The federal government has several provisions in the Fair Credit Reporting Act for how consumers can obtain a free copy of each of their credit reports each year. Although your credit report does not contain your credit score, it lists all of your credit accounts and allows you to review and check the accuracy of the information that goes into calculating your score.
All Individuals
All consumers are eligible to receive one free credit report from each credit bureau during any given 12-month time period. Therefore, if it has been at least 12 months since you last received a free credit report from a particular bureau, you can get another free report from that bureau. The credit bureaus that provide free annual credit reports are Experian, TransUnion and Equifax. You must order your free credit reports through the Annual Credit Report website, which will determine whether 12 months have elapsed for each credit bureau.
Unemployed
Under federal guidelines, the credit bureaus must directly provide you with one free credit report per year, upon your request, if you are unemployed and are planning to look for work within 60 days. Potential employers might want to check your credit report, so if you get a free copy of your report before you apply for jobs, you can check its accuracy. If your report is inaccurate, follow the instructions listed on the credit report to dispute the errors and have them removed from your credit report.
On Welfare
If you are on any type of public welfare assistance, you can obtain one free credit report per year from each of the credit bureaus. As with the free reports due to unemployment, you need to order the reports directly through the credit bureaus. They cannot charge you for your first report each year if you prove that you are on welfare.
Other Free Credit Reports
A few additional guidelines provide you with free copies of your credit report and do not limit you to one report per year. If you apply for credit, insurance or employment and are denied because of your credit, you are eligible to get a free copy of your credit report from each bureau during the 60 days following receipt of the denial notice. The notice contains instructions for how to get your free reports. If you have reason to suspect that your credit report is incorrect because of fraud, including identity theft, you can also obtain a free copy of your report at any time.
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