The 3 Credit Bureaus: What They Do and How to Reach Them

Your credit history is held by credit bureaus. When you need to check, dispute, or freeze it, do you know who to contact?

The fact that lenders choose which bureaus receive your account data—and which bureau to contact when they want information on you—makes it especially important to know how to reach all three when you spot an error or need to freeze your report.

What are the 3 credit bureaus?

The three credit bureaus are Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. All three gather the same types of information, and each lays out its report its own way. Each can hold different information about you, since your creditors choose which bureaus to report to.

FICO and VantageScore are the only two credit score brands available from all three bureaus. There are several versions of each brand’s credit score. This table shows each bureau's home city and the score it gives you when you check your own score.

Beyond these three, specialty reporting companies build reports for certain industries, such as tenant screening, employment screening, checking-account screening, insurance, and medical. Some include rent payments, utility bills, and medical bills in their reports.

You have the right to a copy of your credit reports from each of these companies, if you ask. The nationwide bureaus (including Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion) must provide it free of charge every 12 months. Since 2020, all three credit bureaus have offered free credit reports every week, so you can review yours just about any time you want.

What is a credit bureau?

What it does: A credit bureau collects the account data creditors send it, keeps it as your credit report, and sells the information to businesses.

The law behind it: The federal Fair Credit Reporting Act limits who can get your report. A bureau may sell it only for a purpose the Act lists, such as a loan, insurance, or a job.

The law requires each nationwide bureau to allow you to dispute errors.

What information do credit bureaus track?

A bureau's file on you holds five kinds of information:

• Personal details used to identify you, such as your name, address, and Social Security number
• Credit accounts, with balance, limit, payment history, and dates
• Collection items, including past-due accounts placed for collection
• Public records, such as bankruptcies
• Inquiries, a list of lenders and other companies that have checked your report

Only credit account related information goes on your reports. You won't find your income, bank balances, or purchases there. Your marital status, race, religion, politics, medical information, criminal record, and education are not part of your credit reports. Learn how to read a credit report section by section.

How does information get on my credit report?

Your creditors send it to the bureaus. Banks, credit card companies, lenders, debt collectors, and others report account information, most about once a month, each on its own day. Creditors choose whether to report to two bureaus, one bureau, or none at all.

A bureau adds new information to your report when it arrives. With accounts at several lenders, your report could change throughout the month.

Anyone who lends you money can report your payment history. In the event a lender decides not to report your payment history, your on-time payments don't help your credit score. However, that doesn't mean you're off the hook. If you default on the loan, it's possible the default will be reported to the bureaus through a court judgment or a debt collector.

Why don’t my three different credit reports match?

Your three reports can differ because not every creditor reports to all three bureaus, and those that do report on different days.

Your credit score can differ by bureau for the same reason. A score is calculated from the information in one credit report. Scores built from different bureaus' data may not match, even when calculated at the same moment with the same scoring software.

Scoring models can also weigh factors differently, so the model a lender picks can change the number too. Strong reports should still yield strong scores across all three bureaus.

Which credit bureau is most used?

The bureau that matters is the one your lender checks, and each lender chooses which bureau's report to buy.

Mortgages are the exception: most mortgage lenders look at scores from all three bureaus and use the middle one to set your rate. If your lender sells your loan to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, it uses reports from all three.

Which credit bureau is most accurate?

In a February 2013 Federal Trade Commission (FTC) study, one in five consumers had an error on at least one of their three reports. The FTC's release on that study names no bureau as more accurate than another.

Federal law requires each bureau to use reasonable procedures for maximum accuracy. Lenders and collectors may not report information they know to be wrong or have reason to believe is wrong. The Bills Action Plan below shows how to check all three for errors.

What credit bureau does my lender use?

You can learn which bureau a lender checks in three ways, one before you apply and two after.

How do I contact the 3 credit bureaus?

Each bureau accepts requests online, by phone, and by mail, although its mailing address may vary by purpose.

The first table gives each bureau's website and the phone line for its main requests.

For an Experian dispute by phone, call the number printed on your Experian report.

The second table gives each bureau's mailing address for each purpose. For any other request, start at the bureau's website.

Free reports from all three bureaus come from one place: AnnualCreditReport.com, 1-877-322-8228. The law gives you one free report from each bureau every 12 months. However, since the COVID-19 pandemic, the bureaus now let you check each one for free every week.

A credit freeze, also called a security freeze, prevents most businesses from accessing your report when opening new credit. A freeze is free, and you place it at each bureau separately, since none passes it to the others. When you apply for credit, lift it only at the bureau the lender uses, then put it back after the check. Our guide shows how to freeze your credit at each one.

A fraud alert tells businesses to check with you before opening new credit in your name. Place it at one bureau, and that bureau must tell the other two. To remove an alert, contact each bureau, because none passes a removal to the others.

Bills Action Plan

Start with your own three reports.

1. Order all three reports. Get them free at AnnualCreditReport.com. Your request is a soft inquiry. A soft inquiry doesn't affect your credit scores.
2. Compare them side by side. Note any account, balance, late payment, or personal detail that shows up on one report but not the others.
3. Dispute any error. Contact each bureau whose report shows it, using the routes under "How do I contact the 3 credit bureaus?" If a bureau doesn't resolve a problem, submit a complaint to the CFPB, which will forward it to the company.

For more on credit and money, browse Bills' personal finance guides.

Key Terms

Credit bureau: A company that keeps credit reports on people and sells the information to businesses. Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion are the three nationwide credit reporting companies.

Consumer reporting agency: The Fair Credit Reporting Act's name for a credit bureau, or any business that routinely gathers information on people to sell reports.

Credit report: A record of your credit activity, such as how you've paid your loans. Each bureau keeps its own, so your three can differ.

Specialty consumer reporting company: A company that keeps files for one purpose, such as tenant history, check writing, or insurance claims.