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You have three credit bureaus, and each one keeps its own report on you. The three reports usually contain similar information, but rarely identical information. Errors often appear on one report and not the others.

Where to get them, free

Go to annualcreditreport.com — the only federally authorized free source. As of 2023, all three bureaus offer free weekly access. Avoid sites that ask for a credit card or push a "free trial."

This is the easiest section to scan, and a surprisingly common source of errors. Errors here can also signal a "mixed file" — when your report has been blended with someone else's.

Tap any item that doesn't match what's actually true:

• Name — misspellings, maiden names, or names you've never used
• Date of birth — must match exactly
• Social Security Number — partially masked, but check what's visible
• Address I've never lived at — major red flag for a mixed file
• Employer I never worked for — can indicate a mixed file
• Old or unfamiliar phone number

This is where most of the impactful errors hide. For each account on the report — credit cards, auto loans, student loans, mortgages, personal loans, collections — check the following:

Account ownership

• Account I don't recognize — could be identity theft, mixed file, or an account a relative opened in your name

Account status errors

• Closed account showing as open (or vice versa)
• Account in collections that I actually paid off
• Marked late when I have proof I paid on time
• A balance still showing on an account I paid off
• "Charge-off" on an account I settled or paid in full

Date errors (most negative info has a 7-year limit)

• Date opened doesn't match when I actually opened it
• Date of last activity appears to have been pushed forward — known as "re-aging," which is illegal
• Negative item is older than 7 years from date of first delinquency — should not be there

Balance & credit limit errors

• Current balance is wrong — especially if higher than actual
• Missing credit limit on a credit card — hurts utilization calculation
• Wrong credit limit — usually lower than actual, makes utilization look worse

Duplicates

• Same debt listed twice — once with original creditor, again with collector

This section lists bankruptcies, and historically included judgments and tax liens (most were removed from credit reports after 2017–2018, but errors still show up).

• Record is not actually mine
• Dates are wrong (filing, discharge, etc.)
• Bankruptcy case number, filing date, or discharge date is wrong
• Item should have aged off (Chapter 7: 10 years from filing. Chapter 13: 7 years from filing.)

Hard inquiries appear when you apply for new credit. They stay on your report for 2 years and can affect your score for about a year. For each hard inquiry, ask: Did I authorize this?

• Hard inquiry I never authorized — also a red flag for identity theft

This is the step most people skip, and it's often where the most valuable findings come from. Lay all three reports side by side and look for:

• Account appears on one report but not the others
• Different balance, payment history, or status for the same account across bureaus
• Account marked "paid" on one bureau but "delinquent" on another
• Late payment on one bureau but not the others