Free FICO Score Laws

A 2011 survey by the Consumer Federation of America found that people who obtained their credit score were more knowledgeable about how credit scoring works than people who did not. You can obtain a free copy of your credit report, which provides the information used to calculate a credit score, but not the score itself. Typically, you cannot obtain your FICO credit score unless you pay for it.

Identification

As of 2011, there are no laws that require the national credit bureaus to furnish a free FICO score. The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) only requires that the three credit reporting bureaus -- Equifax, Experian and TransUnion -- supply you with your credit report, and a free copy of each of your three credit reports can be obtained once each year through the Annual Credit Report website. The FICO score is an algorithm owned by a private company that most lenders choose to use. Credit reports contain your private data, such as bank accounts, that scoring formulas use to calculate your score.

Potential

Members of Congress sometimes try to introduce legislation to require the bureaus to provide a free FICO score to consumers each year. The most recent attempt, as of March 2011, was an amendment to the FCRA by U.S. Senator Mark Udall of Colorado, according to Smart Money. A consultation to consumers was made in July of 2010 in the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. Creditors, landlords and utility providers must reveal an applicant's FICO score if they reject an application because of a poor credit score.

Considerations

As of 2011, the provisions of the Dodd-Frank act have only been proposed, so it is unclear exactly who will be required to provide consumers with a free score. Insurance companies, for example, often use a modified algorithm based on a credit score, and employers can reject an applicant based on his credit profile, but may not pull his score.

Tip

Lenders can give consumers a free FICO score during the application process, but only as a courtesy. You might be able to get a free FICO score when the Fair Isaac Corporation or the major bureaus have a promotion to get people to try a service. Also, FICO score estimators are available on the Internet, although they only provide a range in which your score is likely to fall.