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FREE Credit Reports

Can I Really Get My Credit Report for Free?

Yes. In an amendment to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, known as the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA), one of the most notable rights granted to U.S. consumers is the ability to obtain a free copy of their credit file disclosure, or "Personal Credit Report", once every twelve months from each of the national credit reporting agencies (Equifax, Experian, TransUnion, and Innovis).

The right to obtain a free copy of the credit report was phased-in across portions of the United States over a nine month period, and is now available in every U.S. state and territory. FACTA language and the credit bureaus refer to this free report as an "annual credit file disclosure". This consumer right extends only to your credit report itself, and does not include your credit score. You must still purchase your credit score from the bureaus, if desired, and the bureaus provide you with constant reminders and opportunities to do so.

How Frequently Can I Request My Free Credit Reports?

Though it is referred to as an "annual credit file disclosure", it is important to distinguish that the time period between free report requests from each individual credit bureau is actually 12 months, not "annually" or in a calendar year. For example, if you request your free FACTA credit file disclosure from a credit reporting agency in December of 2008, you will not be able to submit a request for another free FACTA credit file disclosure from that same credit reporting agency in January of 2009. You will have to wait until December 2009 to be able to order another free report from that agency.

FRAUDFacts Tip: Because many creditors only report to the bureaus once per month or quarter, you can stagger your FACTA free credit file requests and request a copy of your file from one bureau at a time throughout the year (i.e. one every three or four months), in a form of limited self credit monitoring. Reviewing each report at least once per year is certainly more preferable than not at all. However, be aware that creditors may still attempt to hold you liable for fraudulent accounts or transactions that are not identified and reported as such in a timely manner, citing "negligence" on your part. To avoid this situation, prompt and careful review of your monthly account statements is important, and more frequent monitoring of your credit files may be beneficial.

How Can I Order My Free Credit Reports?

There are three ways for you to request your free annual credit file disclosure (or "personal credit report"), from the national credit bureaus - Equifax, Experian, TransUnion, and Innovis. Regardless of which method you use to request your report, you will be required to verify your identity by providing personal information including, but not limited to: your full name, date of birth, and Social Security number.

Note: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion have established joint processes for allowing consumers to request their free annual credit reports. Innovis reports must be requested through separate processes, which are also provided below.

Option 1: Order Through the Official Website

To Request Your Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion Reports: To obtain your free annual credit file disclosure from one or all of the three primary national credit reporting agencies, you can visit their official website: http://www.annualcreditreport.com

To Request Your Innovis Report: You will need to order your Innovis report separately from the Innovis website: http://www.innovis.com/pers_orderCreditReport.html

CAUTION! There are some important issues to be aware of when ordering your report(s) through the official website:

1. There are dozens of websites that are deceptively similar in name. http://www.annualcreditreport.com/ is the only official website from which to obtain your free reports from these three bureaus. The official site does not use pop-up ads, and the reports are free - you are not required to enroll in any programs. Many of the deceptively similar websites are actually fee-based sites operated by the credit bureaus themselves. Be certain to look at the address in your Internet browser's address bar, not at the information shown in search engine results.

2. There are hundreds of fraudulent websites established that attempt to take advantage of consumers who inadvertently mistype the official website address. Be very careful to confirm that you have correctly typed the site's Internet address in your web browser before proceeding.

3. You should pay careful attention to the opt-in / opt-out marketing and promotion options that are displayed on the bureaus' individual request pages. In some cases the default option is set as an affirmative, or "opt-in", which means that you are indicating that you do desire to be sent promotions and other marketing materials by the bureau or its partners unless you manually change the option setting or un-check the box prior to submitting your request.

4. When ordering your free report, be prepared to receive and navigate through numerous offers to purchase your credit score and enroll in various fee-based credit monitoring services offered by the bureaus.

Option 2: Call Toll Free

To avoid many of the issues with the official website, you can also request your free report by calling the special toll free number established by the credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion):
1-877-322-8228

Innovis maintains a separate toll free number for ordering reports: 1-800-540-2505

Option 3: Print and Mail the Annual Credit Report Request Form

You may also obtain the credit reporting agencies' Annual Credit Report Request Forms and mail your request for your free credit reports.

Note: The Annual Credit Report Request Form is included in the Download Library section of FRAUDFacts, as well as a convenient FACTA Credit Report Request Register.

For Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion:

You can obtain the Annual Credit Report Request Form from: https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/requestformfinal.pdf

Print and mail the completed form to:

Annual Credit Report Request Service
P.O. Box 105281
Atlanta, Georgia
30348-5281

For Innovis:

You can obtain the Annual Credit Report Request Form from: http://www.innovis.com/forms/formOrderReport.html

Print and mail the completed form to:

Innovis
Attention: Consumer Assistance
P.O. Box 1358
Columbus, Ohio
43216-1358

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