How to Get Free Credit Reports Without Signing Up for Service

Keeping track of your credit report records and scoring is an essential part of good financial planning and financial responsibility. While many commercial companies offer paid credit monitoring service, national credit reporting regulations make it possible to get free credit reports without signing up for a paid service. To do this, understand the ins and outs of the credit agency and know the difference between the public and private companies.

Instructions

Background

1

Understand how credit reporting works. There are three major, nationally regulated credit reporting agencies that share information: TransUnion, Experian and Equifax. Based on the information contained in these reports, an independent company, Fair Isaac Corp., creates a rating score known commonly as the FICO score that is meant to indicate an applicant's worthiness to receive credit. Each of the main reporting agencies must give every person in their systems one free credit report each, but since Fair Isaac is a private company, its report information must be purchased.

2

View one of your free credit reports online. Go directly to the websites for the three reporting agencies or access all three through www.annualcreditreport.com. You will need to verify personal information in order to prove your identity, but you will not be asked to pay in order to see your report.

3

Save a copy of all electronic reports. Either print paper copies, save the information on your screen using a print screen function or save the website as an HTML file. You can only view each report once without paying, so it's important to save the information for reference between annual checks.

4

Get a hard paper copy of a credit report in the mail. If you prefer a hard copy, each website includes instructions for requesting your reports through the mail. You may either write a hard copy letter requesting the reports or you can request a hard copy online.

5

Stagger your three free viewings throughout the year. If you want the ability to monitor your credit on an ongoing basis, check one of each of your free reports every four months.

6

Find a business that offers free FICO monitoring. If you want free FICO monitoring, in addition to viewing your national agency credit reports, look for a financial institution that offers free FICO monitoring to its customers. For example, many credit unions will keep their customers' informed about this rating.