How to Get a Free Credit Report

John S Kiernan, Managing EditorMay 4, 2022

John S Kiernan, Managing Editor
May 4, 2022

To get a free credit report, consumers can use one of many free credit report websites that work with the credit bureaus, such as WalletHub. Everyone also is entitled to a free annual credit report from each major credit bureau through the government-sponsored site AnnualCreditReport.com.

Getting a free credit report is usually quick and easy, and it’s important to take advantage of this service. Looking at your credit report on a regular basis keeps you informed about your credit history, and it gives you the opportunity to immediately correct any errors that might appear. You can learn more about how to get free credit reports and the benefit of doing so below.

Get Your Free Credit Report Now

Table of Contents

5 Steps to Get a Free Credit Report

Enter some basic personal information and set an account password.

Click on the “Credit Report” tab at the top right.

Set the slider to “Full Report.” You can also see your “Credit Timeline,” which is a simple summary of notable events.

Using WalletHub, the first website to offer free credit reports and scores that are updated on a daily basis, is one of the easiest and best ways to check your credit report for free. WalletHub also provides an early-warning system for credit-report changes in the form of 24/7 credit monitoring, plus customized guidance to help you save more money.

WalletHub isn’t the only place you can get a free credit report, though. The most important alternative is AnnualCreditReport.com, the government-sponsored site where we all can get a copy of each of our three major credit reports every 12 months. While WalletHub provides unlimited access to your full TransUnion credit report, updated daily, you can use AnnualCreditReport.com to review your other two reports, from Experian and Equifax, as well.

How to Get a Free Annual Credit Report:

Online: Visit AnnualCreditReport.com and click on “Request Your Free Credit Reports,” then fill out the request form, which will require your name, address, Social Security number, and date of birth. Then, choose which bureau(s) you want a report from to view them online.

By phone: Call 1-877-322-8228 and press 1, then follow the prompts. You will need to provide the same information as the online method.

By mail: Print and fill out the Annual Credit Report Request Form. Then, mail it to Annual Credit Report Request Service / PO Box 105281 / Atlanta, GA 30348-5281.

If you get a report from AnnualCreditReport.com, it’s best not to check your Experian, Equifax and TransUnion reports all at the same time. Review one of them now, and save the others for later, spreading them out across the year. Pulling your reports in rotation will help you ensure that you’re not missing anything for an extended period of time.

Just bear in mind that using only AnnualCreditReport.com would be a mistake, as it would normally blind you to credit-report changes for much of the year. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, however, all three credit bureaus are offering free reports weekly (rather than annually) on AnnualCreditReport.com through April 2021.

While WalletHub and AnnualCreditReport.com are the best options for getting a free credit report, there are plenty of other choices, too.

Where to Get a Free Credit Report

Company	Credit-Bureau Source	Frequency of Report Update	Average User Rating	Free Credit Score Provided?	24/7 Credit Monitoring Provided?
WalletHub	TransUnion	Daily	4.6 Stars	Yes	Yes
AnnualCreditReport.com	TransUnion Equifax Experian	Annually	5 Stars	No	No
Bankrate	TransUnion	Monthly	3.5 Stars	Yes	No
Credit Karma	TransUnion Equifax	Weekly	4.1 Stars	Yes	Yes
Quizzle	TransUnion	Every 3 Months	4.3 Stars	Yes	Yes
FreeCreditReport.com	Experian	Monthly	3.0 Stars	No	No

A number of other services offer credit report access as part of a paid package. We don’t recommend using them simply because there are so many free alternatives, but you can learn all about your options from our full comparison of the best credit report sites.

Why Check Your Credit Reports for Free?

A lot of people think that checking their credit score once in a while or just a short period before they apply for credit is enough to get by, and many others don’t even think that far. The truth is that you’re bound to miss a lot if you don’t review at least one of your credit reports on a regular basis. That’s problematic because what you don’t know about your credit can – and will – cost you.

Credit Bureaus Make Mistakes

Roughly one in four of us has a mistake on one of our major credit reports that is significant enough to result in rejection by a lender, landlord, insurer, employer or other type of creditor, according to a study by the Federal Trade Commission. Plus, even if you do get approved for a loan or line of credit despite this disadvantage, you’ll wind up needlessly wasting money on a worse offer than you truly deserve.

In other words, taking a few minutes to make sure your credit report is accurate – especially if your credit score isn’t excellent – is an investment that could save you big in terms of both time and money in the long run. If you find an error, you should dispute it right away.

Credit Reports Can Reveal Fraud

Financial fraud can take many forms, most of which will show on your credit report before anywhere else. The warning sign could be something as clear as an unknown account being opened in your name, a bankruptcy filing showing up in your public records or a collections account appearing unexpectedly. Or, it could be something as simple as a change to your listed name and address.

You might not notice signs of fraud if you don’t check your credit report regularly. You might even become a victim of identity theft. That’s why even if you’re not planning on applying for any credit or loans, you should still review your credit reports at least once a year. You should also make sure that your free-credit-report provider offers free 24/7 credit monitoring, too (like WalletHub!).

Improvement Requires Reflection

Reviewing your credit report will give you much-needed perspective, making it easier to determine what you’re doing right (e.g., on-time monthly payments) as well as which areas of your financial performance need improvement (e.g., high credit utilization). Both the good and the bad will inevitably affect your credit score, but they have to hit your credit report first, and they’ll be easier to diagnose when they’re there. WalletHub makes things easy on you by grading each component of your credit, telling you exactly where you’re excelling and lacking.

Some of these reasons are relevant all the time; others matter most when you’re planning to apply for a financial product. A mistake on your credit report could cost you thousands of dollars in interest over the life of a mortgage, for instance. Therefore, while you should try to review your report as regularly as possible, you should be extra thorough in the months leading up to a loan or credit card application.

Free Alternative Credit Reports

TransUnion, Experian and Equifax aren’t the only credit reporting agencies that track your financial performance. Tens of other companies across the country maintain data on your rent payments, check-writing history and insurance claims. Along with traditional credit data, this alternative information is then factored into the decisions made by financial institutions, landlords, employers and insurers.

Fortunately, the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) entitles consumers to free annual copies of these “specialty” reports. You can order them directly from the companies that compile them, and you can find contact information for each one in WalletHub’s Credit Reporting Agency Overview.

Ask the Experts: The Best Credit Reports in Life Are Free

Fortunately, it’s pretty easy to get a free credit report these days. But we could all stand to make some improvements in terms of how often we check and what we do with the information. So WalletHub convened a panel of personal finance experts for some tips and insights. Below, you can see who they are, what we asked them and how they recommend getting more from your free credit reports.

Do you think the average person knows how to get a free credit report?
Considering that credit reports are free, why don't people check them more often?
When you get your free credit report, what's the most important thing to do next?
Should people only get their credit reports from AnnualCreditReport.com?
What are the downsides of checking your credit report no more than three times per year?

Ask the Experts

Jeff Sovern
Professor of Law at St. John's University School of Law
Read More

Melissa J. Wilmarth
Assistant Professor of Consumer Sciences in the College of Human Environmental Sciences at the University of Alabama
Read More

Seth A. Hoelscher
Assistant Professor in the Department of Finance & General Business at Missouri State University
Read More

Shon P. Anderson
Adjunct Professor of Finance & Financial Services at Wright State University and President & Chief Wealth Strategist at Anderson Financial Strategies
Read More

H. Jude Boudreaux
Partner and Sr. Financial Planner at The Planning Center and Professor of Personal Finance at Loyola University New Orleans
Read More

Cagla Yildirim
Resident in Financial Planning at Texas A&M University and Ph.D. Candidate in the Department of Personal Financial Planning at Texas Tech University
Read More

More Experts

Questions & Answers(7 questions)

How many free credit reports are you legally entitled to each year?

Upvotes

WalletHub

You are legally entitled to three free credit reports each year: one from each of the three major credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion). A consumer's legal right to three free credit reports per year is a provision of the Fair Credit Reporting Act of 1970. The law also stipulates that if a credit report is used to deny you credit, insurance, employment, or benefits, you are entitled to an extra credit report from that credit bureau.

You can order these free credit reports through the government-sponsored Annual Credit Report program online, by calling 1-877-322-8228, or by mailing a request form. You'll get your credit reports immediately through an online request, while the other two methods require you to wait 15 days from when your request is received.

In addition to the three free credit reports you are legally entitled to each year, you can get an unlimited number of free reports from one of the free credit report websites not sponsored by the government. These sites give free reports from one or two of the major bureaus, and most update their info on a weekly or monthly basis.

WalletHub, on the other hand, is the only site that offers free credit reports (and scores) that are updated on a daily basis. In other words, WalletHub gives you up to 365 updated TransUnion credit reports for free every year. And you can check them as often as you'd like. You'll also receive personalized credit analysis, which will tell you what you need to improve, how to do it, and how long it will take.

As a result, we recommend using WalletHub as your go-to credit report site and supplementing it with yearly reports from Annual Credit Report.

View more answers

Where can I get all three credit scores for free?

Upvotes

WalletHub

You cannot get all three credit scores for free in one place. But you can get all three credit scores for free by checking WalletHub, Experian, and Equifax separately. If you sign into your free WalletHub account, you can see your latest credit score based on your TransUnion credit report. Or, to see your score calculated with Experian credit report data, just create a free online account with the credit bureau. You can also sign up for a free Equifax account to get your Equifax credit score.

Here's where you can get your three credit scores for free:

Equifax – See your VantageScore 3.0 credit score, based on Equifax credit data
Experian – See your FICO Score 8 credit score, based on Experian credit data
TransUnion – See your VantageScore 3.0, based on TransUnion credit data

Equifax and Experian also offer 3-bureau credit scores – one scoring model applied to all three credit reports – as part of a paid subscription. However, you don't really need to check three different versions of your credit score. The truth is, all of your credit scores will reflect your creditworthiness more or less the same. And any potential change (for better or worse) will most likely affect your scores from all three bureaus similarly, as a result.

If you want more than just a free credit score, a WalletHub account also gets you free personalized advice for credit improvement, along with your full TransUnion credit report and free credit monitoring.

How can I get a free credit report by mail?

Upvotes

WalletHub

To get a free credit report by mail, fill out the Annual Credit Report Request Form and mail it to the Annual Credit Report Request Service at P.O. Box 105281 Atlanta, Georgia 30348. Your credit report will be mailed to you within 15 days of when the request is received.

Address for Requesting a Free Credit Report by Mail:

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

If you want to check your credit report for free more than once a year, you can log into your WalletHub account. Your WalletHub account gives you access to your free TransUnion credit report (which can be emailed to you) along with daily updates and the ability to dispute items with TransUnion.

How do I get a free TransUnion FICO score?

Upvotes

WalletHub

You can get a free TransUnion FICO score through a Bank of America credit card account, select Barclays credit card accounts, and Discover's free Credit Scorecard program (open to all).

You cannot get a free FICO score from TransUnion directly. Instead, TransUnion allows you to view your VantageScore by paying $24.95 per month for a TransUnion account. That gives you unlimited access to your credit score, your credit report, and credit monitoring.

You don't have to pay to check your TransUnion credit score, however, and the credit score you check doesn't have to be a FICO score. You can get free daily credit score updates based on TransUnion credit report data from WalletHub. You can also monitor your credit and receive customized advice based on your credit profile.

View more answers

What is a credit report?

Upvotes

WalletHub

A credit report is a summary of your recent credit history plus additional personal facts, including your age, address, marital status, employment history and other details that will help potential creditors or employers gauge your creditworthiness.

A credit report includes a record of all credit cards you currently hold, have held, or applied for. It also includes the credit limit and your payment history.

View more answers

How much does a credit report cost?

Upvotes

WalletHub

Credit reports are free. More specifically, a credit report doesn't have to cost you a thing. The major credit bureaus do sell their credit reports – for $1 to $16, often as part of a bundle with credit score access and credit monitoring. But there's no reason to pay for any of that.

For one thing, everyone is entitled to a copy of their TransUnion, Equifax and Experian credit reports every 12 months through AnnualCreditReport.com. You can also get free daily credit report updates from WalletHub, along with free daily credit scores and free 24/7 credit monitoring. There are a number of other free credit report providers, too.

Plus, by law, you have the right to a free credit report if you are:

Rejected for credit, insurance or employment (your credit history must have influenced the decision; requests must be made within 60 days of being notified)
A victim of identity theft or fraud (requires placing a fraud alert on at least one credit report)
Receiving public welfare assistance
Unemployed (but plan to apply for employment within the next 60 days).

It's also worth noting that credit bureaus legally can't charge more than $12 for a credit report. But Equifax sidesteps this rule by selling credit score and report bundles for $16 apiece.

View more answers

What is the difference between a credit report and a consumer report?

Upvotes

Kendall Morris, Credit Cards Moderator

The biggest differences between a credit report and other types of consumer reports are the kinds of information listed, who can access them, and what exactly they're used for. A credit report is a specific type of consumer report used for lending, while the broader term "consumer report" could be used to describe things like your driving history or criminal record.

Credit Reports vs. Other Consumer Reports:

Credit reports contain your credit history and are used to calculate credit scores and gauge your creditworthiness. They are generated by the three major credit bureaus and are accessed by lenders when you apply for new credit (like a loan or credit card). You can access your free TransUnion credit report through your WalletHub account.

Other types of consumer reports, also known as investigative consumer reports, are more like a background check. They can provide a more complete picture of a person and may be compiled with everything from interviews with friends to work history, lifestyle choices, criminal records, and more. These consumer reports are not used to determine creditworthiness and are not allowed to be used during the credit-granting process. They are usually generated when dealing with employment or tenancy.

Common Types of Consumer Reports:

- Credit report

- Driving record

- Criminal record

- Check writing report

- Insurance report

- Tenant report

- Employment data report

Both credit reports and other consumer reports are regulated under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, and they all require your consent before being viewed by someone else.

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