How to Obtain Your Credit Report Without Joining a Service

Many websites that offer you a credit report require you to join a service and pay a monthly fee. However, you can view your credit report from the three major reporting services (Experian, Equifax and TransUnion) once a year for free. It takes only a few minutes to fill out your personal information to receive each report, and no credit card is required.

Instructions

1. Go to AnnualCreditReport.com. Select your state and click "Request Report."

2. Enter your personal information in the required fields, type in the security code and click "Continue."

3. Select the credit companies from which you wish to receive a report; you can select one or all three. Click "Next." You will be transferred to the first credit reporting site you selected. Verify your personal information and click "Continue."

4. Verify your identity by correctly answering two personal financial questions and then click "Continue." Select "No, I want to see my credit report" when asked if you would like to pay a fee to see your credit score.

5. Click "View and print my credit report" to see your report. Select "Return to AnnualCreditReport.com" at the top of the page if you choose to view more than one credit report. Repeat Step 4 for each report.

Tips & Warnings

• Look over each entry on your credit report to make sure there are no accounts listed in your name that you did not open. If you see something that you didn't open, contact the credit reporting agencies to notify them of the apparent fraud.

References

• Annual Credit Report

Resources

• Fraud Alert Contact Information