annualcreditreport.com is free — how to spot the lookalikes that charge you
The one official site for your free credit reports never asks for a credit card. Here's how to get all three reports the right way, and how to recognize the paid imitators.
3 min read · Updated August 25, 2026
The short version
- annualcreditreport.com is the only federally authorized site for your free reports — and it never asks for a credit card.
- All three bureaus (Equifax, Experian, TransUnion) are free there every week.
- If a site wants a card or offers a "free trial," it is not the real one. Back out.
- The real site asks only for your name, address, date of birth, and Social Security number to verify you.
There is exactly one website Congress authorized to give you your free credit reports: annualcreditreport.com. It is run jointly by the three nationwide credit bureaus because federal law requires them to provide your reports at no cost. It does not charge, and it does not ask for a credit card.
Almost every problem people run into isn't with the real site — it's with the many paid lookalikes that use similar names and buy the top search-ad slots. This guide gets you to the right place and teaches you to recognize the wrong ones instantly.
The one rule that keeps you safe
The real site never asks for a credit card. The moment a "free credit report" page requests card details or pitches a "7-day free trial," you are on an imitator. Close the tab.
How to get all three reports, step by step
- 1
Type the address yourself — don't search for it
Go straight to annualcreditreport.com by typing it into the address bar, or use a link you trust. The top search results are frequently paid ads for monitoring services, not the free site.
- 2
Request all three at once
Enter your details a single time and ask for Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion together. One trip gets you all three reports.
- 3
Answer each bureau's identity questions
Each bureau asks a few questions only you should know — a past address, an old loan amount. If one bureau can't verify you online, finish the other two; you can complete the third by phone or mail, or simply try again later since the reports are free every week.
- 4
Save each report as a PDF
With a report on screen, save it as a PDF (Windows Ctrl+P → Save as PDF, Mac Cmd+P → Save as PDF, or your phone's share menu). One file per bureau, somewhere you'll find it again.
What the real site does and doesn't ask for
To confirm you are who you say you are, the official site asks for your name, current and past addresses, date of birth, and Social Security number. That's normal and expected — it's how the bureaus match you to your file. What it will never do:
- Ask for a credit card or any payment.
- Enroll you in a subscription or "trial."
- Require you to buy a credit score to see your report.
- Pressure you with countdown timers or upsell pop-ups.
How to recognize a lookalike
- It wants a card. The single clearest tell. Free means free.
- The name is almost right. Imitators use names that echo the official one or promise "free scores" and "free trials."
- It leads with a score, not your report. The free federal entitlement is your report. Sites that funnel you toward a paid "score" first are selling something.
- It arrived via an ad or an email link. Go to the address directly instead of clicking through.
- A company steered you there. Some credit-repair services route new clients to a paid monitoring site because a subscription is part of their model. The official free site is the one that never charges.
Frozen credit? Lift it first
If you've placed a security freeze, the identity check on the report site may not go through until you temporarily lift the freeze at each bureau. Lift it, pull your reports, then put it back — all free.
Why we make you do this part yourself
When you work with us, this is the one step you do on your own — on purpose. We never ask for your login to any bureau, bank, or monitoring service. You pull your own reports from the official source and upload them to us. It's a little more effort for you, and it means your most sensitive credentials stay yours. That's the trade we think is right.