What Is a Credit Report?

What a Credit Report Contains

A credit report typically includes personal identifying information such as your name, current and former addresses, Social Security number, and date of birth. It also lists credit accounts, including the type of account, date opened, credit limit or loan amount, balance, and payment history.

Public record information may appear, such as bankruptcies, tax liens, or civil judgments, though reporting periods and inclusion rules vary. The report also shows inquiries, which are records of when a lender or other entity requested your report.

Consumer statements, such as a brief explanation of a dispute, may be added. The Fair Credit Reporting Act governs what can be included and for how long information may remain on a report.

• Identifying information
• Credit accounts and payment history
• Public records
• Inquiries
• Consumer statements

Who Compiles Credit Reports

National credit reporting companies (often called credit bureaus) collect information from creditors, public records, and other sources. The three largest are Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion, but there are others, including specialty companies that focus on areas such as employment or insurance.

These companies are separate entities and do not share a single database. As a result, your credit report from one company may differ from another's. The term credit bureau is a generic label for these companies, not a government agency.

Information flows to them voluntarily from lenders and other furnishers. The Fair Credit Reporting Act requires furnishers to provide accurate information and to correct errors they discover.

How to Get Your Credit Report

You can request free credit reports from each nationwide credit reporting company at AnnualCreditReport.com, the only federally authorized source for free annual reports. The site is operated by the three largest companies.

Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, you are entitled to a free report from each nationwide company every twelve months. You may also be eligible for additional free reports in certain situations, such as after a fraud alert or if you are denied credit based on information in a report.

A free credit report is different from a free credit score. Some services offer scores, but the official annual reports are obtained through AnnualCreditReport.com. The related guides on annual-credit-report and free-credit-report explain these distinctions further.

How to Read a Credit Report

A credit report is divided into sections: personal information, account history, public records, and inquiries. Each account shows the creditor's name, account number (often partially masked), status, balance, and payment history.

Payment history is often shown as a grid or list of months with codes indicating whether payments were made on time or late. Derogatory marks, such as late payments, collections, or bankruptcies, may remain for a set number of years. The guide on how-to-read-a-credit-report covers these codes in more detail.

Inquiries are divided into hard and soft inquiries. Hard inquiries typically result from applications for credit and may be visible to lenders. Soft inquiries, such as when you check your own report, are not shown to lenders.

Reading a report carefully can help you identify errors. If you find information that is inaccurate or incomplete, you have the right to dispute it under the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

How to Check Your Credit Report

Checking your credit report involves reviewing it for accuracy and completeness. You can request reports from AnnualCreditReport.com or by phone, mail, or online. Consumers often review reports from all three nationwide companies because they may differ.

When checking, verify personal information, account balances, payment histories, and inquiries. Look for accounts you do not recognize, incorrect balances, or duplicate entries. The how-to-check-credit-report guide provides a step-by-step overview of this process.

If you find an error, you can file a dispute with the credit reporting company and, in some cases, with the furnisher. The company must investigate and respond within a set time, usually thirty days.

Who Can See Your Credit Report

Access to credit reports is limited by the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Lenders, landlords, employers (with your written permission), insurers, and government agencies may access reports for permissible purposes.

Permissible purposes include evaluating applications for credit, employment, insurance, or rental housing. Creditors may also review reports for account monitoring or collection.

You have the right to know who has accessed your report. The report includes a list of inquiries, though some may be labeled as promotional or account review inquiries. A credit-bureau guide can help explain how these companies operate.

Your Rights and Disputing Errors

The Fair Credit Reporting Act gives you several rights, including the right to know what is in your report, to dispute inaccurate information, and to have errors corrected. You also have the right to a free report under certain circumstances.

If you dispute information, the credit reporting company must investigate, usually within thirty days. It must forward your dispute to the furnisher if the information came from them. If the information is found to be inaccurate or incomplete, it must be corrected or deleted.

You can submit disputes online, by mail, or by phone. Keep copies of your correspondence and any supporting documents. If a dispute is not resolved to your satisfaction, you may add a statement of dispute to your report.

Identity theft is a special case. If you are a victim, you can place a fraud alert or security freeze, and you may file a report at IdentityTheft.gov.