Credit glossary
AnnualCreditReport.com
The official site for free credit reports from Equifax, Experian and TransUnion, now available every week at no charge.
The three nationwide bureaus permanently extended free weekly access in September 2023, and the FTC's consumer guidance confirms it. You can request reports online, by calling 1-877-322-8228, or by mailing the request form, and no credit card is needed. The site gives you reports, not scores, and it covers only the three nationwide bureaus. Specialty companies such as ChexSystems handle requests through their own processes.
Look-alike sites that ask for payment or a trial signup are not the official source, so type the address yourself. Pull all three reports, since lenders don't all report to every bureau, and save each one with the date. Comparing this month's reports with last month's is the fastest way to explain a sudden score change or catch an account you didn't open.
Guides that go deeper
- How to get your credit reports free, weekly, from all three bureausAnnualCreditReport.com is the only federally authorized source for free weekly reports from Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. How to order and avoid fakes.
- How to read your credit report, line by line and field by fieldWhat each section and field on an Equifax, Experian or TransUnion report means, which dates matter most, and how to tell normal entries from real errors.
Sources
- Equifax, Experian and TransUnion support U.S. consumers with ongoing availability of free weekly credit reports, Experian plc
- Free Credit Reports, Federal Trade Commission
- How do I get a copy of my credit reports?, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
This is education, not legal or financial advice. Spot an error? Tell us and we'll fix it.