Before applying for a loan or renting a home, it's advisable to check your credit report. This document details a person's financial history and is consulted by banks, landlords, insurance companies, and employers for decision-making.
The report may reveal payment errors, unreported outstanding debts, or accounts opened by someone else, which is a sign of identity theft. Detecting these problems early allows you to correct them before they affect a loan application or rental agreement.
In the United States, every person with a social Security number (SSN) has the right to request your report free of charge.
What information does a credit report contain?
A credit report records loans, credit cards, payments made, outstanding debts, and accounts sent to collections. It also includes personal information, such as name, address, and Social Security number, as well as a record of who has checked the report.
In the United States, there are three national credit bureaus that collect this information: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. Each produces its own report, so the information between them can vary. That's why it's important to review all three.
Important >>> If you don't have a Social Security number, there are still ways to check your credit history. This guide explains how. How to get your credit report with an ITIN number in the United States.
How to get your free credit report with your Social Security number?
The only site authorized by the federal government to request a free credit report is annualcreditreport.com It is important to verify that it is this exact site, as there are fake pages that try to charge for the service or collect personal data.
Online:
It's the fastest way. When you go to annualcreditreport.com, the site asks for personal information (name, address, Social Security number, and date of birth) to verify your identity. You can choose which agency to get the report from. You can request all three at the same time or one at a time.
Some financial advisors recommend spacing out requests throughout the year, for example one every four months, to continuously monitor your credit history.
By phone:
You can call 1-877-322-8228 The report is sent by mail and arrives in approximately 15 days.
By post:
You must download and complete the application form available at annualcreditreport.com and send it to:
- Annual Credit Report Request Service PO Box 105281 Atlanta, GA 30348-5281
The report arrives by mail in approximately three weeks.
Image generated using artificial intelligence for informational purposes.
How often can you request your free credit report?
Federal law guarantees a free copy of each agency's report once every 12 months. In addition, all three agencies offer free online access once a week.
If you're not familiar with how the three credit bureaus in the U.S. work, you can read: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion: What are credit bureaus and how to contact them.
Free additional reports from Equifax
In addition to the annual report, Equifax offers six additional free reports per year through December 31, 2026, available at annualcreditreport.com. This measure was established as part of the company's legal agreements.
What should you check on your credit report?
Upon receiving the report, it is important to verify that all the information is correct. The most common errors include:
- Accounts that the person does not recognize or never opened
- Payments reported as late that were made on time
- Incorrect balances
- Incorrect personal information, such as misspelled addresses or names
- Duplicate accounts
- Debts that have already been paid but still appear as outstanding
If any of these situations appear in the report, it could be an administrative error or a case of identity theft.
What to do if you find an error on your credit report?
Federal law grants you the right to dispute any inaccurate information on your credit report, free of charge. To do so, you must contact both the credit bureau that issued the report and the company that provided the incorrect information.
The dispute can be submitted by mail, online, or by phone. In all cases, it is advisable to include a written explanation of what is considered incorrect and copies of any documents that support the claim.
The credit agency has 30 days to investigate and respond. You do not need to pay any company to complete this process.
A credit report and a credit score are not the same thing.
The report obtained through annualcreditreport.com does not include the credit score. It is important to understand that these are two different things.
A credit score is a number that summarizes a consumer's risk level. Many financial institutions and digital banks offer free access to this number through their mobile apps or websites.
These tools are useful for day-to-day monitoring, but they generally show the score calculated by a single credit agency.
The report is the complete document behind that number: it shows every account, every payment, and every debt recorded by the three agencies. It is the only document that allows for identifying errors, detecting fraud, and disputing incorrect information.
In other words: the score indicates if there is a problem; the report allows you to find and correct it.
Resources
- annualcreditreport.com : The only site authorized by the federal government to request free credit reports.
- consumerfinance.gov The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) offers information in Spanish about credit rights, including how to dispute errors.
- Telephone number to request the report: 1-877-322-8228
- CFPB Telephone: 1-855-411-2372
- equifax.com
- experian.com
- transunion.com
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