Quick answer
- Get your credit reports free at AnnualCreditReport.com, the only website authorized to fill orders for the free reports you’re entitled to by law (FTC).
- You can check your report from each of Equifax, Experian and TransUnion “once a week” for free there (CFPB, FTC).
- Free credit scores are often available from “many credit card companies or other lenders you use, and from nonprofit credit and housing counselors” (CFPB).
How to order your free reports
The FTC lists the only ways to order the free reports: visit AnnualCreditReport.com, call 1-877-322-8228, or mail the Annual Credit Report Request Form to Annual Credit Report Request Service, P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281. Online, “you’ll get access immediately”; by phone or mail, reports are mailed “within 15 days” (FTC, accessed 10/19/2026).
How often
“All three nationwide credit bureaus have permanently extended a program that lets you check your credit report from each once a week for free at AnnualCreditReport.com. In addition, federal law requires each nationwide credit bureau to give you a free copy of your credit report once every 12 months if you ask for it” (FTC).
Other free reports under federal law
The FTC says you can also get a free report if you get an adverse action notice (ask within 60 days), you’re unemployed and plan to apply for a job within 60 days, you’re on public assistance, your report is inaccurate because of fraud, or you have a fraud alert on your file.
Watch out for look-alike sites
The CFPB warns that some sites “will only give you a free report if you buy other products or services,” and others “give you a free report and then bill you for services you have to cancel.” The FTC says AnnualCreditReport.com and the bureaus “will not email you asking for your Social Security number or account information.”
Free credit scores
The CFPB says you can get a score free from many card companies or lenders you use and from nonprofit counselors, or pay for a score service. The CFPB says “Lenders also use different credit scores for different types of loans,” so it’s normal to see slightly different scores (CFPB, last reviewed Oct. 15, 2026).
If you find a mistake
Disputing errors is free: the FTC says to “contact the credit bureaus and the business that supplied the information to dispute the mistakes on your report.” You don’t need to pay anyone to do this.
Free fraud protections
The FTC says a credit freeze is “free to place and lift” (contact each of Experian, TransUnion and Equifax), and you can place “a free, one-year fraud alert” by contacting one bureau, which “must tell the other two.”
How we research and compare products
General information, not financial advice. Moneysilk is not a credit bureau and does not offer credit repair.
Sources
- Free Credit Reports, Federal Trade Commission (accessed October 19, 2026)
- How do I get a free copy of my credit reports?, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (accessed October 19, 2026)
- Where can I get my credit scores? (last reviewed Oct. 15, 2026), Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (accessed October 19, 2026)
- What To Know About Identity Theft (credit freeze, fraud alert), Federal Trade Commission (accessed October 19, 2026)
General information only; not financial, legal or tax advice. Moneysilk is not a lender and does not make credit decisions. Read our editorial standards and corrections policy.