--- title: Reviewing Your Credit Report for Errors description: How to check your credit reports for mistakes and get them corrected. category: life tags: [credit-report, personal-finance, identity-theft] version: "1.0" updated: 2026-08-07 sources: - name: Free Credit Reports — Consumer Advice (FTC) url: https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/free-credit-reports - name: How do I dispute an error on my credit report? — Consumer Financial Protection Bureau url: https://www.consumerfinance.gov/ask-cfpb/how-do-i-dispute-an-error-on-my-credit-report-en-314/ - name: Disputing Errors on Your Credit Reports — Consumer Advice (FTC) url: https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/disputing-errors-your-credit-reports - name: Disputing errors on your credit reports (handout) — Consumer Financial Protection Bureau url: https://files.consumerfinance.gov/f/documents/cfpb_your-money-your-goals_dispute-credit-report_handout_2018-11.pdf --- 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. ## Get your reports - [ ] Pull all three reports, not just one `{essential}` All 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 only Only 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 `{when: cant-get-online}` Call 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 `{when: need-accessible-format}` It takes about three weeks to arrive. - [ ] Read each report line by line rather than skimming That's where small errors get missed. ## Check each section carefully - [ ] Confirm your personal details are right — name, current and past addresses, Social Security number, employers Mixed-up personal info can be a sign your file has been merged with someone else's. - [ ] Check for accounts you don't recognize `{essential}` An 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 report You'll need to point to the exact item when you dispute it. ## File the dispute - [ ] Dispute with the credit bureau showing the error `{essential}` If 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 info `{essential}` Fixing 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 call You should explain in writing what you think is wrong, why, and include copies of documents that support your dispute. - [ ] Be specific and complete `{essential}` A 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 one Explain 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 send `{essential}` If 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 address If 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 `{when: suspect-identity-theft}` Do this as part of recovering your identity, alongside disputing with the bureaus. ## Follow up - [ ] Know the timeline so you can hold them to it `{essential}` The 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 info The 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" notice The 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 `{when: furnisher-confirms-error}` If, 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 `{when: disagree-with-outcome}` You 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 report If 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 later A fix at one bureau doesn't automatically carry over to the other two.