FTC Consumer Alert

Federal Trade Commission Bureau of Consumer Protection Office of Consumer & Business Education

Negative Credit Can Squeeze a Job Search

Washington, D.C. – Bad credit can affect your ability to get more credit. Did you know it also 

can affect your ability to get or keep a job? Employers often use a credit report when they hire and 

evaluate employees for promotion, reassignment, or retention.

According to the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), which is enforced by the Federal Trade 

Commission (FTC) and your state Attorney General, an employer must get your permission to look 

at your credit report. If you don’t get a job because of information in your report, the employer must 

show you the report and tell you how to get a copy from the consumer reporting company. There is no 

charge for the report if you request it within 60 days of getting notice that you did not get the job.

The FCRA requires each of the nationwide consumer reporting companies — Equifax, Experian, 

and TransUnion — to provide you with a free copy of your credit report, at your request, once every 

12 months. To order your free annual report from one or all national consumer reporting companies, 

visit www.annualcreditreport.com, call toll-free 877-322-8228, or complete the Annual Credit 

Report Request Form and mail it to: Annual Credit Report Request Service, P. O. Box 105281, 

Atlanta, GA 30348-5281. The form is at the back of this brochure; or you can print it from ftc.gov/

credit. Do not contact the three nationwide consumer reporting companies individually. They provide 

free annual credit reports only through 877-322-8228, www.annualcreditreport.com, and Annual 

Credit Report Request Service, P. O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281. For more information, 

see Your Access to Free Credit Reports at ftc.gov/credit.

According to the FCRA, both the consumer reporting company and the information provider (that 

is, the person, company, or organization that provides information about you to a consumer reporting 

company) are responsible for correcting inaccurate or incomplete information in your report. To 

protect your rights under the law, contact both the consumer reporting company and the information 

provider to dispute any information. For more information, see How to Dispute Credit Report Errors

at ftc.gov/credit.

The FTC works for the consumer to prevent fraudulent, deceptive, and unfair business practices 

in the marketplace and to provide information to help consumers spot, stop, and avoid them. To file 

a complaint or to get free information on consumer issues, visit ftc.gov or call toll-free, 1-877-FTCHELP (1-877-382-4357); TTY: 1-866-653-4261. The FTC enters Internet, telemarketing, identity 

theft, and other fraud-related complaints into Consumer Sentinel, a secure, online database available 

to hundreds of civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad.

1-877-FTC-HELP FOR THE CONSUMER

FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION ftc.gov

May 2006
You have the right to get a free copy of your credit file disclosure, commonly called a credit report, once every 12 months, from each of

the nationwide consumer credit reporting companies - Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.

For instant access to your free credit report, visit www.annualcreditreport.com.

For more information on obtaining your free credit report, visit www.annualcreditreport.com or call 1-877-322-8228.

Use this form if you prefer to write to request your credit report from any, or all, of the nationwide consumer credit reporting companies. The

following information is required to process your request. Omission of any information may delay your request.

If additional information is needed to process your request, the consumer credit

reporting company will contact you by mail.

Your request will be processed within 15 days of receipt and then mailed to you.

Annual Credit Report Request Form

Once complete, fold (do not staple or tape), place into a #10 envelope, affix required postage and mail to:

Annual Credit Report Request Service P.O. Box 105281 Atlanta, GA 30348-5281.

Copyright 2004, Central Source LLC

Equifax

Experian

TransUnion

I want a credit report from (shade

each that you would like to

receive):

Shade here if, for security

reasons, you want your credit

report to include no more than

the last four digits of your

Social Security Number.

Shade Circle Like This >

Not Like This >

Social Security Number:

- -

Date of Birth:

/ /

Month Day Year

First Name M.I.

Last Name JR, SR, III, etc.

Current Mailing Address:

House Number Street Name

City State ZipCode

City State ZipCode

Apartment Number / Private Mailbox For Puerto Rico Only: Print Urbanization Name

House Number Street Name

Previous Mailing Address (complete only if at current mailing address for less than two years):

Fold Here Fold Here

Fold Here Fold Here

Please use a Black or Blue Pen and write your responses in PRINTED CAPITAL LETTERS without touching the sides of the boxes like the examples listed below:

Apartment Number / Private Mailbox For Puerto Rico Only: Print Urbanization Name

31238

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