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How do I dispute an error on my credit report?

You have the right to dispute errors on your credit report. Fixing an error generally means contacting both the credit reporting company and the company that provided the information.

How to dispute an error on your credit report

First, dispute the information with the credit reporting company or companies

If you identify an error on your credit report, you should start by disputing that information with the credit reporting company (Experian, Equifax, and/or Transunion). You should explain in writing what you think is wrong, why, and include copies of documents that support your dispute. You can also use our instructions and template letter as a guide.

If you mail a dispute, your dispute letter should include:

  • Contact information for you, including your complete name, address, and telephone number
  • Credit report confirmation number, if available
  • Each error you want fixed, including the account number for any account you may be disputing
  • Clear explanation of why you are disputing the information
  • Request that the information be removed or corrected
  • A copy of the portion of your credit report that contains the disputed items, with the disputed items circled or highlighted
  • Copies (not originals) of documents that support your position

You can choose to send your dispute letter by certified mail and ask for a return receipt, so that you have a record that your letter was received.

You can contact the nationwide credit reporting companies online, by mail, or by phone:

Equifax

Online: www.equifax.com/personal/credit-report-services/credit-dispute/

By mail: Download the dispute form
Mail the dispute form with your letter to:

Equifax Information Services LLC
P.O. Box 740241
Atlanta, GA 30374

By phone: Call the phone number shown on your credit report or call (866) 349-5191

Experian

Online: www.experian.com/disputes/main.html

By mail: Use the address provided on your credit report or mail your letter to:

Experian
P.O. Box 4500
Allen, TX 75013

By phone: Call the phone number shown on your credit report or call (888) 397-3742

TransUnion

Online: dispute.transunion.com

By mail: Download the dispute form
Mail the dispute form with your letter to:

TransUnion Consumer Solutions
P.O. Box 2000
Chester, PA 19016-2000

By phone: (800) 916-8800, Monday – Friday 8 a.m. 11 p.m. ET, Saturday and Sunday 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. ET.

Keep copies of your dispute letter and the documents you send with it.

Then, dispute the information with the company that provided it to the credit reporting companies

Credit reporting companies gather information about you from other companies (called furnishers). Examples of furnishers include your bank, your landlord, and your credit card company. To dispute the information a company provided to the credit reporting company, you can use our sample letter as a guide.

What happens after you send in your dispute

The credit reporting company investigates

The credit reporting company you sent the dispute letter to must investigate your dispute, forward copies of relevant documents to the company that provided the information about you, and report the results back to you.

A credit reporting company is not required to take action about disputes that are frivolous. The company must send you a notice explaining that it has decided the dispute is frivolous, and the notice must be sent within five business days after it made the decision.

The information furnisher makes corrections and notifies all the credit reporting companies

After correcting information about you, the information furnisher is responsible for notifying all the credit reporting companies about the corrected information. Then, the credit reporting companies update your credit reports.

The information furnisher might determine the information about you is accurate and should not be updated or removed. In that case, you can contact the credit reporting companies again and ask them to include a statement explaining the dispute in your credit reports. The statement is then added to your file and provided to whomever requests your credit report in future.

Submit a complaint

If you have a problem with your credit report, you can also submit a complaint with the CFPB.