What is an Equifax® credit report?

Equifax is one of the three major credit bureaus, also known as credit reporting agencies. They produce credit reports, which are then used to calculate credit scores and help companies determine creditworthiness. 

By checking your Equifax credit report, you can learn more about what creditors or lenders may see when you apply for credit. This way, you can be more prepared when making financial decisions.

What you’ll learn:

• Equifax is a credit bureau that collects information about people’s credit history to create credit reports.

• The five main components of an Equifax credit report are personal information, credit accounts, inquiry information, bankruptcies and collections accounts.

• You can get a free copy of your Equifax credit report to review and understand what creditors and lenders are seeing when you apply to borrow money.

• Equifax allows you to freeze your credit report for free to restrict access to it.

An Equifax credit report has five sections that detail identity, credit history and other public information:

This section has identifying information like your full name, address, birthday and Social Security number. It might also show your prior addresses, maiden names or any other names you’ve previously used.

This section shows information creditors and lenders send to Equifax about your current and past accounts. Credit account information found in an Equifax credit report may include the following:

• Open accounts

• Closed accounts—including accounts that have been paid off

• Type of credit account, like revolving credit, installment loan or mortgage

• Age of the account and when it was opened

• Credit limits on accounts, if applicable

• Total loan amount

• Payment history

• Current balances on credit accounts

This section shows who has looked at your credit report—known as a credit inquiry or credit check. When a credit report is checked, it’s considered either a hard or soft inquiry. 

Soft credit inquiries don’t affect credit scores. And even though they don’t affect your scores, they’ll appear on your Equifax credit report for up to two years—but only you can see them, not lenders. Soft credit inquiries can occur when you check your credit report or check pre-approval offers.

Hard inquiries may happen when someone accesses your credit report, like when you apply for credit or a service like phone, cable or internet. A hard inquiry can impact your credit scores slightly for up to a year and stay on your Equifax credit report for up to two years.

This section includes any bankruptcy public record information. It can also include other details related to a bankruptcy, like the type and the filing date.

Lenders may send outstanding debt to a collection agency if a balance isn’t paid within a certain period of time. This information is then typically reported to Equifax and could be listed on a credit report. This section can include past-due account information from the following:

• Medical institutions

• Banks

• Retail stores

• Cable companies

• Mobile phone companies

You can get a copy of your Equifax credit report for free by visiting AnnualCreditReport.com. You can also get free copies of your Experian® and TransUnion® credit reports there.

Other ways to request your free credit reports include:

• Calling 877-322-8228

• Completing an Annual Credit Report request form and sending it to:
  Annual Credit Report Request Service
  P.O. Box 105281
  Atlanta, GA 30348-5281

Whether you’re applying for a mortgage, credit card or other loan, lenders could review your Equifax credit report to make a decision and set rates. Having access to this information can give you insight into what potential lenders are seeing when you apply for a line of credit. You could also see where you might be able to improve your credit. 

Reviewing your Equifax credit report can give you the opportunity to check for any errors or fraud.

If you notice any errors or incomplete information on your credit report, you can file a dispute for free with Equifax. You could do this on Equifax’s website. Typically, you can expect results within 30 days after submitting the dispute.

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) was enacted in 1970 to protect consumer credit files. The act allows certain parties that have “permissible purpose” to access your credit report. Some of the most common reasons why someone may look at your credit report are related to credit, employment and insurance.

To place a security freeze on your Equifax credit report online, you’ll need to create a myEquifax account. It’s also possible to freeze your Equifax report by phone or by mail. You can unfreeze your credit report the same way.

Restricting access to your Equifax credit report can provide more protection from identity theft by preventing unauthorized access. 

If you’re applying for credit, you can grant access to your credit file by unfreezing your Equifax credit report.

Here are a few answers to some commonly asked questions about Equifax credit reports.

You can review your credit reports from each of the three credit bureaus, including Equifax. Monitoring your credit regularly can give you a better understanding of your financial standing. Plus, you can make sure all of your information is up to date and accurate. 

Another way to monitor your credit is with CreditWise from Capital One. You can get your free credit report and check your score for free. And because CreditWise uses soft inquiries, it won’t hurt your credit. It’s a great way to keep tabs on your credit report and keep an eye out for fraud.