Your credit report includes information on how you handle your bills, if you filed for bankruptcy, if you have ever been arrested or sued and where you currently live and have lived in the past. Consumer reporting companies legally sell the information in your credit report to insurance agencies, employers, creditors, schools and other institutions that utilize it to evaluate your applications for purchasing real estate, employment, insurance and credit. Every American is entitled to one free credit report yearly from all three major credit reporting agencies.
Step 1
Gather all your financial documents including credit card statements, bank loans, Social Security card and driver's license. Include records of all the addresses at which you've ever lived.
Step 2
Visit annualcreditreport.com, which is a website authorized and mandated by the U.S. government. This website will allow you to get a free copy of your credit report from all the three major credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.
Step 3
Locate the area in the website that says "start here," and put in your personal information. You might get a pop-up box asking if you want to view your FICO score. Information about your FICO score is not free. If you do wish to know your FICO score and are fine with paying the fees, then check the box, otherwise leave all non-related credit report offers unchecked.
Step 4
Read all the security-related questions and answer them correctly. Make sure you have all your financial papers in front of you. The security questions asked in the website relate to recent and past credit activity as well your previous addresses. You must answer these questions correctly to continue. If you answered more than four wrong, you might have to wait 24 hours to try again. If you are uncertain about any of the security questions, log out, do a little research to find the answer and log back into the website.
Step 5
Request a form to fill out over the phone or download one from the website and mail it in if you don't feel comfortable submitting the information online. The number to request a form is (877) 322-8228. If you download a form, the address you mail it to is:
Annual Credit Report Request Service
PO Box 105281
Atlanta, GA 30348-5281
Tips and Warnings
- Read and go over your credit report for any errors. Verify that all the information reported by the three major credit bureaus are all correct. If you do notice any errors, contact each credit bureau one by one.
References
- "How to Repair Your Credit Report;" Emmanuel Ike; 2006
- "Credit Scores and Credit Reports 3rd ed: How The System Really Works, What You Can Do;" Evan Hendricks; 2007
- Federal Trade Commision: Authorized Free Credit Report
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