How to Read Your Credit Report (And What to Dispute)

Your credit report is the most important financial document you have. It determines your credit score, your loan rates, your ability to rent an apartment, and sometimes whether you get a job.

And yet most people have never read one.

Worse: credit reports contain errors with surprising frequency. A 2021 Consumer Reports study found that 34% of Americans had at least one error on their credit report. Many of those errors were significant enough to affect their score.

Reading your credit report isn't complicated. Here's how to do it.

How to Get Your Free Credit Reports

AnnualCreditReport.com is the only federally authorized source of free credit reports. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, you're entitled to one free report from each of the three major bureaus — Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion — every 12 months.

During and after the COVID-19 pandemic, the bureaus expanded free access significantly. As of 2024, you can check your reports weekly for free through AnnualCreditReport.com.

Steps:

1. Go to AnnualCreditReport.com (not any other variation — this is the official site)
2. Click "Request your free credit reports"
3. Enter your personal information (name, SSN, address)
4. Select all three bureaus and request reports
5. Answer identity verification questions for each bureau
6. Download or print your reports

Each report may be 30–50 pages. Don't skim it.

The Four Sections of Your Credit Report

Section 1: Personal Information

This includes your name, current and past addresses, date of birth, Social Security Number, and employment history (if reported).

What to check:

• Is your name spelled correctly? Variations can sometimes cause mixed files.
• Are there addresses you don't recognize? Could indicate fraud.
• Are there variations of your SSN listed? A single digit error can be identity theft.

Errors in personal information don't directly affect your score but can indicate mixed files (where someone else's information is merged with yours) or fraud.

Section 2: Account Information (Tradelines)

This is the heart of your credit report — the list of every credit account you've had or currently have.

For each account, you'll see:

• Creditor name and account number (usually partially masked)
• Account type (credit card, auto loan, mortgage, etc.)
• Account status (open, closed, paid, charged-off, in collections)
• Date opened and date closed (if applicable)
• Credit limit or original loan amount
• Current balance
• Payment history — usually shown as a monthly calendar with codes for on-time, 30-day late, 60-day late, etc.
• High balance — the highest balance you've ever had

What to check:

• Are all accounts yours? Unfamiliar accounts could be fraud or errors.
• Is the account status correct? A paid account should not show a balance.
• Is the payment history accurate? Look for late payments you believe were on time.
• Is the date of first delinquency correct? This affects when the item falls off.
• Are closed accounts still showing balances?
• Are old debts showing beyond the 7-year reporting limit?

Section 3: Public Records

Public records include bankruptcies and, in some states, civil judgments and tax liens (though tax liens are now largely removed from credit reports following a 2017 settlement).

What to check:

• Is the bankruptcy accurately reported with the correct type and dates?
• Are there any public records you don't recognize?
• Have public records that should have fallen off (Chapter 7 after 10 years, Chapter 13 after 7 years) been removed?

Section 4: Inquiries

Hard inquiries appear when you've applied for credit. Soft inquiries (from you checking your own report, or preapproval checks by lenders) don't affect your score and may or may not appear.

What to check:

• Are there hard inquiries from lenders you never applied to? This is a red flag for identity theft.
• Are all listed inquiries from applications you actually made?

Under the FCRA, hard inquiries from legitimate credit applications can stay on your report for 2 years.

Common Errors to Look For

Error Type	What It Looks Like	Potential Impact
Wrong balance	Account shows $2,000 balance; you paid it off	Increased utilization
Duplicate accounts	Same debt reported by original creditor AND collection agency as two separate negatives	Double negative impact
Outdated negative items	Collection from 8 years ago still showing	Should have fallen off
Wrong account status	Account shows "open" but was closed years ago	Affects mix and utilization
Wrong late payment date	30-day late shown; you have a confirmation you paid on time	Permanent payment history error
Accounts that aren't yours	Unfamiliar creditor name	Could be fraud or mixed file
Wrong personal information	Address you've never lived at	Could indicate mixed file

How to Dispute Errors

You have the right under the FCRA to dispute any information you believe is inaccurate.

Option 1: Dispute Online with the Bureaus

Each bureau has an online dispute portal:

• Equifax: equifax.com/personal/disputes
• Experian: experian.com/disputes
• TransUnion: transunion.com/credit-disputes

Online disputes are fast but give you less control over the process. Use for clear-cut factual errors.

Option 2: Dispute by Certified Mail

For more complex disputes, write a dispute letter and mail it certified mail with return receipt.

Your letter should include:

• Your full name and address
• Your SSN (for identification)
• The specific account and error
• Why the information is inaccurate
• Any supporting documentation (statements, payment receipts, etc.)

The bureau must investigate within 30 days and either correct the information or provide you with documentation supporting its accuracy.

Option 3: Dispute with the Furnisher

You can also dispute directly with the creditor or collection agency (the "furnisher" who reported the information). This can be faster for clear errors — a bank can update their reporting more quickly than a bureau can investigate.

What Happens After You Dispute

1. Bureau notifies the furnisher of your dispute
2. Furnisher investigates and responds (they have 30 days)
3. Bureau updates the report based on the furnisher's response
4. Bureau notifies you of the outcome
5. If the item is deleted, you can request free updated reports be sent to anyone who pulled your credit in the past 6 months

If your dispute is rejected: You can request the bureau add a "consumer statement" to your report — a brief note explaining your dispute. This doesn't affect your score but can be seen by lenders who manually review your report.

Free Tools for Ongoing Monitoring

Checking your report annually isn't enough for proactive credit management. Use these:

• Experian free account — Free FICO 8 score + Experian report
• Credit Karma — Free TransUnion and Equifax VantageScore (not FICO but useful for monitoring)
• Chase Credit Journey — Free (available to non-Chase customers) weekly Experian score

Set a calendar reminder to pull all three bureau reports every 4 months, rotating which bureau you pull each time. This way you're monitoring all three throughout the year.

The Bottom Line

Your credit report isn't a mystery document. It's a structured record of your credit behavior — and it has a specific, defined set of sections you can learn to read in 30 minutes.

The payoff for reading it carefully: errors you can dispute, collections you can address, negative items close to their expiration date, and a clear picture of exactly what's affecting your score. Once you find something removable, a goodwill letter is often your best first step.

Read your report. Know what's there. Fix what's wrong.

Want to dispute errors yourself? Our DIY Credit Repair Kit includes 25+ professional letter templates.

Found something on your report that shouldn't be there? [Get help with your credit dispute strategy →]