The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), a federal consumer protection agency, says people can check their credit reports for free at AnnualCreditReport.com. If a report has wrong or incomplete information, the FTC says both the credit bureau and the business that supplied the information must correct it, and they must do so for free. A credit bureau is a company that collects credit information and sells it to businesses.
The steps below follow what the FTC states on two of its consumer pages, dated April 2024 and November 2023.
Why the credit report matters
According to the FTC, credit bureaus sell the information in a report to businesses. Those businesses use it to decide whether to lend money, give credit, offer insurance or rent a home. The FTC adds that some employers use credit reports in hiring decisions, and that the strength of a credit history affects how much a person pays to borrow money.
The FTC says a credit report holds information about whether bills are paid on time, which loans and credit cards a person has and the amounts owed, and whether the person has filed for bankruptcy. It also says checking a report is a way to spot identity theft. The FTC describes identity theft as someone using personal information, such as a name, Social Security number or account numbers, without permission. For suspected identity theft, the FTC points to IdentityTheft.gov, where a person can report it and get a personalized recovery plan.
How to get free copies
The FTC says each of the three major credit bureaus, Experian, Equifax and TransUnion, must give a free copy of a credit report once every 12 months on request. The place to ask is AnnualCreditReport.com. Otherwise, the FTC says, a bureau may charge a reasonable amount for another copy within a 12-month period.
The FTC also says the three bureaus have permanently extended a program that lets anyone in the United States check a report from each bureau once a week for free at AnnualCreditReport.com. In addition, according to the FTC, anyone in the United States can get six free Equifax reports per year through 2026 by using the Equifax website or phone line. The FTC notes that each bureau gets its information from different sources, so the reports may not match completely.
The FTC lists situations that bring another free report in a year. These are being unemployed and planning to look for a job within 60 days, being on public assistance, and having a report that is inaccurate because of fraud, including identity theft. A company that takes “adverse action” because of something in a credit report, such as turning down an application for credit or a job, also triggers the right to another free report. The FTC says a person must ask within 60 days of being notified, and the company’s notice names the credit bureau that supplied the report.
How to dispute an error
The FTC says a dispute goes to two places: the credit bureau and the business that reported the wrong information. It advises disputing with each credit bureau that shows the mistake. The FTC says the bureaus accept disputes by mail, online or by phone, and its page lists the mailing addresses and phone numbers.
For a dispute with a bureau, the FTC advises explaining in writing what is wrong. It says to include the bureau’s dispute form if it has one, plus copies of documents that support the dispute, and to keep records of everything sent. The FTC says the letter should ask the bureau to remove or correct the information and should include:
the complete name and address of the person disputing; each mistake and why it is a mistake; copies, not originals, of supporting documents; and a copy of the report with the mistakes circled. The FTC also advises sending the letter by certified mail with a return receipt, so there is a record that the bureau received it.
For a dispute with the business that supplied the information, the FTC says the letter should state that errors are being disputed. It should include the same details: name and address, each inaccurate item and why, and copies of supporting documents. The FTC notes that many businesses want disputes sent to a particular address. If none appears on the report or online, it says to contact the business and ask for the correct one.
What happens after a dispute
According to the FTC, the credit bureau has 30 days to investigate, however the dispute was filed. If the bureau considers a request “frivolous” or “irrelevant,” it may stop investigating, but it must notify the person and give the reason. The FTC gives the example that more evidence may be needed.
The bureau also forwards the evidence to the business that reported the information. The business must investigate and report back to the bureau. If the business finds its information inaccurate, the FTC says, it must notify all three nationwide bureaus so they can correct the file.
The FTC says the bureau must give the results in writing. If the dispute leads to a change, the bureau must also provide a free copy of the report, which does not count as the free annual report. If asked, the bureau must send notice of a correction to anyone who received the report in the past six months. It must also send notice to anyone who received it for employment purposes in the past two years.
If the investigation does not settle the matter, the FTC says a person can ask that a statement of the dispute be added to the file and to future reports. A person can also ask the bureau to give that statement to those who recently received the report, though the FTC says the bureau can be expected to charge a fee for that. If a business keeps reporting information that is disputed, the FTC says it must tell the bureau about the dispute, and the bureau must include a notice that the information is disputed. The FTC advises reviewing the report afterward to confirm the inaccurate information was removed or that the notice was added.
Correct information and credit repair claims
The FTC says accurate negative information, such as late payments, can stay on a report. According to the FTC, most negative information can be reported for seven years and bankruptcy information for 10 years. The FTC also says that when someone is considered for a job paying more than $75,000 a year, or for a loan or insurance valued at more than $150,000, a bureau may include older negative information. Those figures come from an FTC page dated November 2023.
The FTC says no company can legally remove information that is both accurate and current. It describes credit repair companies as businesses that people hire to help investigate mistakes, and says anything they can legally do, a person can do for little or no cost. The FTC says it is illegal for these companies to lie about what they can do or to charge before they help. It also says they must explain legal rights in a written contract covering the services, a three-day right to cancel, the time needed, the total cost and any guaranteed results.
The FTC lists signs of a scam. These include insisting on payment first, telling a person not to contact the credit bureaus directly, advising a dispute of information known to be accurate, or advising lies on credit applications or a false identity theft report. To report a credit repair scam, the FTC points to ReportFraud.ftc.gov, a state attorney general and a state consumer protection office.