Key takeaways
- Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), you can dispute information you believe is inaccurate or incomplete with Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion at no cost.
- Get your reports from all three bureaus first. Each one can show different information.
- Be specific: say which item is wrong, why it's wrong, and include copies of documents that support you.
- A bureau generally has 30 days to investigate (up to 45 days in some cases).
- Disputes are for errors. Accurate, timely negative information can legally stay on your report, and results vary.
Step 1: Get your credit reports from all three bureaus
Start at AnnualCreditReport.com, the official site for free credit reports. The three nationwide bureaus offer free online reports there every week. You can also order by phone at 1-877-322-8228. Type the address into your browser yourself instead of clicking ads, because look-alike sites exist. You don't need to buy a score or a monitoring product to see your reports.
Request all three reports. Lenders don't always report to every bureau, so an error might show up on one report and not the others. Save each report as a PDF and print a copy you can mark up.
Step 2: Review each report and mark what looks wrong
Go through each report section by section: personal information, accounts, collections, inquiries, and public records. Circle anything that doesn't match your records. Common examples include an account you never opened, a payment marked late that you made on time, a balance that doesn't match your statement, or the same debt listed twice. Our guide to common credit report errors covers what to look for in each section, and the free Credit Report Error Checklist gives you a printable checklist for all three bureaus.
It helps to separate two things: information that is wrong, and information that is negative but accurate. Disputes are for the first kind. If a late payment really happened, the bureau can keep reporting it. Most negative items can be reported for up to seven years, and some bankruptcies for up to ten.
Step 3: Gather documents that support your dispute
A dispute is stronger when you can show why the information is wrong. Useful documents include:
- Bank or card statements showing a payment was made on time
- A letter from the creditor confirming an account was paid, settled, or closed
- Court or bankruptcy paperwork showing how a debt was resolved
- Proof of identity and current address (for example, a copy of your driver's license and a utility bill), which bureaus often ask for
Always send copies, never originals. If the account isn't yours because of identity theft, start at IdentityTheft.gov, the federal government's resource for reporting and recovering from identity theft.
Step 4: Choose how to send your dispute
You can dispute online, by phone, or by mail. All three bureaus accept disputes each way.
| Method | Good to know |
|---|---|
| Online | Usually the fastest. Save confirmation numbers and take screenshots of what you submitted. Read any terms before you agree to them. |
| Gives you a paper trail. Many people send letters by certified mail with a return receipt so they have proof the bureau got the letter. | |
| Phone | Convenient for simple issues. Write down the date, the representative's name, and any reference number. |
Each bureau's official dispute page: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. If you mail a dispute, use the address printed on your report or listed on the bureau's website, since mailing addresses can change.
Step 5: Write a clear, specific dispute
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) recommends including your contact information, your report confirmation number if you have one, each item you're disputing (with the account number), a clear explanation of why it's wrong, a request that it be corrected, a copy of the report with the items circled, and copies of your supporting documents. Our credit report dispute letter template puts all of that into a fill-in-the-blanks format.
Keep it factual and short. One clear paragraph per item works better than pages of legal language. Only dispute information you honestly believe is inaccurate or incomplete.
Step 6: Send it to every bureau that shows the error, and consider the company that reported it
A dispute with Equifax doesn't fix the same error at Experian or TransUnion. Send a separate dispute to each bureau whose report shows the problem.
You can also dispute directly with the company that supplied the information, such as the lender, card issuer, or collection agency (sometimes called the "furnisher"). The CFPB suggests contacting both the bureau and the furnisher. Under the FCRA, if a furnisher's investigation finds the information it reported was inaccurate, it must notify the nationwide bureaus it reported to so they can correct it.
Step 7: Track the deadlines and keep records
Once a bureau receives your dispute, it generally has 30 days to investigate. That can stretch to 45 days in some cases, for example if you send more relevant information during the 30-day period, or if you're disputing information from a free report you got through AnnualCreditReport.com. The bureau forwards your dispute to the company that reported the information. When the investigation is done, it must send you the results in writing.
Keep a simple log of what you sent, when, how, and any confirmation numbers. Then read our guide to what happens after you dispute.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Disputing accurate information. A bureau can treat a dispute as frivolous or irrelevant, for example if it doesn't include enough information to investigate. Making false statements to a bureau is never a good idea.
- Being vague. "This isn't mine" with no account number or explanation is hard to investigate.
- Sending originals. Keep your originals and send copies.
- Only disputing with one bureau when the error appears on all three.
- Paying for something that's free. Filing a dispute with a bureau costs nothing. See what Florida and federal law say about credit repair companies.
What to expect
The result depends on the bureau's investigation. Information that's found to be inaccurate, incomplete, or that can't be verified must be corrected or deleted. Information that's verified as accurate can stay. How your credit scores respond, if at all, varies by person and scoring model, and nobody can promise a particular result.
Sources
- CFPB: How do I dispute an error on my credit report?
- FTC: Disputing Errors on Your Credit Reports
- FTC: Free Credit Reports
- Fair Credit Reporting Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1681i: Procedure in case of disputed accuracy
- 15 U.S.C. § 1681c: Requirements relating to information contained in consumer reports
Education only. This article is general educational information, not legal or financial advice. Clear Credit Coach is not a law firm or a credit repair organization and doesn't contact credit bureaus or creditors on your behalf. Results vary, and accurate, timely information can legally stay on your credit report.