You can get a certain number of free credit reports each year, depending on your situation and where you live. Here's how many you get and how to order them.

Free Reports Every Year

You are entitled to one free credit report every 12 months, upon your request, from each of the three major credit bureaus. If you are married, you and your spouse can each obtain a free credit report from all three credit bureaus each year. Your reports will list all joint accounts (those you opened in both names). No combined report is created for married couples.

You can obtain your free reports from www.AnnualCreditReport.com or by calling 877-322-8228. (Do not order them directly from the credit bureaus or you will pay a fee in some cases.) You will have to provide certain information to prove your identity, such as your Social Security number and, say, the amount of your monthly mortgage payment. Your free credit reports will not contain your credit score, but you can purchase it at the same time, or from www.MyFico.com, for a small fee.

You might want to order all three of your free credit reports at the same time so that you can compare them and spot discrepancies. Or, you can stagger your requests -- ordering one report every four months, for example -- so that you can check more frequently for suspicious activity (like identity theft) or errors.

Free Report if You Are Denied Credit

In addition to your free annual reports, you also are entitled to a free report if a company denies your application for credit based on information in a credit report, and you request your report within 60 days. The lender must provide you with the name and contact information for the credit reporting company that provided the negative credit information. In this situation, order the report directly from the credit bureau. (For contact information, see "Purchasing Additional Reports," below.)

There are several other ways to get an additional free report each year. To learn more, see Nolo's article How to Clean Up Your Credit Report.

Additional Free Reports in Some States

Under state law, consumers in Colorado, Georgia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Vermont are eligible for additional free credit reports.

Purchasing Additional Reports

Consumers in other states can buy additional copies of their report by contacting the credit bureaus directly:

• Equifax: www.equifax.com or (800) 685-1111
• Experian: www.experian.com or (888) 397-3742
• TransUnion: www.transunion.com or (800) 888-4213

How to Correct Errors

Because credit report errors are fairly common, it's good to check all three reports each year. The reason you should check all your reports and not just one is that not all creditors report to all three credit bureaus, and the agencies do not share information. That means it is possible for one report to contain an error that the other reports do not.

As you examine the data in your report, note not only errors in credit information, such as old data that should have dropped off or a paid-off account that is still showing a balance, but in your personal information as well. This includes mistakes in your Social Security number, your birth date, your address, or the spelling of your name.

Disputing an Entry

If you do find an error, follow the "dispute" instructions included with the report to report the mistake. The credit bureau must investigate your dispute and respond within 30 days, or up to 45 days if additional information is needed to conduct the investigation.

If the data is corrected as you requested, you will be notified and sent a copy of your updated credit report. If the credit bureau determines the data is correct and refuses to remove or change it, you can contact the creditor who reported it and try to make your case for why it is incorrect and should be removed. If you can prove the information is erroneous, the creditor must remove it from your credit report at all credit bureaus to which it was reported. (To learn more about disputing items on your credit report, see Nolo's article How to Clean Up Your Credit Report.)

Consumer Statements

If that doesn't work, you have the right to present your side of the story in a brief (100 words or less) consumer statement, which the credit bureau will attach to your file. This statement should explain clearly why a particular piece of information is inaccurate.

Don't Use a Credit Repair Company

Never pay a "credit repair" company to "fix" your credit. No one can remove negative information from a credit report if it is accurate. And you can have inaccurate or outdated information removed yourself at no charge. (Read Nolo's article Don't Use a Credit Repair Clinic to learn more.)

Protecting Your Identity

There is another good reason to check your credit reports regularly: to find out if you are a victim of identity theft. If you notice anything unusual, such as balances on accounts you have not used or don't recognize, follow the instructions provided with the report. Or, visit the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Web site, at www.ftc.gov/idtheft,to find out what steps to take if your identity has been stolen.

One option may be to place a fraud alert, notifying prospective creditors of the need to take extra precautions before granting credit, in all three of your files. (To learn more about identity theft, and what to do if it happens to you, see Nolo's Identity Theft area.)

To learn more about credit reports and how to improve yours, get Credit Repair, by Robin Leonard and John Lamb (Nolo).