How to Dispute an Error on Your Credit Report

Your credit report is the file the three big credit bureaus — Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion — keep about your borrowing. Lenders, landlords, insurers, and some employers read it before they say yes or no. Federal law gives you the right to see it and to fix mistakes on it. This is a plain-English walk-through of how to dispute an error.

For a feel for how a clean report supports your score, our credit score calculator can help. For more vocabulary, see APR and interest rate, and the Learn hub for related topics.

Why errors happen

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) at ftc.gov and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) at consumerfinance.gov report that millions of credit reports contain at least one mistake. Common causes:

• A creditor reports a late payment that was not actually late.
• A loan that was paid off years ago still shows as open.
• An account belongs to someone with a similar name or Social Security number ("mixed file").
• A debt was sold to a collection agency and now appears twice.
• An account was opened in your name by an identity thief.
• A bankruptcy that should have aged off is still being reported.

Even small errors can lower a credit score by enough to change loan terms, rental approvals, or insurance rates.

Step 1 — Get all three reports

Federal law (the Fair Credit Reporting Act) gives you a free credit report from each of the three bureaus. The official site is annualcreditreport.com, also linked from the CFPB and FTC sites. As of recent updates from those agencies, you can pull all three at no cost each week.

Always pull from the official site. Lookalike sites that charge a fee or sell a "credit monitoring" subscription are not the official source — the FTC publishes warnings about them.

Step 2 — Read the reports carefully

The CFPB suggests checking each report for:

• Personal information — name, addresses, employers, Social Security number.
• Account information — every credit card, loan, and mortgage. Check status, balance, payment history, and the open and close dates.
• Public records — bankruptcies, judgments.
• Inquiries — every time someone pulled your report. Make sure you recognize them.
• Collections — accounts sold to debt collectors.

Highlight anything that looks wrong. Even small things — a wrong address, a wrong middle initial, an account closed years ago still showing as open — are worth disputing.

Step 3 — Gather evidence

Before you file, collect copies of anything that supports your case:

• Statements showing the correct balance.
• Letters from a creditor confirming a paid-off loan.
• Police reports or FTC identity theft reports if the account is fraudulent.
• Court documents if a bankruptcy or judgment is older than the legal reporting limit.

Always send copies, not originals. The FTC publishes a sample dispute letter at consumer.ftc.gov you can adapt.

Step 4 — File the dispute with the credit bureau

You can dispute online, by mail, or by phone. The FTC and CFPB both recommend mail with proof of delivery for any serious dispute, because it creates a clean paper trail.

Each bureau accepts disputes:

• Equifax — equifax.com/personal/credit-report-services/credit-dispute/
• Experian — experian.com/disputes/main.html
• TransUnion — transunion.com/credit-disputes/dispute-your-credit

Include in your dispute:

• A copy of the report with the error circled.
• A clear written explanation of what is wrong and what is correct.
• Copies of supporting documents.
• A copy of an ID and a recent utility bill or bank statement to verify your address.

The Fair Credit Reporting Act gives the bureau 30 days (sometimes 45) to investigate and respond.

Step 5 — Also file with the furnisher

The "furnisher" is the company that originally reported the information — usually a bank, credit card issuer, or collection agency. Disputing with the bureau alone is the legal minimum, but the CFPB recommends disputing with the furnisher too, because that is the source of the data.

Send the same package — copy of the report, explanation, and supporting documents — to the address listed on the account. Many creditors also accept disputes online.

Step 6 — Wait for the result

Within 30 days the bureau must:

• Investigate the dispute (usually by contacting the furnisher).
• Update or delete inaccurate information.
• Send you the results in writing.
• Provide a free updated copy of your report if changes were made.

If the bureau rules in your favor, the change should appear on the report within a few weeks. If it rules against you, you have options.

Step 7 — If the dispute is denied

If the bureau says the information is accurate but you still disagree, you can:

• Add a 100-word statement of dispute to your credit file. Lenders see this when they pull your report.
• Re-dispute with new evidence if you find any.
• Escalate to the CFPB by filing a complaint at consumerfinance.gov/complaint. The CFPB forwards consumer complaints to the company and tracks responses.
• Contact your state Attorney General's consumer protection office. Many states have additional credit reporting protections.
• Consult an attorney if the error has cost you money. The Fair Credit Reporting Act allows for damages in some cases.

Identity theft errors are different

If the error is from identity theft (an account you never opened), the FTC has a dedicated process at identitytheft.gov:

1. Report the theft and create a personalized recovery plan.
2. Place a fraud alert or credit freeze at all three bureaus (free).
3. Submit your FTC Identity Theft Report to the bureaus to have the fraudulent account blocked from your file.

See our protecting yourself from identity theft article for the bigger picture.

How long negative items legally stay

Even accurate negative items have a maximum reporting window:

• Most negative items — 7 years from the date of the original missed payment.
• Chapter 7 bankruptcy — 10 years.
• Chapter 13 bankruptcy — 7 years from filing.
• Unpaid tax liens (when reported) — varies by state and federal rules.
• Inquiries — 2 years.
• Positive accounts — usually stay indefinitely while open.

If something is older than the legal limit, that is a valid dispute reason. The CFPB has the full chart at consumerfinance.gov.

Free help

You do not need to pay for credit repair. A few free, government-backed routes:

• The CFPB consumer complaint tool at consumerfinance.gov/complaint.
• The FTC's identity theft and consumer reporting pages at consumer.ftc.gov.
• USA.gov's hub at usa.gov/credit-reports.
• Your state Attorney General's consumer protection office.
• A non-profit credit counselor approved by the U.S. Trustee Program — listed on the CFPB site.

The FTC explicitly warns against "credit repair" companies that charge fees to do what you can do for free.

A note on advice

This is general information, not legal advice. If a credit reporting error has caused you measurable harm — a denied loan, a lost apartment, a job offer pulled — talk to a consumer rights attorney about your options under the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

Numbers and rules in this article change every year — always check the latest from the IRS, CFPB, and your state's consumer protection department.