How to Get Your Credit Report

There are three major credit bureaus in the U.S Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion.

To stay on top of your credit situation—and give yourself half a chance to catch identity theft as soon as it happens—you need to order a copy of your credit report once a year from each of the three major credit bureaus.

Wait a minute, you’re thinking—once a year? Is that often enough? You’re right—it’s not. An identity thief could do a lot of damage to your credit in twelve months, so to get more bang for your buck, it’s a good idea to stagger your orders from the three different credit bureaus. Look at Equifax in January, TransUnion in May, and so on. If you notice anything suspicious one month, order the other two as well so you have all the information as soon as possible.

Why check all three?

Well, if life were simple, your reports from Experian, Equifax and TransUnion would be identical. But they probably aren’t. The three bureaus may get different information, and there’s likely to be a typo or two, just to keep things interesting. Also, when checking your creditworthiness, lenders might order your report from only one of the three bureaus. That means the signs of trouble—like the request a bank makes when a thief applies for a car loan in your name—will only appear on one of the three reports.

What’s this going to cost me?

By federal law, the credit bureaus can charge you no more than nine dollars and change for each copy of your report. Some states have laws lowering the price for the first copy you order each year.

No matter where you live, you get a complimentary copy if you are unemployed and planning to apply for a job in the next six months, or if you have been turned down for a loan or a job because of a bad credit report. Identity theft victims also have the right to receive a free credit report from each bureau.

Not so free.

If you’re online, you’ve probably seen a lot of offers for “free” credit reports. Watch out—this is a different story entirely. “Free” in this case means either, “we’ll also enroll you in our credit-monitoring service and charge you an arm and a leg,” or “we’re actually identity thieves trying to con you into giving us your Social Security number. To avoid a scam, never give out your personal information in response to an unsolicited e-mail.

Okay, what do I do?

You can order your credit report online, over the phone, or by mail. If you go online, you get to see your credit report instantly, but the process is a little tricky. Although the law says the credit bureaus have to give you your credit report for $9.00 or less, they’d much rather sell you additional services for more money, so don’t just choose the first option you see, which will be the $100 super-deluxe credit-monitoring-plus-credit-score-plus quarterly-credit-report-plus-hot-wax deal. You don’t need all those extras, so ignore the first offer and look around on the website until you find the smaller, less exciting option that says something like “single credit report” or “$9.00 credit report.” You may have to click through a number of web pages to find it. Boring, yes, but much cheaper.

Even harder to locate on the credit bureau web pages is the option for folks who get a free report because they are unemployed, have been denied credit, or are identity theft victims. A cryptic reference, in gray fine print, will be hidden at the top, bottom, or sides of the screen. You might have to pull out your magnifying glass to find it.

Once you do, you’ll learn that credit bureaus aren’t required to give you a free report online. If you live in Georgia or are unemployed, for instance, they can still charge you nine bucks for an online credit report. To get your free or discounted report, you may have to order over the phone, or even by mail. So if you want a free report, skip the online option. The easiest way to find out how to order a freebie is to call each credit bureau and listen to the automated options.