How to freeze and unfreeze your credit with TransUnion®

Freezing your credit is one way you can be proactive about protecting yourself from credit fraud. But you’ll need to contact each of the three major credit bureaus when you want to freeze or unfreeze your reports. 

Learn how the process works with TransUnion.

What you’ll learn:

• Freezing your TransUnion credit report can protect you if a scammer tries to open credit accounts in your name. 

• Freezing your TransUnion credit report is free.

• Unfreezing, or thawing, your TransUnion credit report is free.

Credit freezes, also called security freezes, limit access to credit reports. When you freeze your TransUnion credit report, TransUnion won’t send your report, or a credit score based on your report, to creditors that want to check your report in response to a new credit application.

Credit freezes and fraud alerts are both free, but credit freezes offer more protection:

• Credit freeze: Limits who can access your reports, which could lead to creditors automatically declining applications and keep someone from opening an account in your name.  

• Fraud alert: Tells creditors that they should verify an applicant’s identity before opening a new account. But a fraudster who has your personal information might be able to get past the identity check.  

• Extended fraud alert: Requires creditors to contact you before opening a new account in your name. However, it’s only available if you’ve already had your identity stolen and you’ve filed an identity theft report. 

One difference is that you need to freeze your credit reports with each of the credit bureaus separately. With fraud alerts, you only need to inform one of the credit bureaus and the bureau will pass on your request to the other two.

You can freeze your TransUnion credit report for free online, by phone or by mail. TransUnion also offers credit locks, which similarly restrict access to your credit report. However, credit locks are generally part of paid subscription programs that come with other features. Credit freezes are always free.

The information you’ll need to freeze your TransUnion credit report will depend on whether you’re submitting the request online, by phone or by mail. At a minimum, you’ll need to have your basic identifying information, such as your:  

• Name 

• Mailing address 

• Previous address if you moved in the last six months 

• Email

• Phone number

• Birth date

• The last four digits of your Social Security number (SSN)

Additionally, you might be asked security questions to verify your identity.

You can choose which method you want to use to freeze your credit report:

The online TransUnion service center might be the most convenient option. You can create an account that you can use to request a free copy of your report, freeze or unfreeze your report, dispute errors in your report and add a fraud alert to your reports.

You can call TransUnion at 800-916-8800 to request your credit freeze by phone. Be prepared to share your name, date of birth, address and SSN and to answer questions to verify your identity.

You can mail your written request to freeze your credit to:

TransUnion
P.O. Box 160
Woodlyn, PA 19094

You should include a copy—but not the original—of your Social Security card, a letter from the Social Security Administration, military ID, Medicaid card or Medicare card to verify your identity. Plus, include a copy of a document to verify your address, such as your driver’s license, utility bill, pay stub or bank statement.

You can unfreeze your credit reports the same way you freeze them: online, by phone or by mail. 

The credit freeze prevents TransUnion from sharing your credit report when an identity thief tries to apply for credit in your name, but it also prevents TransUnion from sharing your report when you legitimately apply for a new account. So you’ll need to remember to unfreeze or thaw your credit report before applying.

However, you don’t need to unfreeze your reports to check your own credit reports or scores. You can still access your frozen credit reports. 

You can also choose between permanently unfreezing your reports or setting up a temporary thaw. For example, if you plan on applying for a credit card today, you can request to unfreeze your reports today and automatically refreeze them tomorrow.

Freezing your TransUnion credit report can be a simple and free way to help prevent someone from taking out a loan or credit card in your name. However, you’ll need to separately request credit freezes at Experian and Equifax.

Monitoring your credit can also be important for catching fraud. You can get free credit reports from all three bureaus on AnnualCreditReport.com. You can also use CreditWise from Capital One to monitor your TransUnion credit report and your VantageScore 3 credit score. It’s free. And using CreditWise won’t hurt your scores either.