How (and Why) to Get Your Credit Report
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I’ve got something embarrassing to admit. It’s doubly embarrassing since I write about personal finance on a daily basis and should know better.
From the first time I learned about what credit reports are, it took me over a decade to actually request a copy to review. It’s not like it’s hard to do. And it only takes about five minutes.
I think I was subconsciously afraid that there would be an error, or that I’d find I was the victim of identity theft. Either of these would mean hours spent investigating the situation in order to clear the blemish off of my credit. Honestly, the potential for discovering fraud should have made me want to check my credit report sooner.
But my FICO score danced between “very good” and “exceptional,” so I must have thought all was good. And luckily for me, when I did finally get my act together to pull up my credit report, I found that everything was fine.
For some people, this isn’t the case. No matter what, with so much of our personal data online and data breaches happening, you owe it to your future self to get a copy of your credit report today.
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Where to get a credit report
You may have noticed that some banks and credit card companies offer you a look at your FICO or Vantage credit score. This is not the same as your credit report. Your score is a three-digit number. Your credit report is a list of all of your credit and loan accounts, with the full credit history of each one. Your credit report shows your payment history to debtors, the types of credit you have open (or closed), the credit limit and available credit you have on each line of credit, any late payments you have made, any hard inquiries on your attempts to open new credit, the age of your accounts including any new accounts you have opened, and additional credit information.
The best place to access all three of your credit reports — Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion — is at www.AnnualCreditReport.com. This site gives you a free copy of your credit report once a year and is secure and easy to use. It took me less than five minutes to fill out the form to access my credit reports.
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Information you need to get a credit report
In order to access your credit reports, you’ll need to provide some basic personal information. It takes less than five minutes to enter everything. You’ll need to provide:
- Your name
- Your date of birth
- Your current address
- Other addresses lived at within the past two years
- Your Social Security number
You may need to fill this form out again if you’re requesting more than one report at the same time. My experience was that everything was saved, except my Social Security number. And, for that, you’ll have to enter it twice.
Step-by-step guide to getting a credit report
I’m going to give you the directions to get your free annual credit report step-by-step, but know that this won’t take you more than five minutes. It’s super easy and in less than ten minutes most people will be able to access all three credit reports if desired.
1. Go to AnnualCreditReport.com
The first step is to go to the website where you can securely request your credit reports. AnnualCreditReport is the only site that’s authorized by Federal law, though you can access your reports from each of the credit reporting bureaus.
However, when you go through each of their websites, you may be offered a paid subscription. Always read the fine print so that you know what you’re signing up for. To avoid the risk of mistakenly signing up for a $24.99 a month credit monitoring subscription, just use AnnualCreditReport.com.
2. Click on the “request your free credit reports” button
Now that you’re at the website, look for the red button that says “Request your free credit reports.” On the homepage, it’s centrally located, and on all other pages, it’s in the upper half of the page.
Click the button to be taken to a page that looks like this:
Then click the red button on the left side to request your credit reports. Yes, essentially you have to click two buttons to finally get to request your credit report.
3. Fill out the form
You’ll enter your name, birthdate, Social Security number, and current address. If you haven’t lived there for more than two years, you’ll need to provide addresses of the places you have lived within the last two years.
4. Choose which credit report you want to see
5. Answer additional security questions
As an extra measure of protection, before you’re given access to your credit report you have to answer a few questions. They are multiple-choice and, in my experience, are a mix of questions that are true to you as well as completely unrelated.
For example, I was asked which company I had purchased pet insurance from. I don’t have a pet, much less insurance for one. Also, a question had completely wrong information, so I selected the last choice, “none of the above/does not apply.” I crossed my fingers in hopes that this was just a trick question. Thankfully it was.
Expect multiple-choice questions such as:
- Which of the following addresses have you lived at?
- In July 2020 you took out an auto loan, who is the lender?
- What is the monthly payment of the car loan mentioned above?
- Which of the following is a past employer?
- From which of these companies did you purchase pet insurance?
6. Download your credit report
It’s a good idea to download your credit report right away because once you leave the site, it disappears. This allows you to look at it later and to cross-reference it with your other credit reports.
One company is working to make it easier for you to stay on top of your credit profile: Credit Sesame.
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Requesting your credit report by mail or phone
Another way to request your credit report is by mail or phone. While not efficient, this could be good for people in your life who don’t use the internet (an elderly parent or relative) and want to check their credit reports.
To request your free credit report by mail you can fill out a mail request form and send it to:
Annual Credit Report Request Service
P.O. Box 105281
Atlanta, GA 30348-5281
Alternatively, you can call 877-322-8228 to request your credit report. You will need to verify your information on the phone and a copy of your credit report will be mailed to you within 15 days.
Other ways to get a free credit report
After you’ve gotten your free credit report for the year, you may be eligible to get another free copy from each credit reporting bureau. You can get another copy for the following reasons:
- If you’ve been turned down for credit, insurance, or a job because of derogatory marks on your credit report.
- If you will be looking for a new job within the next 60 days.
- If you’re on public assistance.
How much does a credit report cost?
Thanks to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, every person can request one credit report from each of the three credit reporting bureaus for free each year. Additional copies can be requested for a fee, which, by law, cannot exceed $13.50.
You can choose to request all three credit reports at the same time or separately. A great way to keep tabs on your credit reports year-round is to request a different one every four months.
How often should you get a credit report?
Once you check your credit report, you should create the habit of doing so regularly. Some people like to tie this to an annual event like their birthday or a holiday. You’ll spend less than ten minutes downloading all three reports.
Another idea is to get one report every four months so that you’re essentially checking your credit report all year round. While it’s true that each report could be different, they are typically minimal. Also if you do discover get a fraud alert and access all of your credit reports, you can later get additional copies for free.
Take out your phone and set a reminder for March, July, and November (or three months, evenly spaced apart). Choose the first of the month, or on the day that corresponds with your birthday. If you were born on January 15, check your credit report on the 15th of the month. Set these as annual reminders so you don’t have to remember to create these reminders again next year.
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The bottom line
I know this is cliche, but please, do as I say, not as I once did. Spend the next ten minutes to get your credit reports. Even if you don’t have time to look over them until tonight or the weekend, it’s an important step in taking charge of your finances.
Set aside time later in the week to review the contents of your credit report. Be sure to note any accounts that you don’t recognize. Then follow the steps on how to fight an error on your credit report.
Don’t forget to have your partner get copies of their credit reports. You can also get them for your children, even if they haven’t borrowed money. The truth is, kids are easy targets of fraud. It’s better to keep tabs on it now rather than discover that now than when they are ready to take out their first auto loan.
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Writer
Charlotte Edwards is an educator-turned-freelance writer based in Beijing, China. She writes personal finance and parenting content for both digital and print publications around the world.
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