How To Get a Free Credit Report

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Your credit report is an important tool that U.S. consumers can use to monitor their financial health. Have you viewed yours lately?

Money expert Clark Howard is a firm believer of checking your credit report regularly to stay on top of any changes or discrepancies. Now that credit reports are as accessible as ever online, it behooves you to know how to see yours.

What Is the Best Site To Get a Free Credit Report?

Consumers can get a free credit report from the three major credit unions online at AnnualCreditReport.com. Other sites offer you versions of your credit report, but only AnnualCreditReport.com is federally authorized to do so.

In this article, we’ll show you how to access your free ExperianTransUnion and Equifax credit reports from AnnualCreditReport.com. It’s important to review all three reports, because they may not all contain the same information.

How Do I Get a Credit Report? A Guide

By federal law, you are entitled to one free copy of your credit report from each of the bureaus every 12 months. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the credit bureaus made the reports accessible every week through 2023. But now free credit reports are available every week permanently.

To get your reports, you will need to provide some personal information — including your Social Security number — select the reports you want, and then request and review each report.

Note that you may have to answer some additional security questions about past places of residence and old accounts you may have to get access to your reports, so be prepared for that.

Now let’s go over the steps for you to get your free credit reports from the three major credit bureaus. Once you access your credit reports, it’s a good idea to save or print them so that you can have them for later.

How To Get a Free Credit Report From Equifax

To get your free credit report from Equifax, visit AnnualCreditReport.com.

  • Click on “Request your free credit report.”
  • Fill out the form, which includes giving your name, birthday, Social Security number and address.
  • If you have lived at your current address for less than two years, you’ll need to enter your previous address.
  • Select “Equifax” when it asks you which credit report you want to view and hit “Next.”
get a free credit report from Equifax

Screenshot via annualcreditreport.com

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Next, you’ll need to verify your identity.

Add your phone number and email address in the form and hit “Next.”

Verify your identity with Equifax for your free credit report.

Screenshot via annualcreditreport.com

After you enter your phone number, you’ll need to elect to receive a one-time code via text message or email. Once you enter the code onto the screen, your Equifax credit report will appear on the screen.

Equifax free credit report

Screenshot via annualcreditreport.com

Once you view your Equifax credit report, don’t forget to save it and/or print it.

You can then use the menu in the top right corner to move to another agency credit report.

How To Get a Free Credit Report From TransUnion

To get your free credit report from TransUnion, go to AnnualCreditReport.com.

  • Click on “Request your free credit report.”
  • Fill out the form, which includes giving your name, birthday, Social Security number and address.
  • If you have lived at your current address for less than two years, you’ll need to enter your previous address.
  • Select “TransUnion” when it asks you which credit report you want to view and hit “Next.”
Request a free credit report.

You’ll then have to confirm your identity via a one-time code sent to your phone as a text message or call. Once you receive the code and put it in the form, it will access your TransUnion credit report. Save it and/or print it.

How To Get a Free Credit Report From Experian

To get your free credit report from TransUnion, go to AnnualCreditReport.com.

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  • Click on “Request your free credit report.”
  • Fill out the form, which includes giving your name, birthday, Social Security number and address.
  • If you have lived at your current address for less than two years, you’ll need to enter your previous address.
  • Select “Experian” when it asks you which credit report you want to view and hit “Next.”
How to get a free credit report from Experian.

Screenshot via annualcreditreport.com

Next, you’ll need to verify your identity.

These questions will be different from what the other two credit bureaus ask you. Experian asked me questions like what retail credit cards and banks I had accounts with.

Confirm your identity with Experian.

Screenshot via annualcreditreport.com

After completing the questions, you’ll be taken to your Experian credit report. Save it and/or print it.

Experian Credit Report

Screenshot via annualcreditreport.com

Although we’ve discussed getting your free credit report online on AnnualCreditReport.com, the website says you can also request it two other ways:

How To Get a Free Credit Report By Mail

To request your annual credit report by mail, download the request form.

Once you fill out the form, print it, put it inside a #10 envelope, pay for postage and mail it to:
Annual Credit Report Request Service P.O. Box 105281 Atlanta, GA 30348-5281

How To Get a Free Credit Report By Phone

You can also request your free credit report from AnnualCreditReport.com by phone by calling (877) 322-8228.

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Final Thoughts

Remember, your free credit reports are accessible every week — every seven days — and so if you try to view them more than that within a week’s time, the site won’t let you.

Checking your credit report may not be at the top of your list of things to do in your spare time, but it’s something Clark says you absolutely should do from time to time. Using any of the methods above, the process is relatively painless. Best of all, it’s free — and that’s Clark Smart.

Now what if you find a discrepancy on one of your credit reports?

The credit bureaus are not immune to errors. When you see something that doesn’t seem right on your reports, you can do something about it. Read our guide on how to get incorrect information removed from your credit report.

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