Personal Credit Check Information

This is the section of FACTA, the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act, that relates to personal credit checks and accessing your own credit report. Please read over this information carefully and follow the instructions to be safe and responsible when checking your own credit.

A. Free Reports

Consumer advocates have long encouraged individuals to monitor their credit reports as a way to detect identity theft. The standard advice was to request a copy of your credit report once a year from each of the three national credit bureaus: Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax. Until now, you usually had to pay up to $9.50 to get a copy of your report from each of these credit bureaus.

Congress recognized the benefits of self-monitoring. It adopted a new rule that allows you a free copy of your credit report annually from each of the “big three.” (Read more about the rulemaking on this provision.)

Should I contact each credit bureau for my free report?

No. The only way to get your free reports is through a centralized source, a combined effort by the three national bureaus. Free reports are available through a dedicated web site, annualcreditreport.com. You may order by telephone at ( 877) 322-8228 or by mail. For a copy of the mail-in form, go to https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/requestformfinal.pdf.

What is the best way to order my free reports?

We recommend you order free reports by telephone or mail. A World Privacy Forum report released in July 2005 exposed hundreds of imposter web sites. To read the full report and tips for ordering free reports, see www.worldprivacyforum.org/pdf/wpfcalldontclickpt2_7142005.pdf and www.privacyrights.org/media/calldontclickupdate.htm.

The FTC filed suit against one imposter site and sent warning letters to many others. Some bogus sites lure you in with “free” offers, but just want to sell you products like credit monitoring services. Others are outright frauds that aim to steal your personal information. To read more about fake sites, see www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/alerts/fakealrt.htm.

If you still prefer to order your free reports online, make sure you link to the only official web site. The safest way to do this is through the FTC's web site which includes more information on annual reports. www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/edcams/freereports/index.html. Never visit a site you find through a search for terms like "free credit reports," "free credit scores," or "free credit checks."

Am I still entitled to a free credit report if I am unemployed?

Yes, and for other reasons as well. You can still get a free copy of your credit report if you certify to the credit reporting agency that:

You are unemployed and intend to apply for employment in the 60-day period beginning on the date you make the certification.
Or you receive public welfare assistance.
Or you believe your file contains inaccurate information due to fraud.

FACTA also gives you new rights to a free credit report if you are a victim of identity theft. For more on this, see Section 2B below on fraud and active duty alerts.

In addition to free credit reports, FACTA gives you the right to one free report annually from a consumer reporting agency that compiles reports on employment, medical records, check writing, insurance, and housing rental history. For more on what FACTA calls "nationwide specialty consumer reporting agencies," see Section 8 below and PRC Fact Sheet 6b, The 'Other' Consumer Reports: What You Should Know About Specialty Reports, www.privacyrights.org/fs/fs6b-SpecReports.htm.

I live in one of the states that passed a law prior to FACTA giving residents free reports. Can I order an additional free credit report under my state's law?

Yes. The seven states that have laws on the books giving their residents a free credit report annually are: Colorado, Georgia (two per year), Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Vermont. If you live in one of these states, you can obtain a free report from each bureau annually under federal law and an additional free report under your state's law.