How to Get Your Annual Credit Report

One important part of keeping your identity secure is performing regular checks on your credit report. Even if you have had no signs of identity theft, checking your credit report can uncover signs before it gets out of hand.  Your credit report gives potential lenders a quick summary of how risky it is to lend you money.  Even if you have no plans to apply for a loan or credit card, it is still important to make sure your credit report is 100% accurate.

Under federal law, you are entitled to a free credit report every year from each of the three credit bureaus.  If you space them out, you can obtain one every four months.  You are also entitled to a free report if you have been denied credit because of negative information in a credit report or if you believe you may have been the victim of identity theft.  If you have the opportunity to request a free credit report, then get one and check it out!

The three credit bureaus set up a site that will assist you in obtaining your free annual reports.  Annualcreditreport.com will walk you through the process of requesting your credit report from any or all of the credit bureaus.  DO NOT, DO NOT, DO NOT give your credit card number to any site claiming to offer you a free credit report.  You may get your credit report, but you are also signing up for trial offers that you will have to cancel.  Even worse, if the site is not legitimate, you could be giving your social security number to identity thieves.

Finally, the report should have information on what to do if any claim is inaccurate.  Be sure to promptly report anything that is not accurate.  You also have the opportunity to add a statement of up to 100 words on the report to explain items.  However, most people recommend that you not do this except in very rare circumstances because your credit report is probably going to be processed by a computer and the statements that most people make only hurt their case.  (For example, writing "I was late on this payment because I forgot to pay it while I was on vacation in Bermuda." is not going to help your report.)