The free reports almost nobody claims

Everyone has heard of the free annual report. The statute contains four more entitlements, and they stack — using one does not consume another.

The annual one

15 U.S.C. § 1681j(a)(1)(A) requires the nationwide agencies and the nationwide specialty agencies to make § 1681g disclosures

once during any 12-month period upon request of the consumer and without charge to the consumer.

Per agency, per twelve months. And it reaches the specialty agencies too — tenant screening, check writing, employment history, insurance claims, medical payments — which is the part almost nobody uses. See the other credit bureaus nobody checks.

After an adverse action — 60 days

Section 1681j(b) provides a free disclosure on request made within 60 days after receiving a notification under § 1681m, among other triggers.

Separate from the annual entitlement. If you were declined and you have already used your annual report, this one is still available — and it is the one that matters most, because it gets you the report near the decision. See when you are turned down.

On written certification — three circumstances

Section 1681j(c) provides one free disclosure per 12-month period on written certification that you:

• are unemployed and intend to apply for employment in the 60-day period beginning on the date the certification is made;
• are a recipient of public welfare assistance; or
• have reason to believe the file contains inaccurate information due to fraud.

The first is the one people miss. “Unemployed and intend to apply for employment in the next 60 days” describes almost anyone looking for work — and employers do check. Getting the report before an employer does is the entire point.

The third does not require proving fraud. “Reason to believe” the file contains inaccurate information due to fraud is the standard.

With fraud alerts

Section 1681j(d) provides for free disclosures from nationwide agencies in connection with fraud alerts, as provided in § 1681c-1(a)(2) and (b)(2). The extended alert under § 1681c-1(b) carries two free file disclosures during the first 12 months. See freezes and fraud alerts.

Where each comes from

The annual report from the nationwide agencies comes through AnnualCreditReport.com — the source authorized by federal law, and the only one. See our free reports page.

Everything else is requested from the specific agency: the one named in your adverse action notice, or the specialty agency holding the file you need. Specialty agencies must maintain a streamlined request process including a toll-free number, under § 1681j(a)(1)(C).

What to ask for

Ask for the full file disclosure under § 1681g, not a score product or a summary. Section 1681g(a)(1) covers “[a]ll information in the consumer’s file at the time of the request,” and that is broader than most consumer-facing products show — including, under § 1681g(a)(3), the list of who procured a report about you.

A score is a different thing and is not what you dispute. See your score is not your file.

A note about weekly access

The nationwide agencies have for some time made reports available more frequently than annually through AnnualCreditReport.com, and the CFPB has described weekly availability.

That is a voluntary practice, not the statutory entitlement, and voluntary practices can change. The statutory floor is what is above. Use the weekly access while it exists; know that the entitlement you can insist on is the one in the statute.

Worth doing on a schedule

The genuinely useful habit is not claiming every entitlement. It is looking at all three files regularly enough that you find out about a problem before a lender does — and keeping the copies, dated, so you can prove later what the file said at a given moment. See building a record that holds up.