Your credit report is a document that current and potential creditors use to evaluate how likely you are to repay debts. Credit reports are also used by creditors in determining the outcome of an application for a car loan, credit card, mortgage or even a rental property lease. Consumers with good credit reports are more likely to be approved for loans and enjoy lower interest rates on those loans than consumers with less-than-favorable credit reports. You are entitled to receive one free credit report each year from each of the three credit reporting agencies.

The Fair Credit Reporting Act

The Fair Credit Reporting Act, which was originally passed in 1970, was amended in 2003 to include a law that allows consumers to receive one free credit report each year from each of the three major credit reporting bureaus: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. Obtaining your free credit reports once each year can help you to stay on top of your credit by making sure that the information that is contained in the reports is factual and accurate. It is also a way to ensure that no fraudulent accounts have been opened in your name.

How to Get Free Reports

The U.S. government is contracted through only one website-- AnnualCreditReport.com-- to give consumers their free yearly credit reports. Other websites may advertise access to free credit reports or scores, but they almost always require a subscription to a credit monitoring service. To be sure that you're receiving the free annual credit reports that are allowed to you under the FCRA, only retrieve your reports from AnnualCreditReport.com.

Other Ways to Get Free Report

If you have been denied credit, rental housing, a cell phone contract or any other service that required a credit check, you may request a free copy of your credit report by calling or writing the credit agency that furnished the creditor with the report or by requesting a report online. You will receive a letter in the mail or one will be given to you directly by the creditor that declined your application to direct you to the credit reporting agency used to supply the credit report to them. Contact information for that particular credit reporting agency will be included in the letter.

Source:

FTC.gov: Your Access to Free Credit Reports

Resource:

Annual Credit Report