Your rights under the Fair Credit Reporting Act: eight rights and the clocks that matter

The Fair Credit Reporting Act, known as the FCRA, was passed in 1970 and strengthened in 2003 with the FACTA amendment. It governs the companies that collect and sell information about your credit. Most people never read it, but its rights are some of the most useful tools you have. Here are eight, each with the clock that matters.

The dispute clock

The eight rights

• 1. See your file

  One free report every 12 months from each bureau on request, and free weekly reports at AnnualCreditReport.com.

• 2. Be told when your file was used

  If a lender denies you because of your report, it gives the bureau's details and your right to a free copy within 60 days.

• 3. Limit who looks

  Only people with a permissible purpose can pull your report, and employers need your consent.

• 4. Dispute mistakes

  Bureaus must investigate and correct or delete wrong, incomplete or unverifiable items, generally within 30 days.

• 5. Old items fall off

  Negative items generally drop off after seven years, bankruptcies up to ten.

• 6. Opt out of offers

  Stop prescreened credit and insurance offers at OptOutPrescreen.com.

• 7. Place alerts and freezes

  Fraud alerts and freezes are free. A freeze lasts until you lift it.

• 8. Take action

  Complain to the CFPB or FTC, add a dispute statement, or consult a consumer attorney.

How the rights turn into results

1. 1

   Pull all three reports

   Use AnnualCreditReport.com. Read every item. See reading your credit report.

2. 2

   Mark the errors

   Write down each wrong item, its account number and why it is wrong. Collect proof.

3. 3

   Dispute with the bureau and the source

   Send a written dispute to each bureau that shows the error, and to the company that supplied it. See disputing credit report errors.

4. 4

   Keep records

   Use a method that proves delivery, and keep copies.

5. 5

   Protect yourself

   If your identity may be exposed, place a fraud alert or a freeze. See credit freezes and fraud alerts.

Mistakes that cost people their rights

• Waiting for a decline before looking at a report. Check at least once a year, and before any big application.

• Disputing by phone only. Use a letter or the bureau's online form and keep proof, because the clock runs from the date the bureau receives your dispute.

• Treating a freeze as if it expires. A freeze lasts until you lift it, unlike a fraud alert, which runs for one year at first.

• Forgetting the source. A dispute filed only with the bureau leaves the company that reported the error free to report it again.

Good to know

See also how long negative marks stay on your report and your rights under ECOA.