Free guide · Scarlet Beast En español →

Your credit report: getting it free, reading it, and fixing mistakes

For anyone who has never seen their credit report, was turned down because of one, found a mistake on one, or is being offered “credit repair” for a fee, and for the people helping them. This page passes on, by name, what the Federal Trade Commission and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau say: what a credit report is, how to get yours for free, what to check, how to dispute a mistake with the credit bureau and with the business that reported it, what has to happen next, how long true information stays, and how to spot a credit repair scam. It puts the lines you pick on one sheet, and prints a card to keep track of a dispute.

Before anything else

A credit report is a record of accounts. It is not a measure of you. That sentence is ours.
Looking at your own report is free. The FTC says the only authorized website is AnnualCreditReport.com, and the phone number is 1-877-322-8228. It says you can check each bureau’s report there once a week.
Turned down because of your report? The FTC says the company must send you a notice naming the credit bureau, and that you can get a free report from it if you ask within 60 days.
Disputing a mistake is free. The FTC says both the credit bureau and the business that reported the information have to correct what is wrong or incomplete.
The credit bureau has 30 days to investigate. The FTC says it must give you the results in writing.
No one can remove true information early. The FTC says most negative information can be reported for seven years, and bankruptcy for 10.
“Don’t pay upfront.” That is the CFPB’s rule for credit repair offers. The FTC says it is illegal for those companies to charge you before they help you.
If the weight turns into thoughts of suicide, call or text 988 at any hour. In danger right now? Call 911.
This page saves nothing. There is nowhere on it to type a name, an account or a Social Security number. Your browser still keeps a history.

Where to start

Get it. The FTC says the only ways to order your free annual credit reports are AnnualCreditReport.com, 1-877-322-8228, or the Annual Credit Report Request Form by mail. The three nationwide credit bureaus let you check each report there once a week for free.
After a denial. The FTC says an adverse action notice gives the name, address and phone number of the credit bureau, and that you can ask it for a free report within 60 days.
Read it. The FTC says to check that the information is accurate, complete and up to date, and that mistakes might be a sign of identity theft. See When someone has stolen your identity.
Dispute with the credit bureau. The FTC says to explain in writing what is wrong, include a copy of your report with the mistakes circled and copies of documents, send it by certified mail with a return receipt, and keep copies.
Dispute with the business too. The CFPB says the businesses that report information generally must investigate and respond within 30 days of receiving your dispute.
Afterwards. The FTC says the credit bureau has 30 days to investigate and must give you the results in writing. If that doesn’t resolve it, you can ask that a statement of the dispute be included in your file.
True but negative. The FTC says most negative information can be reported for seven years and bankruptcy for 10, and that companies that promise to repair your credit can’t remove true information.
A complaint. The CFPB takes complaints about credit reporting at 1-855-411-2372 (9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday). See also When you need a lawyer and can’t pay.

With JavaScript on, this page has more on each of these, and puts the lines you choose on one sheet.

More help

An account you never opened: When someone has stolen your identity.
A landlord’s background check: Tenant screening.
A collector is calling: When a debt collector calls.
Debts bigger than the month: When the money runs out, Bankruptcy: what it is, what it costs, and where to start and Payday loans, title loans, and when the car might be taken.
A court record, not a credit record: Clearing your record.
The legal side: When you need a lawyer and can’t pay.
Keeping track: Paper trail, a log of every call, letter and visit.
An offer that feels off: Is this a scam?
Right now: Get help now.
All our free tools.

General information from people who care, not legal or financial advice. We are not lawyers or financial advisers, and this page cannot know your report, your accounts or your state. We read no state’s law. Nothing here can promise what a dispute will bring, and nothing here says what to do about a debt. For your own situation, ask legal aid, a non-profit credit counselor, or your state attorney general’s office.

This page and its wording were written with AI (Claude) for Scarlet Beast (our AI policy). No lawyer or financial professional has reviewed it. The facts were read on October 7, 2026 on each source’s own pages: the Federal Trade Commission’s “Free Credit Reports”, “Disputing Errors on Your Credit Reports” (April 2024) and “Fixing Your Credit FAQs”; five Consumer Financial Protection Bureau answers (on getting a free report, disputing an error, how long information stays, what a credit score is, and credit repair scams; last reviewed between August 2023 and September 2026, each date is on its card); and the Bureau’s complaint page. The dollar figures are the sources’ own. Left out on purpose: the three bureaus’ mailing addresses for disputes (the two sources point to different places for the current ones), the FTC’s note about extra free Equifax reports, which runs only through 2026, any score to aim for, and any product. We did not read the Fair Credit Reporting Act itself, any state’s law, the bureaus’ own sites, or what happens after a complaint is filed, and we called no number. Everything marked “ours” is ours. It saves nothing: no cookies, no storage, and no analytics on this page.

Your credit report: getting it free, reading it, and fixing mistakes

Before anything else

More help

Signal over noise.

BET ON YOU