being that they couldn’t find enough information about me, so they had to reject me?
Any idea how I can establish my identity with all three credit agencies?
Also, how long does it take for an immigrant (with a good job!) to the US to establish decent credit to get a decent mortgage on a house?
thanks
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Great post, I’ve been staggering when I check my reports every four months for just over a year now. The only problem that I encountered was that one Reporting Bureau (I think Experian?) wouldn’t let me check my report online so they mailed it to me instead. Other than that I have not had a problem.
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Just wondering, if you never need to take on debt, do people ever need to know their credit score?
I guess it’s good to know if you’ve been delinquent, but otherwise you don’t really need to find out. The system is pretty good where everybody’s credit scores are reasonable if they are responsible creditors.
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Great reminder as this is coming due for me! I looked at my credit report for the first time on October 31 last year. I looked at all three at the time … now I know to stagger them!
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Timely post Baker.
I’m going through a “freeze” period right now and happen to be one of those rare cases of being denied access to credit reports. I’m sure with some effort I could have sifted the contact info out, but this makes it too easy. Now I’ll just have to hope that the phone prompts aren’t as convoluted as my cellular provider’s “customer service”…
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Thanks for the information, the search for errors has begun!
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J.D.,
Thanks so much for this article. As a Realtor I have been encouraging my Buyer clients to always pull a FREE copy of their credit before they initiate the home buying process. I also have my renters pull their own credit to present along with their rental application and references to their prospective Landlord, if they will accept it, and that helps them to avoid an unnecessary Third Party Inquiry on their credit report. I will be referring all of my students and clients to this posting. Thanks for this…
Randy Wilburn
RealEstateGuyPodcast.com
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So, what do you do if:
- all three bureaus are reporting that my oldest credit card (and one with the largest available balance) was “closed at the credit grantor’s request”
- the credit card company has no idea why that is, since they say they are still reporting my account information every month
- the disputes with each of the credit bureaus were denied because they found the information to be accurate (i.e. my account to be closed)
- I use the account every month for my gym membership and pay it off, so clearly it is still open
Any ideas?
I signed up for a credit-monitoring service after the disputes to see if anything changed. Nothing changed for 6 months or so. I quit the service. I also haven’t pulled my report since this disheartening experience, because if I can’t change something as seemingly straightforward as an account still being open, why bother. I might be willing to try it again, but I would like to know how to make the dispute actually get to the correct information.
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@Danna – “I use the account every month for my gym membership and pay it off, so clearly it is still open”
I’m not sure that’s true. At one point when I canceled a credit card they said that they would continue to process charges to my account if I had already agreed to them (or something along those lines).
In this instance my thinking is that if you agreed to have your gym bill the credit card, then your credit card closed your account, the card would still make the payments since you had initiated this process while the account was still open.
Have you tried to use the card for any other purchases?
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@Salvatore
Yes, I have used the card for other purchases. I also switched my gym membership to that credit card after the credit bureau debacle so I would start getting regular monthly statements again.
Either way, my credit card company says it’s open. And there is no reason for them to have closed it as it has been in regular use even before my gym membership was put on it.
Thanks for trying…
Danna
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I didn’t see the requirement that you had to cancel your subscription in order not to be charged fees for seeing your report. I was charge on two different cards. I notified my card companies and they revoked the charges. To make sure they did not charge me again I had my cc numbers changed. Later the Credit Report. com sent me a notice that my card numbers had been changed, perhaps to try to charge me again? So beware, nothing is free!
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Thanks a lot for your guidance. I followed you step by step and got it all working perfect. BTW: Thanks for letting us know what NOT to click on while on that site.
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Are there any comparable websites for the Canadian readers?
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