How to pull your credit report — free
Check each box as you go. Your progress saves on this device, so you can stop and come back.
- Step 1
Set aside about 10 minutes.
Have your Social Security number, date of birth, and every address you've lived at in the last two years handy. Use a computer so you can save PDFs. Keep two tabs open — this guide, and the report site.
- Step 2
Open annualcreditreport.com in a new tab.
The real site says "The only source for your free credit reports. Authorized by Federal law." It never asks for a credit card.
Watch out: Lookalike "free credit report" sites exist to sell you monitoring. Skip search-ad links and type annualcreditreport.com straight into the address bar. - Step 3
Click the big green "Request your free credit reports" button.
Then click "Request your credit reports again," fill out the personal-information form, and hit Next.
- Step 4
Choose ALL 3 reports.
When asked whether you want 1, 2, or 3 reports, check the boxes for all three. Each bureau's file can look different, and you're entitled to all of them free — as often as weekly these days.
- Step 5
Verify your identity for each bureau.
On each bureau's page, first confirm the displayed info is accurate (name, DOB, SSN, current address) — if any of it is off, go back. Enter your email and phone, hit "I accept & continue," verify by text or call, enter the code you receive, then click "Verify my Identity." When you see "You're all set," click Continue.
Watch out: Do NOT click "start a dispute request online" — get clear on the facts first; that's what we help with. Second watch-out: if verification fails, don't panic — a security freeze at a bureau can block online access until you lift it; you can come back and try again. - Step 6
Save each report as a PDF.
Right-click → Print → set Destination to "Save as PDF"; or use File → Print → PDF. Name each file like "Equifax Credit Report 2026-07-22" so future-you can find it.
Watch out: Save BEFORE closing the tab — otherwise you may have to re-verify from scratch.Important: Don't dispute anything from the bureau's own site yet. Online dispute forms can box you into vague categories. First get clear on what your records show — that's what we help with.
You've got your reports. What now?
Read each report line by line and mark anything you don't recognize: accounts that aren't yours, wrong balances, wrong payment history, addresses you've never lived at, or a status that says something you know isn't true. Keep the PDFs somewhere safe — they're your record of what the bureaus were reporting on the day you pulled them.
CreditHound is not a credit repair organization and does not provide credit repair services.
CreditHound never charges consumers fees of any kind.
No outcome, deletion, or score change is guaranteed. You review and control every dispute before it's sent.