How to get your free credit report

Your credit reports can contain a wealth of information about you and your history with loans, credit cards and collection accounts. They’re also the basis for your credit scores and various organizations can use your credit reports to inform their decisions, including employers, landlords and insurance companies. 

Reviewing your credit report can give you insight into what others will see, plus you might spot errors that might be hurting your credit score or be the result of identity theft. 

How to get a free credit report

You can get free copies of your credit reports directly from each of the major consumer credit bureaus — Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion — on AnnualCreditReport.com. You can use the website to request a report from one, two or all three bureaus at once. 

The federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) gives you the right to a free copy of each of your credit report from each bureau once every 12 months — hence the “annual” in the website’s name. However, in response to the coronavirus pandemic, the credit bureaus began offering free weekly copies. They’ve extended the offering several times and have made free weekly reports a permanent feature.

The FCRA additionally requires the credit bureaus to give you a free copy of your credit report in certain circumstances:

• You suspect someone stole your identity and add a fraud alert to your credit report.
• You think there’s an error on your credit report due to identity theft or fraud.
• You receive public assistance.
• You’re unemployed and expect to apply for a job within 60 days.
• After someone takes an adverse action against you based on your credit report—such as denying your application for a new credit card or loan. However, you might only be able to get a copy from the bureau(s) that the person also used. 

Additionally, you can get free copies of your credit reports from the credit bureaus after creating accounts on their websites:

• Experian gives you a free credit report with updates every 30 days. 
• Equifax will offer you at least six free reports each year through 2027.
• TransUnion offers a free credit report with daily updates. 

There are also companies, such as Credit Karma and WalletHub, that give you free copies of your credit reports — the type of report and frequency that the reports are refreshed will vary from one company to the next. Typically, the companies will make money by getting you to pay for a subscription with additional benefits or when you apply for a new credit account or loan through the website. 

Get a free credit report if you don’t have a Social Security number

The credit bureaus can create credit reports based on various personal and account information, and you don’t need to have a Social Security number (SSN) to build credit. However, all the online services —including AnnualCreditReport.com — require an SSN. 

If you have an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN), you can request a copy of your credit report by mailing your requests directly to each of the bureaus. In addition to providing your ITIN in your letter, you typically have to include identifying information such as your name and address, a copy of a utility bill, bank statement or insurance statement and a copy of a valid ID card (like your driver’s license). 

Why your three credit reports could be different

Although they’re often discussed in tandem, the credit bureaus are competitors, and each company maintains its own credit files. Your credit reports from Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion will generally be similar, but they’re rarely identical. 

One reason is that when you apply for a new credit account, the creditor will generally request one of your credit reports and a credit score based on that report. A record of the credit check — called a hard credit inquiry — will be added to your credit file at that bureau. But the inquiry won’t appear in your credit reports from the other two bureaus.

Additionally, companies that report information to the credit bureaus, such as credit card issuers, lenders, and collection agencies, can choose which bureaus they want to send information to. Many major companies report your accounts and account activity to all three, but some might only report to one or two of the bureaus.

You might also notice differences in your credit reports based on when the report was created. For example, one service might give you a free Experian credit report that’s updated monthly, and another might offer a free TransUnion report daily. Even if a creditor reports your account to both of the bureaus, the most-recent account information might not be in the Experian report you receive.

When and why should you check your credit scores?

Your credit reports are the basis for your credit scores, but a free credit report won’t always come with a credit score — the ones from AnnualCreditReport.com don’t. 

If you want to check your credit score, review the lists from FICO and VantageScore, the two main credit scoring agencies, to see where you can get a free score. Many banks and credit card issuers offer free scores. 

The score you receive can depend on which FICO or VantageScore scoring model the company uses and which credit report the scoring model analyzes—and there are hundreds of potential combinations. As a result, the score you check won’t necessarily be the same one a creditor uses to make a decision. 

Still, credit scores are often similar, and having a ballpark idea of where you’re at can be helpful if you’re applying for a new account. For example, if you have a low credit score, you might want to apply for a credit card that can help you rebuild your credit. Or, if you have a high score, you might qualify for some of the best rewards cards.

But don’t wait until the last minute to check your score because improving your credit score can take time. It’s best to check your credit reports and scores right away, try to understand what’s hurting or helping your score, and then work on improving your credit before applying.