Getting Copies of Your Credit Reports

For a comprehensive survey of your creditworthiness, order a copy of your credit report from each of the national credit-reporting agencies, not just from one. Each report may contain slightly different information about you, partly because not all creditors report all consumer account payment information to all three agencies.

You are entitled to one free copy of each of your credit reports every year.

If you’ve already obtained free copies of your credit reports during the past 12 months, you must pay a fee to order additional copies. In most states, the cost is $10 per report (and some states also charge a sales tax), although the cost is less in some states. You can call your state attorney general’s office to find out.

Also, you are always entitled to a free credit report if

• You are unemployed and intend to apply for a job within 60 days.
• You are receiving public welfare assistance.
• You believe that you have been the victim of identity theft.
• You have been denied credit, employment, insurance, or a place to rent  within the past 60 days because of information in your credit report.

To order additional copies of your credit reports after you’ve obtained your free annual ones, you must contact each of the three credit-reporting agencies individually. You can order the copies by mail, by phone, or online.