A credit freeze stops anyone from opening a new credit account in your name, including you.1 It costs nothing to place or lift, and it does not affect your credit score.1
You have to ask for it three times, once at each credit bureau: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.1 Anyone can freeze their credit, for any reason, even if their identity has not been stolen.1 A freeze is also called a security freeze.2
Place the freeze
- Open the first bureau’s website. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) links to these pages: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.2
- Ask for a security freeze. Each bureau’s website must let you request one.2
- Do the same at the second and third bureaus. You must contact each one separately.2
- Watch for the written confirmation. The bureau must send it no later than five business days after the freeze is placed, and it must tell you how to remove the freeze.2 Keep it.
If you ask by phone or online, the bureau must place the freeze within one business day. If you ask by mail, it has up to three business days after it gets your request.2
A bureau may also offer a “credit lock” for a fee, often bundled with other paid services. The CFPB says credit locks are no more effective than security freezes, which are free and which you have a right to by law.2
Lift the freeze when you need credit
A freeze lasts until you lift it.1 The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) says you can temporarily lift it when you need to apply for new credit or a job, rent an apartment, or buy insurance, and put it back when you are done.1
- Ask the lender which bureau it will use to check your credit. The FTC says it is a good idea to lift the freeze at just that one bureau.1
- Contact that bureau and ask it to lift the freeze. You can lift it for a period of time that you choose.2
- Allow for the wait. If you ask by toll-free phone or online, the bureau must lift the freeze no later than one hour after it gets your request. By mail, it has three business days. Lifting a freeze is free.2
- Put the freeze back once the credit check is done.1
What a freeze does not do
A freeze does not hide your file from everyone. The CFPB says these can still see it while a freeze is in place:2
- Creditors of accounts you already hold
- Certain government entities, such as child support agencies
- Companies you have hired to monitor your credit file
You can still request and review your own files.2
How a fraud alert is different
A fraud alert does not block access to your credit report. It tells businesses to check with you before they open a new credit account in your name. Usually that means contacting you first to make sure the person applying is really you.1
- Who can place one. Anyone who is, or suspects they may be, affected by identity theft can place an initial fraud alert.1
- How long it lasts. An initial fraud alert lasts one year, and you can renew it.1
- What it costs. It is free.1
- How to place it. Contact one of the three bureaus. You do not have to contact all three. The bureau you contact must tell the other two.1
If your identity has already been stolen, you can ask for an extended fraud alert, which lasts seven years. You need an FTC identity theft report from IdentityTheft.gov or a police report.1
You can have both. The FTC says that even if you already have a credit freeze in place, you can also place a fraud alert.1
For a child
A parent or guardian can request a freeze for a child under 16. If the bureau has no file on the child, it creates a record so that it can be frozen. That record may not be used for credit.2