Reading your credit report

Do it like this

1. Use the one official site. AnnualCreditReport.com is the only website authorized to fill orders for your free reports. You can also call 1-877-322-8228 or mail the Annual Credit Report Request Form. Don't go to the three bureaus separately for this. Source: FTC¹
2. Order all three. Equifax, Experian and TransUnion each keep their own report on you, and lenders don't have to report to all of them. Source: CFPB² All three bureaus now let you check each report free once a week. Source: FTC¹
3. Get through the identity check. Have your name, address, Social Security number and date of birth ready. If you moved in the last two years, you may need your old address. Each bureau asks its own questions that only you would know, so you answer them three times. Online, you see the report right away. By phone or mail, it's mailed within 15 days. Source: FTC¹
4. Check the personal information. Look at your name (and past names or nicknames), current and past addresses, birth date, Social Security number and phone numbers. Source: CFPB² A wrong address or a name you've never used can mean your file got mixed with someone else's, or that it's identity theft. Source: CFPB³
5. Go account by account. Each account shows the type (installment like a car loan, or revolving like a credit card), the creditor's name, the credit limit or loan amount, the balance, the payment history, and the dates it was opened and closed. Source: CFPB² Compare each one to your own records.
6. Check collections and public records. This section can list missed payments, debts sent to collections, overdue child support, liens, foreclosures, bankruptcies, and civil suits and judgments. Source: CFPB² If you're new to credit, it should be empty. If it isn't, read every line.
7. Look at the inquiries. This is the list of companies that have pulled your report. Source: CFPB² A company you never applied with can be a sign someone applied for credit in your name.
8. Write down every problem: which bureau, the account name and number, and what's wrong. Then dispute it with the bureau that shows it and with the company that reported it, called the furnisher. Source: CFPB³ The steps are in Disputing errors on your report.

Errors to look for

• Wrong name, phone number or address. Source: CFPB³
• Accounts that belong to someone with a similar name. That's called a mixed file. Source: CFPB³
• Accounts you never opened, which can come from identity theft. Source: CFPB³
• Closed accounts listed as open. Source: CFPB³
• You listed as the owner of an account when you're only an authorized user, for example on a parent's card. Source: CFPB³
• Payments marked late that you paid on time. Source: CFPB³
• Wrong dates: last payment, date opened, or date of first delinquency. Source: CFPB³
• The same debt listed more than once, sometimes under different names. Source: CFPB³
• A wrong current balance or credit limit. Source: CFPB³

How long things stay

Federal limits, as explained by the CFPB. Source: CFPB⁴

These limits don't apply when the report is for a job paying more than $75,000 a year, or for more than $150,000 of credit or life insurance. Source: CFPB⁴

When to check

• At least once a year. Source: FTC¹
• Before you apply for credit, a loan, insurance, an apartment or a job. Source: FTC¹
• Within 60 days of being turned down for credit, a job, insurance or housing because of your report. That notice gets you another free report from the bureau it names. Source: FTC¹
• Any time you think your information was stolen. Source: FTC¹

If it doesn't work

• If the site can't verify who you are, order by phone at 1-877-322-8228 or by mail. Expect it within 15 days, or longer if the bureau needs more to verify you. Source: FTC¹
• If you find accounts you never opened, report it at IdentityTheft.gov to get a personalized recovery plan, Source: FTC¹ and think about freezing your credit.
• If one bureau shows something the others don't, that can be normal, because lenders don't report to every bureau. Source: CFPB² If it's wrong, dispute it with the bureau that has it.
• If your report is nearly empty, that's normal when you're new to credit. See How credit scores work for ways to start.