Summary of Rights
The FCRA is a complex piece of legislation and contains numerous provisions not discussed on this page. Below are several important features of how the FCRA that are designed to help consumers (for the complete text, visit the Federal Trade Commission). The FCRA protects you by ensuring that credit reporting agencies:
Disclose your credit report to you upon request. Credit reporting agencies must give you the information in your file if you ask for it and provide the agency with proper identification. See "To Receive Your Credit Report" below for more information.
Limit access to your information. A credit reporting company may not provide your credit report to any party that lacks a permissible purpose, such as the evaluation of an application for a loan, credit, service, or employment. Permissible purposes also include several business and legal uses. For details, see the FCRA.
Get your consent before providing your information to an employer. An agency may not give your credit information to an employer or potential employer unless you first give that employer written permission to request your credit.
Investigate disputed information. If you tell a credit reporting company that your file contains inaccurate information, the agency must promptly investigate the matter with the source that provided the information. If the investigation fails to resolve the dispute, you may add a statement explaining the matter to your credit file. For more information, see Correcting Errors in Your Report.
Correct or delete inaccurate information. A credit reporting company must correct or, as the case may be, delete from your credit file the information that is found to be inaccurate or can no longer be verified from your credit file. The credit reporting company is not required to remove accurate data from your file unless it is outdated or cannot be verified.
Delete outdated information. In general, negative information that is more than 7 years old (10 years for bankruptcies) must be removed from your file.
Remove your name from marketing lists upon request. Creditors and insurers may share information in your credit file with marketers who send you unsolicited offers. To request that the three credit reporting agencies not share your information with marketers, call 888-567-8688.
Disclose your credit score to you upon request. For a fee, you may get your credit score. In some mortgage transactions, you will get credit score information without charge. See "To Obtain Your Credit Score" below for more information.
Add identity theft and active duty alerts. Identity theft victims may place fraud alerts and active duty military personnel serving away from their regular duty station may place "active duty" alerts to help prevent identity theft.
Remedying the Effects of Identity Theft. If you are, or believe that you are, the victim of identity theft, you have specific rights under the FCRA. These rights will help you deal with the effects of identity theft. Click here to view a brief summary of the rights designed to help you recover from identity theft.
To Receive Your Credit Report
This chart outlines fees by state for requesting one or more copies of your credit file within one calendar year (unless otherwise stated).
| State |
Free |
Fees |
| California |
|
$ 8.00 |
| Colorado |
1 per calendar year |
$ 8.00 |
| Connecticut |
|
$ 5.00 for the first report , $ 7.50 for each additional report within 12 months |
| Georgia |
2 per calendar |
$ 11.00 |
| Maine |
1 within 12 months |
$ 5.00 |
| Maryland |
1 within 12 months |
$ 5.00 |
| Massachusetts |
1 per calendar year |
$ 8.00 |
| Minnesota |
|
$ 3.00 for the first report, $ 11.00 for each additional report within 12 months |
| Montana |
|
$ 8.50 |
| New Jersey |
1 within 12 months |
$ 8.00 |
| US Virgin Islands |
|
$ 1.00 |
| Vermont |
1 within 12 months |
$ 7.50 |
| All other states |
|
$ 11.00 |
| *Unemployed |
1 within 12 months |
|
| *Welfare |
1 within 12 months |
|
You are entitled to one free report during any 12-month period no matter where you live, if you:
Are unemployed and intend to apply for employment in the next 60 days
- Are on public welfare assistance
- Believe your file contains inaccurate information due to fraud
- You are also entitled to a free report if you have received notice of an adverse decision (such as denial of credit, insurance, or employment) within the past 60 days
To receive your free Equifax credit report:
- Visit www.equifax.com/fcra (This is the quickest and easiest way to gain instant access to your credit report)
- Call 800-685-1111 -OR-
- Write to:
Equifax Information Services
P.O. Box 740241
Atlanta, GA 30374
When requesting a credit report by mail, be sure to include your full name, current address, Social Security Number, and most recent former address for file-matching purposes. Also include a personal check made payable to Equifax Information Services LLC, based on the state rates above.
For immediate access to your online Equifax Credit Report™ Click here. A $11.00 service fee may apply.
Under the FACT Act amendments to the Fair Credit Reporting Act you are entitled to one free credit report disclosure in a 12 month period. To request this free annual disclosure you must contact the Central Source. To contact the Central Source on-line, please click here to www.annualcreditreport.com. You can also contact the Central Source to request this free annual disclosure by calling toll free (877) FACTACT or by using the mail request form available at the central source website by clicking the following link www.annualcreditreport.com
