Federal regulations reuqire the three major credit-reporting companies, Equifax, Trans Union, and Experian, to provide individuals one free credit report annually. Credit report requests made via the Internet are processed instantly, while credit report requests made via phone or mail will take about 15 days to process. Please be aware that the credit bureaus will ask for personal information such as name, date of birth, and address, etc. for verification. Please also note that the free report does not include your credit score.

You are entitled to one free credit report per year (every 12 months), per company. Our recommendation is that you get one free credit report every four months by rotating your requests. For example, if you request a report from Equifax in January, request your next report from Experian in May, and the third report from Trans-Union in September, etc.

Requesting Free Credit Report Online

The three companies have created a single web site for the free credit reporting process, http://www.annualcreditreport.com. The website is endorsed by the Federal Trade Commission and is the only web site where you may obtain free credit reports.

Step 1 – Type http://www.annualcreditreport.com into your Internet browser
Step 2 - Register yourself on the website
Step 2 - Choose which credit bureau you want a report from
Step 3 - You will be redirected to the credit bureau’s website of your choice
Step 4 - Complete the free credit report request process