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Credit Reports - Key Information for Consumers about Credit Reporting

A credit report is a summary of your credit history as reported by the three national credit reporting agencies - Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. It lists your credit obligations, as well as your payment history that the three national credit bureaus (the 3 repositories) show for you, including your credit cards, auto loans, and mortgages. It can also include court records, current and past addresses, other names you go by, and a list of recent inquiries into your credit report.

Here are some links related to credit reports and credit reporting topics, including how to obtain your free annual credit report:

• 3 Bureau Credit Reports - Reports from all three credit agencies are oftentimes merged into one 3 bureau report.
• Sample 3 Bureau Credit Report - This is a sample copy of how our credit report looks.
• 1 Bureau Credit Reports - One bureau reports come from only one of the three bureaus.
• Answers to Your Credit Report Questions - Questions and our answers to many of your credit reporting questions.
• Free Credit Report for Those Denied Credit - If denied credit based on your credit report, you may be entitled to a free report from the agency who supplied the report that resulted in the denial.

• How to get Your Free Annual Credit Report -You are entitled to a free credit report each year by Federal Law. Here are instructions on how to receive yours.
  • Free Annual Credit Report by Mail or Phone - If you don't have a computer, you can still get your free credit report each year that you are entitled to by Federal Law. Here are the instructions.
  • Free Credit Report but no Credit Card? - By Federal Law, you can get a free credit report by mail once a year even if you do not have a credit card. We tell you how to receive yours.
  • Free Annual Report for the Blind and Visually Impaired - The 3 national credit reporting agencies are developing a site that will make the free credit report by Federal Law accessible to those with visual impairments.

• Divorce Credit Report - It may be important to get your credit report before divorce. Take a few moments to procure a credit report that will show graphically what accounts you hold in common with your spouse. Closing those accounts before the divorce is finalized will provide a cleaner start as a single person.
• Bankruptcy Credit Report - Get your credit report before bankruptcy and list all items from the 3 credit bureaus in addition to any other items you know exist that may not be on your credit report.
• Credit Reports for Employment - Check your credit report before employment.
• Landlord Rental Credit Report - Credit Checks for Landlords
• Credit Report Monitoring - Monitoring your credit at all three credit bureaus may be valuable to help you manage your credit and perhaps catch identity theft issues early.

• Understanding Credit Reports - Basics for understanding your report and how to improve it.
  • How to Dispute Your Credit Report - To get a good credit reports, you must dispute inaccurate or incomplete items on your credit report.
  • Sample Dispute Form - Here's a sample dispute form you can print up, complete and send to each of the 3 national credit bureaus if you find inaccurate items in your report.
  • Using Credit Repair Companies Requires Extra Caution - Credit repair is not always what you expect. Be careful!
  • Where to File Complaints about Your Credit Report, or a Credit Reporting Company or a Credit Repair Company - Submit complaints to the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau