Mistakes on credit reports are more common than you'd think — a wrong balance, an account that isn't yours, a payment marked late when it wasn't. Left alone, they can quietly cost you a loan, an apartment, or a better interest rate. Here's how to work through checking your reports and getting anything wrong fixed.

29 items · 7 essential reviewed 7 Aug 2026 4 sources .md .json

Get your reports

Pull all three reports, not just oneAll three nationwide credit bureaus have permanently extended a program that lets you check your credit report from each once a week for free at AnnualCreditReport.com. Errors often show up on only one bureau's file, so checking a single one can miss problems.
Use AnnualCreditReport.com onlyOnly one website — AnnualCreditReport.com — is authorized to fill orders for the free annual credit reports you are entitled to by law. Other "free credit report" sites are usually trying to sell you something.
Request by phone or mail if you can't get online if cant get onlineCall toll-free 1-877-322-8228 — it'll be processed and mailed to you within 15 days.
Ask for Braille, large print, or audio format if you need it if need accessible formatIt takes about three weeks to arrive.
Read each report line by line rather than skimmingThat's where small errors get missed.

Check each section carefully

Confirm your personal details are right — name, current and past addresses, Social Security number, employersMixed-up personal info can be a sign your file has been merged with someone else's.
Check for accounts you don't recognizeAn account you never opened is a sign of possible identity theft, not just a clerical slip.
Compare balances and credit limits against your own records
Check payment history for late marks on payments you're sure you made on time
Look for accounts marked open that you've actually closed (or the reverse)
Watch for the same debt listed more than once, especially old debts sold to collections
Check public records and inquiries for anything you don't recognize
Circle or highlight each specific error on a copy of the reportYou'll need to point to the exact item when you dispute it.

File the dispute

Dispute with the credit bureau showing the errorIf you identify an error on your credit report, you should start by disputing that information with the credit reporting company (Experian, Equifax, and/or Transunion).
Also dispute with the company that reported the wrong infoFixing an error generally means contacting both the credit reporting company and the company that provided the information. Fixing it in only one place means it can reappear later.
Put your dispute in writing, not just a phone callYou should explain in writing what you think is wrong, why, and include copies of documents that support your dispute.
Be specific and completeA credit reporting company is not required to investigate disputes that it reasonably determines are frivolous or irrelevant, such as disputes that do not contain enough information for the CRA to investigate them. Name the exact item and explain clearly why it's wrong.
Use the bureau's own dispute form when there is oneExplain in writing what you think is wrong, include the credit bureau's dispute form (if they have one), copies of documents that support your dispute, and keep records of everything you send.
Keep copies of everything you sendIf the dispute stalls or the outcome is wrong, you'll need proof of exactly what you sent and when.
Send mail disputes to the right addressIf you send your dispute by mail, you can use the address found on your credit report or a credit bureau's address for disputes.
File a report at IdentityTheft.gov if you suspect identity theft if suspect identity theftDo this as part of recovering your identity, alongside disputing with the bureaus.

Follow up

Know the timeline so you can hold them to itThe credit reporting company generally has 30 calendar days (45 days in some cases) to investigate your dispute. They have five business days to notify you of the results once the investigation is complete.
Expect the bureau to loop in whoever reported the infoThe credit reporting company you sent the dispute letter to must investigate your dispute, forward the dispute and all relevant information you provided to the company that provided the information about you, and report the results back to you.
Watch for a "frivolous dispute" noticeThe company must send you a notice explaining that it has decided the dispute is frivolous and why it has made that determination, and the notice must be sent within five business days after it made the decision. If that happens, add the missing details and resubmit.
Pull the updated report to confirm the fix actually happened, rather than assuming it did
Expect the furnisher to correct other bureaus too if it agrees it sent bad info if furnisher confirms errorIf, as a result of your dispute, a furnisher determines they sent the wrong information to a credit reporting company, they must send the correction to various credit reporting companies to which they had provided the incorrect information.
Push back if you disagree with the outcome if disagree with outcomeYou can send the credit reporting company a letter stating you don't agree with the outcome.
Note a correction won't use up your free annual reportIf the error is fixed, you'll receive a copy of your updated credit report, which doesn't count as your free annual report.
Re-check all three reports again a few months laterA fix at one bureau doesn't automatically carry over to the other two.

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Sources & upkeep

All 4 sources are re-checked weekly. When one changes a fact this checklist asserts, the step is edited and the change is logged — the revision history is public.

Different situation? — it only selects from the steps above; nothing new is written.

Essential isn’t a shorter checklist — it’s the same one with the optional steps tucked away. Everything’s still a click away, and the essential marks stay put in anything you make from this, right down to the .json.

A helpful starting point, not professional advice — here’s why.