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You can contact Equifax®, Experian®, or TransUnion® online, over the phone, or by mail to unfreeze your credit. The process is free, but it may take up to an hour to fully take effect.
Someone might freeze their credit for several reasons, including identity theft concerns. However, they’ll eventually need to unfreeze their credit by contacting the three credit bureaus—Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion.
In this guide, we’ll show you how to unfreeze credit with each bureau—and we’ll answer a few common questions about unfreezing credit. You’ll also learn how to monitor your credit more effectively long-term.
Someone who’s experienced identity theft can unfreeze their credit after the authorities have helped them resolve their case. Conversely, someone who plans to apply for a new credit card or secure a loan will want to unfreeze their credit beforehand. In general, one must unfreeze their credit to let trustworthy sources verify their identity and credit history.
There are two ways to unfreeze your credit—temporarily or permanently. You might temporarily lift a freeze if you need to apply for a loan or a credit card. Conversely, you might opt to permanently unfreeze your credit after you’ve resolved an outstanding identity theft case. Knowing how each unfreezing method works can help you decide which suits your needs.
Equifax lets clients freeze and unfreeze their credit online, by mail, or over the phone.
Experian offers three ways to freeze and unfreeze your credit—mail, online, and over the phone.
Like Equifax and Experian, TransUnion also provides three ways to freeze and unfreeze your credit.
Freezing and unfreezing credit isn’t exactly a common practice, so it’s no surprise when people have a lot of questions about the process. Thankfully, some of the most common credit freeze questions have fairly straightforward answers.
The credit bureaus can unfreeze your account as soon as they receive your request. It’s worth noting that it may take an hour or more for your credit report to be fully updated.
No, a freeze won’t negatively or positively affect your credit score in and of itself. Creditors won’t be able to access your credit report, but you also won’t be able to apply for new loans or cards while your credit is frozen.
You can freeze and unfreeze your credit as often as needed. However, you will have to repeat the unfreezing process with the corresponding bureaus.
Placing and removing a credit freeze is completely free every time. Neither Equifax, Experian, nor TransUnion will charge you for submitting a request or creating an account on their websites.
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