CLEARBORROW · PUBLISHED NOVEMBER 12, 2026
How to check your credit report for free
Go to AnnualCreditReport.com, the official site, and request your reports from Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. Free weekly access, first offered during the pandemic, is now permanent. A report is not a score: it is the record lenders read. Check each one for accounts you do not recognise, wrong balances and wrong late payments, and dispute errors for free.
On this page
Where to get it
The three nationwide credit bureaus made free weekly reports permanent; the FTC points consumers to AnnualCreditReport.com and warns that other sites may charge you or be set up to steal personal information (FTC ↗). You also get an extra free report if a company turns you down because of your report and you ask within 60 days (FTC ↗).
- Type annualcreditreport.com yourself — do not follow ads or lookalike links.
- Enter your details and answer the identity questions.
- Download all three reports; they can differ because lenders do not all report to every bureau.
- Save them as PDFs with the date, so you can compare next time.
What to look for
| Section | Check for |
|---|---|
| Personal information | Misspelled names, addresses you never lived at — can signal a mixed file or identity theft |
| Accounts | Accounts you never opened; closed accounts shown as open; wrong limits or balances |
| Payment history | Late payments you made on time |
| Collections | Debts that are not yours, already paid, or listed twice |
| Inquiries | Hard inquiries for credit you never applied for |
If you find a mistake
Dispute it with the bureau and with the company that reported it — it costs nothing. See our step-by-step guide to disputing a credit report error. If an account is fraudulent, report identity theft at IdentityTheft.gov.
Report vs score
AnnualCreditReport.com gives reports, not scores. Your score is calculated from the report; to improve it, see how to raise a low score and how long negative items stay.
Questions
Is AnnualCreditReport.com really free?
Yes. It is the official site for free reports from the three bureaus; you do not need to buy anything.
Does checking my own report hurt my score?
No. Checking your own report is not a hard inquiry.
How often should I check?
You can check weekly. Many people check before applying for credit and a few times a year otherwise.
Sources and limits
- FTC: you now have permanent access to free weekly credit reports ↗
- FTC: fixing your credit FAQs (free reports after adverse action, credit repair) ↗
- CFPB: how do I dispute an error on my credit report? ↗
Sources checked November 12, 2026. This is general information, not legal, tax or benefits advice; rules differ by state. Worked examples are our own arithmetic, not offers. How we use sources.