How to Check Your Credit Report: Sources, Sections, and Timelines

Last updated October 7, 2026 · 1,326 words · Credit Checks

Consumers can get a free credit report from each of the three nationwide credit reporting agencies — Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion — through AnnualCreditReport.com, by phone, or by mail. Federal law sets the free-report right at every 12 months, and the three agencies currently provide free reports weekly at that site.

This guide is general educational information for U.S. readers. It is not financial advice and does not describe your individual credit file. Figures such as score ranges and timeline estimates are typical examples, not promises.

Key takeaways

Federal law gives consumers the right to a free credit report from each nationwide agency every 12 months, and the three agencies currently provide free reports weekly through AnnualCreditReport.com.
A credit report lists identifying information, account history, inquiries, public records, and collections, while a credit score is a separate number calculated from that information.
Most negative information, including late payments, stays on a credit report for 7 years, and hard inquiries typically remain for 2 years.
A credit reporting agency generally must investigate a dispute within 30 days, extended to 45 days if the consumer provides additional information during the first 30 days.
An initial fraud alert lasts 1 year and an extended fraud alert lasts 7 years, while a security freeze is free to place, temporarily lift, or remove under federal law.
Most credit scores, including FICO and VantageScore, use a range of 300 to 850.

Under federal law, a consumer can obtain a free credit report from each of the three nationwide credit reporting agencies — Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion — through AnnualCreditReport.com, by telephone, or by mail. The Fair Credit Reporting Act sets the free-report right at every 12 months, and the three agencies currently provide free reports weekly at that site. Requesting a report through that channel requires no purchase.

Where credit reports come from

Credit reports are compiled by private companies known as credit reporting agencies. The three nationwide agencies — Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion — gather account information that lenders, landlords, utility providers, and debt collectors furnish about a consumer's accounts, then sell reports to businesses evaluating applications for credit, insurance, employment, or housing.

The Federal Trade Commission publishes a consumer page on free credit reports describing the centralized request process, and FTC identifies AnnualCreditReport.com as the authorized source for the free reports required by federal law. That site, AnnualCreditReport.com, is operated by the three nationwide agencies for that purpose.

A report can be requested in three ways:

Online through AnnualCreditReport.com, which serves all three nationwide agencies from one request process.
By telephone, using the toll-free number published on that site.
By mail, using the request form available on the same site.

What the Fair Credit Reporting Act guarantees

The FCRA (15 U.S.C. section 1681) was enacted in 1970 and amended by the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act in 2003. Among its provisions is the right to a free credit report from each nationwide agency every 12 months. The three agencies currently provide free reports weekly through AnnualCreditReport.com, a schedule they have continued beyond the statutory minimum.

The law also sets expectations for accuracy. When a consumer disputes an item, a credit reporting agency generally must investigate within 30 days; that period can extend to 45 days if the consumer provides additional information during the initial 30-day window.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, created by the Dodd-Frank Act in 2010 and operating since 2011, maintains a consumer resource on credit reports and scores that explains what the documents contain and how they are used.

What appears in a credit report

Section	What it typically contains
Identifying information	Name, current and previous addresses, date of birth, Social Security number, and employment information supplied by creditors
Account history	Creditor names, account type, date opened, credit limit or original loan amount, current balance, scheduled payment, and month-by-month payment status
Inquiries	Requests for the report made by lenders and others, categorized as hard inquiries or soft inquiries
Public records	Bankruptcy filings and other court records that are reported to the agencies
Collections	Accounts placed with collection agencies and the reported status of each

Every account entry is reported as of a specific date, and furnishers update on different schedules. Two reports pulled days apart can therefore show different balances or different account statuses. The credit profile page explains how the file behind those entries is assembled.

How long information remains on a report

Most negative information, including late payments, remains on a credit report for 7 years.
A Chapter 7 bankruptcy remains for 10 years, while a Chapter 13 bankruptcy remains for 7 years.
Hard inquiries typically remain on a credit report for 2 years.

Closed accounts in good standing are often reported for years, which is why old accounts still appear on a file. The guide to length of credit history explains how account age is measured and which dates are used.

Why reports from the three agencies can differ

Creditors are not required to furnish data to all three nationwide agencies. A bank may report an account to two agencies and not the third, so a specific account, balance, or inquiry can appear on one report and be missing from another. Because of that, the three files are separate records rather than copies of a single document. The credit reports hub covers how each file is structured, and credit checks explains the difference between a report a consumer requests and a check a business performs.

Checking a report is separate from checking a score

A credit report is a record of accounts, balances, payment status, and inquiries. A credit score is a number calculated from information in a report at a point in time. Most credit scores, including FICO and VantageScore, use a range of 300 to 850.

FICO publishes the approximate weights of the factors it considers:

Payment history — 35%
Amounts owed — 30%
Length of credit history — 15%
New credit — 10%
Credit mix — 10%

VantageScore uses its own factor weighting and does not publish fixed percentages. The comparison of FICO and VantageScore sets out how the two models differ, and credit score ranges explained describes what the numbers inside the 300-to-850 band represent. The guide to how credit scores are calculated and the credit score hub cover the underlying mechanics in more detail.

Each factor appears in a report in a different form. The payment history guide covers how reported payment status is read, and the credit utilization guide covers how revolving balances are compared with credit limits. A report does not contain a score, and a score does not reproduce a full report.

When a report shows information that looks wrong

Under the FCRA, a consumer can dispute an item with the credit reporting agency that issued the report, and generally can also dispute it directly with the company that supplied the data. The agency forwards the dispute, the furnisher researches the item, and the agency reports the result back to the consumer. The agency generally must complete its investigation within 30 days, and that period can extend to 45 days if the consumer provides additional information during the first 30 days. If information changes as a result, an updated report is provided. The credit reports hub covers how a dispute file is assembled and tracked.

Fraud alerts, freezes, and locks

Two FCRA sections address identity-related protections. Section 605A (15 U.S.C. section 1681c-1) covers fraud alerts, and section 605B (15 U.S.C. section 1681c-2) covers the blocking of information that resulted from identity theft. An initial fraud alert lasts 1 year, and an extended fraud alert lasts 7 years. A security freeze is free to place, temporarily lift, or remove under federal law.

The three tools work differently. A fraud alert asks businesses to take extra steps before opening credit in a consumer's name. A security freeze restricts access to the file itself, which in turn limits who can pull it. A credit lock is a product offered by a credit reporting agency that is separate from the statutory freeze, with terms set by the company rather than by the FCRA. The credit freeze and credit lock pages set out the difference, and identity theft covers what happens after a report is filed.

If identity theft is the reason a report looks unfamiliar

Identity theft can be reported at IdentityTheft.gov, a federal site, and to the Internal Revenue Service using Form 14039 when tax records are affected. Filing an identity theft report with a credit reporting agency is what triggers the blocking provision in FCRA section 605B, which is a separate remedy from a fraud alert or a freeze.

Reviewing a file between report requests

Because the free reports are issued on a repeating schedule, many consumers spread requests across the year rather than pulling all three files at once, so that a fresh file is available more often. Credit monitoring services, some offered by the credit reporting agencies and some by independent companies, watch a file for changes such as new inquiries or new accounts and send alerts when something appears. Credit monitoring describes what those services observe and what they do not. For economic context, the Federal Reserve's G.19 release reports total outstanding consumer credit across the country, which is a different measurement from any individual file.

This page is published for education only and is not financial advice.

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Frequently asked questions

How do I check my credit report for free?

Federal law gives consumers the right to a free credit report from each of the three nationwide credit reporting agencies every 12 months, and the three agencies currently provide free reports weekly through AnnualCreditReport.com. Requests can also be made by telephone or by mail through that site, and no purchase is required.

Is a credit report the same thing as a credit score?

No. A credit report is a record of accounts, balances, payment history, and inquiries. A credit score is a number calculated from report data at a point in time, and most scores, including FICO and VantageScore, use a range of 300 to 850.

Do the three nationwide agencies show the same information?

Not always. Creditors furnish data to different agencies, so an account or inquiry that appears on one report may be absent from another. Reviewing reports from Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion gives the fullest picture of what is being reported.

How long does a late payment stay on a credit report?

Most negative information, including late payments, remains on a credit report for 7 years. A Chapter 7 bankruptcy remains for 10 years, and a Chapter 13 bankruptcy remains for 7 years. Hard inquiries typically remain for 2 years.

What happens after a dispute is filed?

A credit reporting agency generally must investigate within 30 days. If the consumer provides additional information during that initial period, the investigation period can extend to 45 days. The agency sends the results back and provides an updated report if any information changed.

Does a fraud alert or a security freeze change what appears on a report?

Neither changes the underlying account data. A fraud alert asks businesses to take extra steps before extending credit in a consumer's name, and a security freeze restricts access to the file. An initial fraud alert lasts 1 year, an extended fraud alert lasts 7 years, and a security freeze is free to place, temporarily lift, or remove under federal law.