Free credit reports from the three national bureaus
15 U.S.C. § 1681j(a)(1)(a)(1)(A)–(B)
In plain words
By law, Equifax, Experian and TransUnion must each give you a free copy of your file once every 12 months when you ask through the official central source, AnnualCreditReport.com. The three bureaus have also made free weekly reports permanent on that site. Other sites may charge you or be scams.
Who is protected
Every consumer with a file at a nationwide credit bureau.
When it applies
- You also get a free report within 60 days after a creditor, insurer, employer or landlord takes adverse action based on your report (§ 1681j(b)), and once a year if you are unemployed and job-hunting, on public assistance, or believe your file has errors due to fraud (§ 1681j(c)).
What you can do
Get your free reports
Go to AnnualCreditReport.com (the only official site), request all three reports, and save each as a PDF. Then upload them to the Credit Health tool.
Open the tool
Honest limits
- The weekly free reports are a voluntary program of the bureaus; the legal right is once every 12 months.
- A credit report is not a credit score; the law does not require a free score.
The law
- Federal lawFCRA — free annual disclosure
15 U.S.C. § 1681j(a)(1)(a)(1)(A)–(B)
Exact part: (a)(1)(A)–(B)
What it says: Nationwide bureaus must disclose your file free once every 12 months, requested through the centralized source.
Read the official texthttps://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title15-section1681j&num=0&edition=prelim - Federal lawFCRA — other free reports
15 U.S.C. § 1681j(b)–(c)
What it says: Free reports after adverse action and in certain hardship or fraud situations.
Read the official texthttps://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title15-section1681j&num=0&edition=prelim - Agency guidanceFTC — free weekly reports are permanent
FTC Consumer Alert, "You now have permanent access to free weekly credit reports" (Jan. 4, 2024)
What it says: The three bureaus permanently extended free weekly reports at AnnualCreditReport.com.
Read the official texthttps://consumer.ftc.gov/consumer-alerts/2023/10/you-now-have-permanent-access-free-weekly-credit-reports
Court cases
- Partial winSame topicTaggart v. Lorenzen
Taggart v. Lorenzen, 587 U.S. 554 (2019)
a creditor may be held in civil contempt for violating a bankruptcy discharge order when there is no fair ground of doubt that the order barred its conduct
- Homeowner wonSame topicJerman v. Carlisle, McNellie, Rini, Kramer & Ulrich, L.P.A.
Jerman v. Carlisle, McNellie, Rini, Kramer & Ulrich, L.P.A., 559 U.S. 573 (2010)
the FDCPA's bona fide error defense does not excuse a debt collector's incorrect interpretation of what the Act requires
- Homeowner wonSame topicKaltenbach v. Richards
Kaltenbach v. Richards, 464 F.3d 524 (5th Cir. 2006)
a person who meets the FDCPA's general definition of debt collector is subject to the whole Act even while enforcing a security interest
- Homeowner wonSame topicHeintz v. Jenkins
Heintz v. Jenkins, 514 U.S. 291 (1995)
the FDCPA applies to lawyers who regularly collect consumer debts, even through litigation
- Homeowner lostSame topicObduskey v. McCarthy & Holthus LLP
Obduskey v. McCarthy & Holthus LLP, 586 U.S. 466 (2019)
a business engaged only in non-judicial foreclosure is not a debt collector under the FDCPA, apart from the provision barring threats to take property without a present right
- Homeowner lostSame topicMidland Funding, LLC v. Johnson
Midland Funding, LLC v. Johnson, 581 U.S. 224 (2017)
filing an obviously time-barred proof of claim in bankruptcy does not violate the FDCPA
Related rights
Dispute errors on your credit report
15 U.S.C. § 1681i(a)(1)(A)
If your credit report has something wrong or incomplete — like a payment reported late that you made on time — you can dispute it with the credit bureau for free. The bureau must investigate, usually within 30 days, and fix or delete information it cannot verify.
Read this rightYou must be told when your credit report hurt you
15 U.S.C. § 1681m(a)
If a lender, landlord, insurer or employer takes adverse action against you based even partly on a credit report, it must tell you, name the bureau that supplied the report, disclose any credit score it used, say the bureau did not make the decision, and tell you about your right to a free report within 60 days and to dispute errors.
Read this rightCancel a credit repair contract within 3 business days
15 U.S.C. § 1679e
You can cancel any credit repair contract, for any reason and without penalty, until midnight of the third business day after you sign it. The company must give you a "Notice of Cancellation" form in duplicate and may not start work during those 3 days. Some states give you 5 days.
Read this rightA credit repair company cannot charge you before the work is done
15 U.S.C. § 1679b(b)
Federal law bans credit repair companies from charging or taking any money for a service before that service is fully performed. A company that bills you up front, charges a "setup" or "first work" fee, or charges a monthly fee for work it has not done yet is breaking the law.
Read this rightA written contract and a rights disclosure come first
15 U.S.C. § 1679c
Before you sign, a credit repair company must give you a separate written statement titled "Consumer Credit File Rights Under State and Federal Law." No service can be provided without a signed, dated written contract stating the total cost, a detailed description of the services, any guarantees, how long it will take, the company's address, and a bold cancellation notice next to your signature. Any waiver of these rights is void.
Read this rightYou can recover damages when the FCRA is broken
15 U.S.C. § 1681n
A credit bureau or a company that reports to one that willfully breaks the FCRA owes your actual damages or statutory damages of $100 to $1,000, possible punitive damages, and your costs and attorney's fees. A negligent violation owes actual damages and fees. The claim must be filed within 2 years of discovering the violation and no more than 5 years after it.
Read this right