Free credit reports: weekly, from one official site

The only three ways to order

One website, one phone number, one address.

Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion run a central service for the free reports. The FTC lists the only ways to order them:

• online at AnnualCreditReport.com;
• by phone at 1-877-322-8228;
• by mailing the Annual Credit Report Request Form to Annual Credit Report Request Service, P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281.

Online, you can see the reports right away; by phone or mail they are processed and mailed within 15 days. Reports are also available in Braille, large print, or audio by calling the same number.

How often

Weekly, and the law guarantees yearly.

All three bureaus have permanently extended a program that lets you check your report from each one free every week at AnnualCreditReport.com. Separately, the Fair Credit Reporting Act requires each bureau to give you a free copy once every 12 months, ensure the information is accurate, and let you dispute mistakes. You can also get an extra free report after an adverse action notice — a denial of credit, insurance, housing, or a job based on your report — if you ask within 60 days, and if you are unemployed and plan to apply for a job within 60 days, on public assistance, a victim of fraud, or have a fraud alert on your file.

What to check

Every account, every address, every inquiry.

Review all three reports, because each bureau may get its information from different sources. Look for:

• accounts you do not recognize, including phone, utility, or medical accounts;
• late payments, balances, or limits that are wrong;
• addresses where you never lived and names you never used;
• inquiries from lenders you did not apply to.

The FTC says to check at least once a year, and especially before applying for credit, a loan, insurance, housing, or a job. Mistakes can be a sign of identity theft; if someone is misusing your information, IdentityTheft.gov builds a recovery plan. For what to do when your data is exposed, see the data breach checklist.

What ordering involves

Expect identity questions from each bureau.

To protect your file, each bureau verifies who you are. Be ready to give your name, address, Social Security number, and date of birth, and your previous address if you moved in the last two years. Each bureau will also ask questions only you should know, such as the amount of a monthly mortgage payment, and you answer them separately for each bureau. If a bureau needs more information, the report can take longer.

Avoid the look-alike sites

The official site never emails you for your Social Security number.

Other sites pretend to be associated with AnnualCreditReport.com or offer free reports, scores, or monitoring, and some use web addresses that purposely misspell the official name. The FTC warns they may sell you services or collect and misuse your information. AnnualCreditReport.com and the bureaus will not email you asking for your Social Security number or account information; treat any such email, pop-up, or call as a probable scam and report it at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. Type the address yourself rather than following a link — the same habit that defeats phishing.