Where and How to Get Your Free Yearly Credit Report

Federal law states that every consumer is allowed one free copy each year, but really, you can get three.

Credit reporting is a business. The big three credit bureaus in the U.S. – Experian, Equifax and TransUnion – all make money selling your reports. But just because it’s big business doesn’t mean there’s no government control. In fact, federal law states that every consumer can get one free credit report for each bureau once per year.

Free Credit Report FAQ

With all the services claiming to offer free reports when they’re really selling a credit monitoring service, it’s hard to know what’s real and what’s a marketing ploy. So, we’ve made this handy FAQ to answer all your questions about yearly credit reports…

Getting your free credit report

If you use the website:

1. You log on to the website, annualcreditreport.com.
2. Click the button to “Request Your Free Credit Reports”
3. Fill out personal information to let the site know who you are. This includes things like date of birth, Social Security Number and current address.
4. Answer a few security questions to prove you’re you (the questions relate to info contained in your report).
5. Choose which report you want – Experian, Equifax, TransUnion. You can also choose to get all three at once.
6. Then the portal gives you a link to each credit bureau website where you can download their version of your credit profile.

If you call or complete the form you basically provide all the information you provide on the website. You tell them how many reports you want. Then they mail you hard copies to the current mailing address you provide.

Why we get a free credit report once a year

Credit reporting agencies make mistakes – so do lenders, creditors and collectors who report to them. Mistakes in reporting happen more often than you’d think.

• 1 in 4 reports contain incorrect information
• 1 in 20 contain a mistake that would damage the consumer’s credit score by 25 points or more

So, it’s in your best interest to review your credit regularly. That way, you can check for mistakes and correct them. This will help you avoid unpleasant surprises when you apply for a loan or credit card. If you find any issues, go through the credit repair process to get them removed.

States that grant you additional copies each year

There are seven states that grant state residents one additional credit report copy every year.

• Colorado
• Georgia
• Maine
• Maryland
• Massachusetts
• New Jersey
• Vermont

If you live in one of these states, you get an extra copy from each credit reporting company. That means six credit reports free per year instead of just three. You can basically check your report every two months, to ensure you have an error-free profile.

Just be aware that it’s a little hard to get the extra copies. You must contact each bureau directly to request your free state file.