Get a Free Federal Government Credit Report

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) requires each of the Nationwide Consumer Reporting organizations (Equifax, TransUnion and Experian) to provide you with one free credit report every 12 months per your request. This means that you are entitled to three free credit reports per year, if you deem it necessary. You can stagger the requests or order all of them at the same time. To obtain your free federal government credit report online, you must go to www.annualcreditreport.com This is the only official website that provides a free credit report. Consumers from all 50 states are eligible for the free report. The offer is extended to residence in the Eastern states, District of Columbia and Puerto Rico as of September 1, 2005. You can also order your free credit report by calling the toll-free number 1-877-322-8228 or mailing your Annual Credit Report Request form.

Annual Credit Report Request Service
P.O. Box 105281
Atlanta, GA 30348-5281 You will need to provide name, address, Social Security number, and date of birth. If you have changed your place of residence within the last two years, you will need to provide a previous address. Do not contact the Consumer Reporting Agencies directly, they only provide free credit reports through the three methods mentioned (phone, website or mail). If you request your credit report online, you should be able to get it immediately. If you order your credit report by phone or by mail, you can expect to get it within 15 days of the request.

Understand Your Credit Report