Summary
This interactive guide displays an example of a personal credit report and explains how each part works.
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You can get a free credit report, but do you know how to read and understand it? This interactive guide will help you determine the most effective way to acquire your report and how to read and understand it once you receive it.
One free report every 12 months
Everyone is entitled by law to look at their credit report from each of the three credit bureaus free of charge once every 12 months, or you can buy a credit report from each of the three bureaus if you want to view your report more often.
The three large U.S. credit bureaus – Equifax, Experian and TransUnion – were required by a 2003 federal law to set up AnnualCreditReport.com as a central online resource for report requests. You can also request your reports by calling 877-322-8228 or by downloading a request form and mailing it to:
Annual Credit Report Request Service
P.O. Box 105281
Atlanta, GA 30348-5281
Upon visiting AnnualCreditReport.com, users are directed to a form page and asked to provide personal identifying information, including name and address, Social Security number and date of birth.
After submitting your basic information, you go to a page allowing you to select reports from the three large credit bureaus by checking boxes next to the Equifax, Experian and TransUnion logos. You can select one or all of the credit bureaus. Instructions discuss whether you should review all three reports immediately, or whether you should spread the requests over a period of time.
The next step is designed to verify your identity. A page of questions appears about your creditors, loan terms or other details on the credit report that you’re expected to know. You need to select the correct answers get access to the credit report. The AnnualCredit.Report.com site is integrated with the websites of the credit bureaus, making the transition from one to the other seamless. After requesting one report, you may return to the main site to repeat the process with another credit bureau.
If you use up your free credit report and want to check again for some reason, you can pay about $20 for each report. Or, you can get a free TransUnion credit report from CreditCards.com.
Sample credit report
Many consumers have a difficult time understanding their credit reports and piecing the three reports together, so here are examples and explanations of the most common elements that appear in each of the three free credit bureau reports.
Personal information  Personal information is identifying information about the credit report requestor. Experian and TransUnion include this information at the beginning of your credit report, while Equifax puts it at the end of its report. | |
|---|---|
| Name: JOE Q. CONSUMER Other names: CONSUMER, JOSEPH Q. Report number: XXXXXXX A report number is generated by the three credit reporting agencies as a reference for consumers to use if they should need to contact the issuing bureau. Note this number when you need to contact Equifax, Experian or TransUnion online, by phone or by mail. Report date: April 4, 2017 | SSN: XXX-XX-6789 During the AnnualCreditReport.com signup process, you can choose to have the report display your entire Social Security number or — to protect your identity — just the last four digits. Date of birth: 04/1965 |
| CURRENT ADDRESS: Check to make sure your address information is accurate. 123 MAIN ST., NEW YORK, NY 12345 | PREVIOUS ADDRESSES: 17 BROOKLYN AVE., LONG ISLAND, NY 56789 |
| EMPLOYMENT DATA REPORTED Only some employers will report your employment information to one or all of the credit bureaus. Don’t panic if all your employment information is not recorded on this report. You can contact the individual credit bureaus to correct misreported employment data. Employer name: CREDITCARDS.COM | Position: PROGRAMMER Hired: 05/2011 Position: Hired: 03/2007 |
| Public records Public records are court judgments, wage garnishments, liens and bankruptcy files that may be reported to the credit bureaus. | ||
|---|---|---|
| ROCKWELL MUNICIPAL Docket#: 9B004875 | ||
| 5468 MLK AVE., SUITE 300, ROCKWELL, TX 97845 | Type: Civil judgment Court type: Municipal Date paid: 07/2012 Assets: $1,089 | Date filed: 12/2011 Responsibility: Participant on account Plaintiff: BANK OF TEXAS Plaintiff attorney: RICHARD PERRY Amount: $1,089 |
| Estimated date that this item will be removed 07/2019 Only TransUnion includes an estimate for the date that a public record will be removed from your credit report. | ||
| Adverse accounts, potentially negative items Adverse accounts, or potentially negative items, are credit accounts you have opened and have been reported as either unpaid or paid after a due date during one or more months throughout the history of the credit line. Even if you are current on your payments for a credit account, it still may be included in this section of your credit report — if you had ever missed or were late on a payment. All three bureaus allow you to dispute the information in this section if you can prove an error. Adverse accounts should fall off your credit report after 7 years, but you need to be sure that they do by checking your credit reports often and reporting overheld accounts. | ||
|---|---|---|
| COLLECTION RECOVERY SVC #321568 | ||
| 123 CHARLES ST. SUITE 202 CORONA, CA 92877-0137 (909) 898-4424 | Balance: $0 Date verified: 06/2011 Original balance: $243 Original creditor: SEARS ROEBUCK Credit limit: $500 Past due: $0 Terms: $72 for 23 months | Pay status: Payment after charge off/collection Payment status is the current status of your adverse account. In this example, the account was paid in full after being sent to a collection agency. Account type: Installment account An installment account is a fixed line of credit that is paid over a certain period of time. Examples of installment accounts include bank loans, car loans and student loans. Responsibility: Individual account |
| Remarks: >Paid collection< Estimated date that this item will be removed: 05/2021 | ||
| DONOVAN & WILSON | ||
| 1045 MAIN ST., SUITE 105 RIVERSIDE, CA 92501 (909) 781-1248 | Balance: $12,745 Date updated: 06/2011 Original balance: $15,243 | Pay status: 120 days past due In this example, the account is currently being reported as 120 days past due. Account type: Revolving account Revolving accounts are variable lines of credit with interest accrued based on the credit balance. Credit cards are revolving accounts. Responsibility: Individual account |
| Estimated date that this item will be removed: 06/2018 | ||
The following item is suppressed pending credit grantor update:  If an item is suppressed on your credit report, it means that the credit reporting agency is withholding the account information from anyone besides you who requests your credit report. In this case, the item is being suppressed until the credit grantor, Discover Financial Services, updates the bureau about information that the bureau requested from them. DISCOVER FINANCIAL SVC #6053000570658798 | ||
| 123 SMITH AVE. UNIT 55G WILMINGTON, DE 19850-5316 Phone number not available | Balance: $2,145 Date updated: 08/2012 High balance: $25,463 Collateral: 2002 Chevy Past due: $136 Terms: $68 for 260 months | Pay status: 60 days past due Account type: Installment account An installment account is a fixed line of credit that is paid over a certain period of time. Examples of installment accounts include bank loans, car loans and student loans. Responsibility: Individual account |
| Loan type: Student loan Remarks: Repossession Maximum delinquency of 60 days in 07/2012 for $400 Estimated date that this item will be removed: 06/2019 | ||
| Accounts in good standing, satisfactory accounts Accounts in good standing, or satisfactory accounts, are accounts that have been reported to the credit bureau(s) as paid on time and in full during a reported period of time, typically up to 53 months. | ||
|---|---|---|
| GMAC FINANCING #640006137129 | ||
| 78901 JENKINS CIR FLOOR 15 MIAMI, FL 33025 Phone number not available | Balance: $1,145 Date updated: 08/2017 High balance: $10,000 Collateral: 2009 Dodge Ram Collateral is property that the credit account holder uses to secure a line of credit. In this example, a truck loan was granted, and the credit grantee agreed to surrender his truck if he is unable to pay the loan. Credit limit: $10,000 | Pay status: Pays as agreed Payment status is the current status of your adverse account. In this example, the account is being paid in full each month as agreed to in the credit terms. Account type: Installment account An installment account is a fixed line of credit that is paid over a certain period of time. Examples of installment accounts include bank loans, car loans and student loans. Responsibility: Individual account |
| Loan type: Automobile Remarks: Paid by insurance Estimated date that this item will be removed: 12/2023 | ||
| Revolving accounts | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| CAPITAL ONE | |||
| P.O. Box 30281 Salt Lake City, UT 841300281 | |||
| Account Number: | 400XXXXXXXXXXXX | Pay | Pays as agreed |
| Account owner: | Individual account | High credit: | $4,304 |
| Type of account | Revolving | Credit limit | $10,500 |
| Date opened: | 06/08/2010 | Balance: | $965 |
| 81-month payment history | ||||||||||||
| Year | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
| 2017 | ||||||||||||
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| Historical account information | ||||||
| 03/2017 | 02/2017 | 01/2017 | 12/2016 | 11/2016 | 10/2016 | |
| Balance | 965 | 1095 | 2336 | 1161 | 1268 | 950 |
| Scheduled payment amount | 25 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 25 |
| Actual payment amount | 1095 | 2336 | 1161 | 1268 | 950 | 744 |
| Date of last payment | 02/2015 | 01/2015 | 12/2014 | 12/2014 | 10/2014 | 09/2014 |
| Months before 10/2016 are not shown. | ||||||
| Credit history requests Credit history requests include creditors who have requested your credit report. | ||
|---|---|---|
| CALTECH EMPLOYEE FCU | ||
| 555 W. ADAMS SUITE 202 LA CANADA, CA 91012 (818) 555-1212 | Requested on: 11/01/2017 Inquiry type: Individual The type of inquiry is the scope of credit history requested — whether a person’s credit history or an organization or business’s credit history. In this case, just an individual credit history report was requested. | Permissible purpose: Credit transaction Credit bureaus require anyone requesting your credit history to provide the purpose for their credit history query. In this example, the creditor was requesting the credit history when considering whether to extend additional credit to the consumer. |
| SUNSHINE APARTMENTS via RENTPORT | ||
| 678 MARINE STREET SUITE 999 LOS ANGELES, CA 90210 (818) 555-1212 | Requested on: 05/01/2016 Inquiry type: Individual Loan type: Real estate | Permissible purpose: Tenant screening Credit bureaus require anyone requesting your credit history to provide the purpose for their credit history query. In this example, the creditor was requesting the credit history for a potential renter. |
| CHASE CARD MEMBER SVCS | ||
| 666 W. SMITH PHOENIX, AZ 87853 Phone number not available | Requested on: 11/01/2016 Inquiry type: Individual | |
| Personal statement A personal statement is a statement the consumer chose to have added to his or her credit report. Personal statements range from fraud alerts to consumer statements about being unemployed. A personal statement is a way for the consumer to add additional explanations about his or her credit history that might not otherwise be discerned from standard credit report information. |
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| ID SECURITY ALERT: FRAUDULENT APPLICATIONS MAY BE SUBMITTED IN MY NAME OR MY IDENTITY MAY HAVE BEEN USED WITHOUT MY CONSENT TO FRAUDULENTLY OBTAIN GOODS OR SERVICES. DO NOT EXTEND CREDIT WITHOUT FIRST VERIFYING THE IDENTITY OF THE APPLICANT. I CAN BE REACHED AT 917-555-1212. THIS SECURITY ALERT WILL BE MAINTAINED FOR 90 DAYS BEGINNING 03-01-2018. |
Editorial Disclaimer
The editorial content on this page is based solely on the objective assessment of our writers and is not driven by advertising dollars. It has not been provided or commissioned by the credit card issuers. However, we may receive compensation when you click on links to products from our partners.
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