Credit records

Check and Correct Credit Reports

Credit reports can affect housing, loans, insurance, and some employment decisions. This guide explains how to obtain official free reports, review them carefully, dispute inaccurate information, and avoid companies that promise impossible results.

Credit reportsDisputesIdentity theft

Educational information only: OACRA does not repair credit, dispute accounts for consumers, or provide legal or financial advice. Accurate negative information generally cannot be removed merely because it is unfavorable.

Get reports from the official source

AnnualCreditReport.com is the federally authorized website for free reports from Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. Free online reports are currently available weekly. Requesting your own report does not lower your credit score.

Reports may differ because creditors do not always report to every bureau. Review all three when possible.

Verify identity carefully

The service may ask identity-verification questions based on financial records. Use current and prior addresses accurately. If online verification fails, follow official telephone or mail instructions and send copies—not originals—of requested documents.

Review each section

Section	What to check
Personal information	Name variations, Social Security number fragments, addresses, phone numbers, and employers
Accounts	Ownership, balances, payment status, open or closed status, limits, and dates
Collections	Whether the debt belongs to you, amount, collector, and duplicate reporting
Public records	Accuracy and whether the information is permitted to appear
Inquiries	Companies that accessed the report and whether the inquiry is recognized

Common errors to identify

• Accounts belonging to someone with a similar name
• Identity-theft accounts
• Closed accounts reported as open
• Authorized-user accounts reported as individually owned
• Incorrect late payments, balances, limits, or dates
• The same debt reported more than once
• Previously corrected information reappearing
• Incorrect addresses or identifying information

Dispute inaccurate information

1. Identify the exact error. Note the bureau, creditor, account number, and disputed field.
2. Gather support. Use copies of statements, payment records, identity documents, court records, or correspondence as appropriate.
3. Dispute with the credit bureau. Explain what is wrong, why, and the correction requested.
4. Dispute with the information provider. Contact the creditor, collector, or other furnisher.
5. Keep records. Save the dispute, documents, confirmation, and delivery proof.
6. Review the results. Compare the updated report with the original.

Understand investigation timing

A credit reporting company generally must investigate within 30 days. Certain circumstances can extend the period to 45 days. The company generally has five business days after completing the investigation to notify the consumer of the results.

When identity theft is involved

Use IdentityTheft.gov to report identity theft and create a recovery plan. Consider a fraud alert or security freeze with each nationwide credit bureau. A freeze must be placed separately with each company.

Accurate negative information

A dispute process is for information that is inaccurate or incomplete. It does not require removal of information that is accurate and still legally reportable. Paying a collection or charge-off may update the balance but does not necessarily remove the account.

Avoid credit-repair scams

• Do not pay for promises to remove accurate information.
• Do not create a false identity or use a substitute number.
• Be cautious of guaranteed score increases.
• Do not sign blank dispute forms.
• Do not allow a company to dispute every account without reviewing accuracy.
• Consumers can dispute errors themselves for free.

If the dispute remains unresolved

Review the investigation notice and determine whether documents or facts were overlooked. Consumers may add a brief statement of dispute in some circumstances. For complaints about inaccurate or incomplete information, current CFPB procedures require consumers to dispute directly with the credit reporting company first and generally wait until the dispute is no longer pending or 45 days have passed.

Official sources

• AnnualCreditReport.com
• CFPB: Credit reports and scores
• CFPB: How to dispute an error
• CFPB: Common errors
• CFPB: Investigation timing
• FTC: IdentityTheft.gov

Last reviewed July 28, 2026.

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