FTC Facts

For Consumers Federal Trade Commission

For The Consumer

www.ftc.gov 1-877-ftc-help

How to Dispute Credit Report Errors

Your credit report contains information about 

where you live, how you pay your bills, 

and whether you’ve been 

sued, arrested, or filed for 

bankruptcy. Consumer 

reporting companies sell 

the information in your 

report to creditors, insurers, 

employers, and other 

businesses that use it to 

evaluate your applications 

for credit, insurance, 

employment, or renting 

a home. The federal Fair 

Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) promotes the accuracy 

and privacy of information in the files of the nation’s 

consumer reporting companies. 

Some financial advisors and consumer 

advocates suggest that you review your credit report 

periodically. Why? 

 Because the information it contains affects 

whether you can get a loan—and how much you 

will have to pay to borrow money. 

 To make sure the information is accurate, 

complete, and up-to-date before you apply for a 

loan for a major purchase like a house or car, buy 

insurance, or apply for a job. 

 To help guard against identity theft. That’s when 

someone uses your personal information—like 

your name, your Social 

Security number, or your 

credit card number—to 

commit fraud. Identity 

thieves may use your 

information to open a new 

credit card account in your 

name. Then, when they don’t 

pay the bills, the delinquent 

account is reported on your 

credit report. Inaccurate 

information like that could 

affect your ability to get credit, insurance, or 

even a job. 

Getting Your Credit Report 

An amendment to 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. 

How to Order Your 

Free Report

The three nationwide consumer reporting companies 

have set up one website, toll-free telephone number, 

and mailing address through which you can order 

May 2006
your free annual report. To order, visit 

www.annualcreditreport.com, call 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. 

You can use the form in this brochure, or you can 

print it from ftc.gov/credit. Do not contact the 

three nationwide consumer 

reporting companies 

individually. They are 

providing free annual credit 

reports only through www.

annualcreditreport.com, 

877-322-8228, and Annual 

Credit Report Request 

Service, P.O. Box 105281, 

Atlanta, GA 30348-5281. 

You may order your 

reports from each of the 

three nationwide consumer 

reporting companies at the same time, or you can 

order from only one or two. The law allows you to 

order one free copy from each of the nationwide 

consumer reporting companies every 12 months.

You need to provide your name, address, Social 

Security number, and date of birth. If you have 

moved in the last two years, you may have to provide 

your previous address. To maintain the security 

of your file, each nationwide consumer reporting 

company may ask you for some information that 

only you would know, like the amount of your 

monthly mortgage payment. Each company may 

ask you for different information because the 

information each has in your file may come from 

different sources.

Other situations where you might 

be eligible for a free report

Under federal law, you’re also entitled to a free report 

if a company takes adverse action against you, such 

as denying your application for credit, insurance, or 

employment, based on information in your report. 

You must ask for your report within 60 days of 

receiving notice of the action. 

The notice will give you the 

name, address, and phone 

number of the consumer 

reporting company. 

You’re also entitled to one 

free report a year if you’re 

unemployed and plan to look 

for a job within 60 days; if 

you’re on welfare; or if your 

report is inaccurate because 

of fraud, including identity 

theft. 

Otherwise, a consumer reporting company may 

charge you up to $9.50 for another copy of your 

report within a 12-month period. To buy a copy of 

your report, contact:

Equifax - 800-685-1111; equifax.com

Experian - 888-397-3742; experian.com

TransUnion - 800-916-8800; transunion.com

Under state law, consumers in Colorado, 

Georgia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New 

Jersey, and Vermont already have free access to their 

credit reports.

For details, see Your Access to Free Credit Reports

at ftc.gov/credit. 

The law allows you to 

order one free copy of your 

credit report from 

each of the nationwide 

consumer reporting companies 

every 12 months.

FTC Facts For Consumers 2
Correcting Errors 

Under 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 

take advantage of all your rights under this law, 

contact the consumer reporting company and the 

information provider.

Step One

Tell the consumer reporting company, in writing, 

what information you think 

is inaccurate. Include copies 

(NOT originals) of documents 

that support your position. 

In addition to providing your 

complete name and address, 

your letter should clearly 

identify each item in your 

report you dispute, state the 

facts and explain why you 

dispute the information, and 

request that it be removed 

or corrected. You may want to enclose a copy of 

your report with the items in question circled. Your 

letter may look something like the one on page 4. 

Send your letter by certified mail, “return receipt 

requested,” so you can document what the consumer 

reporting company received. Keep copies of your 

dispute letter and enclosures.

Consumer reporting companies must investigate 

the items in question—usually within 30 days—

unless they consider your dispute frivolous. They also 

must forward all the relevant data you provide about 

the inaccuracy to the organization that provided 

the information. After the information provider 

receives notice of a dispute from the consumer 

reporting company, it must investigate, review 

the relevant information, and report the results 

back to the consumer reporting company. If the 

information provider finds the disputed information 

is inaccurate, it must notify all three nationwide 

consumer reporting companies so they can correct 

the information in your file.

When the investigation is complete, the 

consumer reporting company must give you the 

results in writing and a free copy of your report 

if the dispute results in a change. This free report 

does not count as your 

annual free report. If 

an item is changed or 

deleted, the consumer 

reporting company 

cannot put the disputed 

information back in your 

file unless the information 

provider verifies that it is 

accurate and complete. 

The consumer reporting 

company also must send 

you written notice that includes the name, address, 

and phone number of the information provider.

If you ask, the consumer reporting company 

must send notices of any corrections to anyone who 

received your report in the past six months. 

You can have a corrected copy of your report sent 

to anyone who received a copy during the past two 

years for employment purposes. 

If an investigation doesn’t resolve your dispute 

with the consumer reporting company, you can 

ask that a statement of the dispute be included in 

your file and in future reports. You also can ask the 

When the investigation is 

complete, the consumer 

reporting company must give 

you the results in writing and 

a free copy of your report if the 

dispute results in a change. 

FTC Facts For Consumers 3
Sample Dispute Letter

Date

Your Name 

Your Address, City, State, Zip Code 

Complaint Department

Name of Company

Address

City, State, Zip Code

Dear Sir or Madam: 

I am writing to dispute the following information in my file. I have circled 

the items I dispute on the attached copy of the report I received.

This item (identify item(s) disputed by name of source, such as creditors or 

tax court, and identify type of item, such as credit account, judgment, etc.) is 

(inaccurate or incomplete) because (describe what is inaccurate or incomplete 

and why). I am requesting that the item be removed (or request another specific 

change) to correct the information.

Enclosed are copies of (use this sentence if applicable and describe any 

enclosed documentation, such as payment records, court documents) supporting 

my position. Please reinvestigate this (these) matter(s) and (delete or correct) the 

disputed item(s) as soon as possible.

Sincerely, 

Your name 

Enclosures: (List what you are enclosing.)

consumer reporting company to 

provide your statement to anyone 

who received a copy of your report 

in the recent past. You can expect 

to pay a fee for this service.

Step Two

Tell the creditor or other 

information provider, in writing, 

that you dispute an item. Be sure 

to include copies (NOT originals) 

of documents that support your 

position. Many providers specify 

an address for disputes. If the 

provider reports the item to a 

consumer reporting company, 

it must include a notice of your 

dispute. And if you are correct—

that is, if the information is found 

to be inaccurate—the information 

provider may not report it again. 

Adding Accounts 

to Your File 

Your credit file may not reflect all 

your credit accounts. Although 

most national department store and all-purpose bank 

credit card accounts will be included in your file, 

not all creditors supply information to consumer 

reporting companies: some travel, entertainment, 

gasoline card companies, local retailers, and credit 

unions are among the creditors that don’t.

If you’ve been told that you were denied credit 

because of an “insufficient credit file” or “no credit 

file” and you have accounts with creditors that don’t 

appear in your credit file, ask the consumer reporting 

companies to add this information to future reports. 

Although they are not required to do so, many 

consumer reporting companies will add verifiable 

accounts for a fee. However, understand that if these 

creditors do not report to the consumer reporting 

company on a regular basis, the added items will not 

be updated in your file.

When negative information in your report 

is accurate, only the passage of time can assure 

its removal. A consumer reporting company can 

report most accurate negative information for seven 

years and bankruptcy information for 10 years. 

FTC Facts For Consumers 4
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

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
For The Consumer Federal Trade Commission

www.ftc.gov 1-877-ftc-help

Federal Trade Commission

Bureau of Consumer Protection

Office of Consumer and Business Education

Information about an unpaid judgment against you 

can be reported for seven years or until the statute of 

limitations runs out, whichever is longer. There is no 

time limit on reporting: information about criminal 

convictions; information reported in response to 

your application for a job that pays more than 

$75,000 a year; and information reported because 

you’ve applied for more than $150,000 worth of 

credit or life insurance. There is a standard method 

for calculating the seven-year reporting period. 

Generally, the period runs from the date that the 

event took place.

For more information, see Building a Better 

Credit Report 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-FTC-HELP (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.

FTC Facts For Consumers 6