All consumers are entitled to a free credit report every 12 months. Some states, including Colorado, Georgia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Vermont have state laws that make residents eligible for a free credit report under state law. Additionally, all consumers who have been denied credit have a right to request a copy of their credit report for further review. Credit reports can also be requested with a credit score rating at any time for a fee from the 2 major credit reporting agencies, Equifax and TranUnion. Recently, the third agency, Experian, has stopped providing consumers with access to their reports.

When To Get A Free Report

Consumers are entitled to receive one free credit report for each agency every year. It might be wise to order one, work to improve your credit and then order the subsequent reports a few months later to see what has changed. You can also order all reports at the same time to compare, since neither report will show the exact same information.

How To Get A Free Report

There are many places, including directly from the credit reporting agencies, where you can order your credit report but the central location where you can request your free report is through the website Annual Credit Report. There you can request your report via email, regular mail, or by phone.

Why Get A Free Report?

It is widely suggested that you take advantage of the free credit report each year, if only for monitoring purposes. Reviewing your credit report often will help alert you to incidents of credit fraud and potentially false information that can dramatically reduce your credit rating. Any errors should be reported immediately to the credit reporting agency from where the report was published. If you are denied credit for any reason, you should request a copy of your report to review and see what you can do to improve the score before completing other applications for credit.

Keep in mind that your credit report will not contain a credit score. That type of report can be obtained for a fee by contacting the respective credit reporting agencies. Your credit score, created by Fair Issac complies your credit history information into a mathematical equation which lenders use to assess your creditworthiness.

Fixing Your Credit Report

When you do get and review your credit report and find that it may not be as good as it could or should be, know that you can make the improvements to your credit yourself. You can start by making sure your payments are on time each month and you control your spending on credit. Beware of the companies that claim they can repair your credit for you. Many times these companies are scams or in the very least, they charge you for services you can do on your own for free.

Visit Annual Credit Report website today and request your free credit report today to make sure you know where you stand financially. If you plan to make big purchase in the next few months, such as a house, car, or apply for a personal loan, it is in your best interest to work on improving your credit report before applying in order to get the best rates and have the most options available to you.