Free Credit Report

The federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) requires that U.S. consumers be entitled to a free credit report each year. The government’s goal is to make sure that consumers stay informed, fight identity theft, and get fair treatment.

In the past, not everybody was entitled to a free credit report. Instead, consumers had to pay or qualify based on certain activity within the credit report. Some states required that their residents periodically be entitled to a free credit report, but it is now nationwide.

A credit file disclosure provides you with all of the information in your credit file maintained by a consumer reporting company that could be provided by the consumer reporting company in a consumer report about you to a third party, such as a lender. A credit file disclosure also includes a record of everyone who has received a consumer report about you from the consumer reporting company within a certain period of time ("inquiries"). The credit file disclosure includes certain information that is not included in a consumer report about you to a third party, such as the inquiries of companies for pre-approved offers of credit or insurance and account reviews, and any medical account information which is suppressed for third party users of consumer reports. You are entitled to receive a disclosure copy of your credit file from a consumer reporting company under Federal law and the laws of various states.

This central site allows you to request a free credit file disclosure, commonly called a credit report, once every 12 months from each of the nationwide consumer credit reporting companies: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. This will not provide you with a FICO score. It is very useful and imformative to see what is on your report.