How to Freeze Your Credit With All Three Bureaus

What Is a Credit Freeze?

A credit freeze (also called a "security freeze") restricts access to your credit report, making it much harder for an identity thief to open new accounts in your name. When your file is frozen, most lenders can't pull a new copy of your report — and without that pull, they typically won't approve new credit.

Under the federal Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act of 2018, you have the right to place and lift a freeze at all three nationwide credit bureaus — Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax — at no cost.

A freeze applies to the file held by the bureau you contact, so placing one with a single bureau leaves your other two files open. If you want your whole credit file restricted, you generally need to repeat the process three times.

When Freezing Your Credit Is Useful

A freeze is commonly considered when you are not planning to apply for new credit in the near term and you want to reduce the chance that someone else opens an account in your name. Situations people often point to include:

• You were notified that your personal data was exposed in a breach.
• You see accounts or hard inquiries on your report that you do not recognize.
• You are a victim of identity theft, or suspect you may be.
• You do not expect to apply for credit for a while and prefer the file restricted by default.
• You want to protect a child's or a dependent adult's credit file.

A freeze is not a review of what's already on your file. Reading your reports is a separate step — see how to read a credit report and, if something looks inaccurate, what a credit dispute is.

Credit Freeze vs. Credit Lock vs. Fraud Alert

These three tools are often confused. Here's how they differ:

For most people the freeze is the better choice: it's free, it carries stronger federal protections, and the one-hour online lift is fast enough for nearly any real-world credit application.

Before You Freeze: What You'll Need

• Full legal name, including suffix if applicable
• Date of birth
• Social Security number
• Current and previous addresses (last 2 years)
• Photo ID (driver's license or state ID) — required for mail requests
• Proof of address (utility bill, bank statement) — for mail requests
• A secure place to store the PIN or password each bureau issues

How to Freeze Your Experian Credit Report

You can place a freeze with Experian three ways. Online is fastest — usually under five minutes.

Online and phone freezes are placed within one business day. Mailed requests must be processed within three business days of receipt.

How to Freeze Your TransUnion Credit Report

You can place a freeze with TransUnion three ways. Online is fastest — usually under five minutes.

Online and phone freezes are placed within one business day. Mailed requests must be processed within three business days of receipt.

How to Freeze Your Equifax Credit Report

You can place a freeze with Equifax three ways. Online is fastest — usually under five minutes.

Online and phone freezes are placed within one business day. Mailed requests must be processed within three business days of receipt.

How to Lift or Remove a Credit Freeze

A freeze stays in place until you lift or remove it. A temporary lift reopens your file for a set window or for a specific party; a removal takes the freeze off entirely. Both are free.

1. Decide which bureau. Lift the freeze with the bureau the lender will pull from. If you don't know which one, lift all three.
2. Choose temporary or permanent. Bureaus generally let you lift for a date range, or remove the freeze until you place a new one.
3. Use your PIN or online account. Log in to each bureau's site or call their freeze line. Federal law requires bureaus to act on a lift request received online or by phone within one hour.
4. Apply for credit during the window. Submit your application while the file is accessible.
5. Re-freeze. A temporary lift ends on its own when the window closes. If you removed the freeze, place a new one when you're done.

Requests sent by mail take longer than online or phone requests, so plan ahead if you have an application deadline.

Does a Freeze Affect Your Credit Score or Existing Accounts?

No. A security freeze restricts who can access your credit file. It does not change the information inside the file, and it is not a factor in credit scoring models. Your score is calculated the same way whether your file is frozen or not.

A freeze also does not close or restrict accounts you already have. You can keep using existing credit cards, your lenders keep reporting as usual, and your payment history keeps building. What a freeze does affect is new access: if a lender, landlord, or service provider needs a fresh pull of the frozen file, that request will generally be declined until you lift the freeze.

If your goal is to strengthen the profile itself rather than restrict access to it, see credit readiness for what lenders look at before an application.

Identity Theft Considerations

A freeze is a preventive control. It makes it harder for someone to open new credit in your name, but it does not undo activity that already happened and it does not monitor your file for you. If you believe you are a victim of identity theft, a freeze is usually one step among several.

• Review all three credit reports in full so you know what is actually being reported.
• Report identity theft and get a recovery plan at IdentityTheft.gov, the Federal Trade Commission's official site.
• Contact the creditor or collector directly about any account you did not open.
• Raise inaccurate report entries through the standard dispute process — see what a credit dispute is and the Equifax dispute guide.

Only submit identity-theft claims that are truthful and accurate. Claiming that a legitimate account is fraudulent is not a credit strategy — it is a misrepresentation, and it can carry serious consequences.

Learn more from the FTC's consumer guidance at consumer.ftc.gov and IdentityTheft.gov.

Freezing a Child's Credit

Children are common targets for identity theft because the fraud can go undetected for years. Federal law lets parents and legal guardians freeze the credit file of a child under 16 at no cost. The bureaus will create a file if one doesn't already exist.

Each bureau requires you to mail in documentation, including:

• The child's birth certificate (copy)
• The child's Social Security card (copy)
• Your government-issued ID (copy)
• Proof of address (utility bill, etc.)
• A written request to place a freeze on the minor's file

The Federal Trade Commission publishes a model letter for protected consumer freeze requests at consumer.ftc.gov/articles/credit-freeze-faqs.

Frequently Asked Questions