How to Get a Free Credit Report With No Credit Card Information

According to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, everyone is entitled to view their credit report for free once per year. There are three separate credit reporting agencies. They are TransUnion, Equifax and Experian. You are not required to provide any credit card information in order to request these reports. However, you do need to follow the right process to request the credit reports without being charged or providing credit card information.

Instructions

Free Credit Report

1

Log into the website annualcreditreport.com. This is the official website for providing consumers with the ability to request their credit report for free. This site is an encrypted, secure site so others will not be able to access your personal information. To confirm that you are on a secure site, you should confirm that the website address starts with the letters "https". You should also confirm that you see a padlock either on the bottom right-hand corner or to the right side of the address bar. If you are not comfortable accessing your credit report online, you can call 1-800-322-8228 or you can download a request from from the website.

2

Choose the state you live in from the dropdown box on the middle left side of the screen. Click on Request Report.

3

Enter the information requested on this screen. This information includes your name, address, social security number and previous addresses. This information is used to identify who the credit report will be for. There is a picture box at the bottom of the screen with a series of numbers and letters. Enter these numbers and letters in the box at the bottom of the screen. This is a security step to ensure that a person is making the request and not an automated program.

4

Choose one of the credit reporting companies from the list on your screen. These are the three credit reporting companies who monitor your activities. Click on the box in front of the company you choose to put a checkmark in the box. Click Next. Click Next again on the next screen.

5

Enter the last four digits of your social security number. Click Submit. This is to verify who the report will be for. Click on Annual Credit Report. Click Submit.

6

Answer questions shown. These questions pertain to your personal accounts and contain information that only you are likely to know. These questions are used to verify your identity. Click Submit. The summary page for your credit report will show up on the screen and you will have the option of printing the report.