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The three national credit reporting agencies — Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion — have permanently extended a program that lets you check your credit report at each of the agencies once a week for free.

Visit AnnualCreditReport.com to request free copies of your credit reports. Other sites may charge you or be fraudulent sites set up to steal your personal information.

By law, everyone is entitled to one free credit report every twelve months from each of the three credit reporting agencies. In 2020, soon after the COVID-19 pandemic upended the finances of millions of people, the three agencies announced they would temporarily make free reports available every week. The program was extended twice and is now permanent.

Why check your credit report? Your report shows things like how many credit cards and loans you have, whether you pay your bills on time, and whether any debts have been turned over to collections. Creditors, insurers, some employers, and other businesses use it to decide if they want to do business with you — and the terms they’ll offer you.

Mistakes, like accounts or bankruptcies that aren’t yours, can hurt your credit, increase how much you’ll have to pay to borrow money, and even derail your chances of getting a loan, insurance, a rental home, or a job. Mistakes can result from errors by businesses that report credit information to credit reporting agencies. They also can be a sign of identity theft. The sooner you spot a mistake, the sooner you can dispute the error or — if it results from identity theft — report it at IdentityTheft.gov.

To learn more about why your credit matters, read Understanding Your Credit.

Updated October 13, 2023 to reflect the permanent extension of free weekly credit reports. Updated September 23, 2022 to reflect the extension of weekly free credit reports through December 2023. Updated May 2, 2022 to reflect the extension of weekly free credit reports through December 2022. This Consumer Alert was originally posted on March 16, 2021.

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FTC Staff
March 16, 2021

In reply to by Consumer

The three credit reporting companies have extended the offer of free weekly credit reports past April 2021. Go to www.annualcreditreport.com to get your reports.

AmyW
May 13, 2022

In reply to by FTC Staff

Does that use up your 3/year after this? Or will the clock be reset?
suzette
January 29, 2021
Fraudulent activity is being used in my name as we speak . For California unemployment insurance. I’m getting the texts for the claimants.
FTC Staff
March 16, 2021

In reply to by suzette

You can report that to www.IdentityTheft.com. There is a link for Unemployment Insurance Identity Theft on the home page of the website that takes you directly to the reporting page.

crobbins26
February 23, 2021
I have tried for over 5 years to get my credit report from this company with no success. They ask if I have been living at my current address for less than 2 years, I say yes. They then take the last address before that and use it as my current address. I answer my questions accurately. I have never leased or bought a car on payments, that is easy. They ask what country i lived in in 2000 also easy, san diego county, then they ask about a relative owning property or living in reno, I see one name I know, and give that. then they say, sorry, we cannot verify your information. What the heck? I don't know for sure where that relative lives because she is no longer a relative. She was a sister in law. What the heck? They ask a question that does not apply to me. Then when I call their phone verification number, the robot does not understand 830 s 4th st. I kid you not. It kept asking me to repeat it, then asked me to say it with the number street name city state and zip code. If it didn't understand 830 s 4th st how will it understand the whole enchilada? It asked me what report(s) I said all of them, said you said -then names all three i say yes. They hang up without another word. I don't know if I was successful or not. Very Aggravating to say the least. Sometimes I think they just like messing with me.
Don't use your…
March 04, 2021
When it became obvious that I was in a practiced dodge loop I suggested I was recording the conversation. Whee, game on. Now why wouldn’t they want their information recorded? Seems like everyone else wants that. ( Do check the laws in your state about telephone recording ).
In dc
March 06, 2021
Equifax isn’t providing me my free report online as required by law. So not only did they lose everyone’s information they are not meeting the intent of the law.
beverly0807
March 16, 2021
Equifax asks a bunch of questions that are difficult if not impossible to answer before they will let you know if you can have the credit report online, such as, what credit card account did you open in November 2018. Who can remember the date they opened a credit card account? And if your info doesn't match what they have, they tell you to submit a WRITTEN request for a credit report. WOW. Way to not help consumers.
Jco.vializ
March 16, 2021
Juan: The problems that I saw is that every year the companies that we dispute appeared again and the verdict agencies took 23 points out of our record and than to get in back is a big issue. I feel like we as a costumer do not have protection and the help we need. I feel that is unfair the way those credit agencies treat us.
Garush
March 16, 2021
Used to obtain the three years ago. Last couple of years never got the Experian one, even with multiple requests. This time on the computer got this message: The system is unable to complete your request.
julesvernWI
March 16, 2021
I went thru the process, only to be told I have to fill out more forms as they cannot send emailed reports. What a WASTE OF TIME! These companies will never make it easy to get reports on the data about us that we never agreed to. When is our government going to do something for We The People instead of the Corporations????
Mike's wife
March 16, 2021
When my husband died, the funeral home gave me paperwork to submit with a death certificate to turn off his credit. 2 of the companies wrote back they couldn't do it. The 3rd one sent me a condolence letter and said they would notify the other two. I do not trust these companies. As others said, the ftc needs to keep an eye on them. Sadly probably works like the do not call list
consumer
March 17, 2021
Thank you;. I get emails at l east once a week asking me to purchase an upgrade for credit reports from both Experian and Equifax.
Karthik
March 17, 2021
How to fix a error which happened few years ago. One of my cable provider wrongly reported that I didn't pay the bill of $72, while I paid bit late as I have not received their notification. Other than this I have 100% clear payment history with all bills and credit cards.
JQ
March 17, 2021
It doesn't help me that it's free...they keep denying me access to any of my credit reports. This has been going on for years. Most of the time I can't answer the security questions correctly because they don't pertain to me and now eventhough I've lived at the same address for more than 2 years they say they can't verify if I'm who I say I am so they want me to request them by mail but I don't want them to send them by mail because I was supposed to receive them by mail 2 other times and never received them.
Pedsnurse06
March 20, 2021
Can't retrieve my credit report from Equifax! I get an error message that tells me I have to call them. I seem to see a lot of the same complaint from people about that. What is the FTC doing to fix this?
Rich
March 20, 2021
TransUnion fails to set "current address" correctly in all cases, as filled out in www.annualcreditreport.com. Current address has been lived at for fewer than 2 years, tested in Chrome and Safari.
DJDAM
March 21, 2021
Why the heck is California EDD promoting these companies they need too be worried about paying people that are out here with nothing pathetic
FTC input
April 29, 2021
I recommend requesting a report by US mail and state exactly what you want...I do not understand sending an email address!
Karma
April 30, 2021
how do you actually get the free weekly reports from these companies?
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