Circumstances that Entitle You to a Free Credit Report

Thanks to federal law, everyone in the U.S is entitled to a free copy of their credit reports once per year from every credit-reporting agency. These freebies can be claimed at www.annualcreditreport.com.

According to the Consumer Data Industry Association, over 150,000,000 free credit reports have been claimed from this site since its inception in 2003. But did you know there are many more opportunities for you to claim free copies of your credit reports, which pre-date the annual freebie requirement?

The following is a list of other reasons why you’d be entitled to additional free credit reports. These credit reports must be claimed at each credit bureau directly, not via the annualcreditreport.com site. Because of state law – the free annual credit report requirement is a federal requirement, as stated above. But if you live in Georgia, Colorado, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey or Vermont, state law allows for one additional free credit report (2 if you live in Georgia).

Because You’re on Welfare – You are entitled to a free credit report once per any 12-month period if you are on welfare assistance.

Because You’ve Been a Victim of Fraud – If you believe your credit report contains erroneous information because you’ve been the victim of fraud, then you are entitled to a free credit report during any 12-month period.

Because You’ve Received a Notice of Adverse Action – If you’ve been denied (or adversely approved) because of your credit then you are always entitled to a free copy of your report. And by July 2011, you’ll also get to see your credit score as part of the adverse action disclosure.

Because You’re Seeking Employment – You are always entitled to a free credit report if you’re unemployed and are actively, or will soon be, seeking employment.

Because You’ve Placed a Fraud Alert on Your Credit File – If you’ve been the victim of fraud you can place an alert on your credit file. When you place this alert you can also request a free copy of your credit file.

John Ulzheimer Formerly with Equifax and Fair Isaac, John shares his unique insight of the inner workings of credit scoring models and the credit reporting industry on Credit.com News & Advice.