How to contact each major credit bureau

Written by: Lance Cothern, CPA
• Updated •6 min read • Leer en español
Young man at home on cellphone, contacting a credit bureau to get a copy of his credit reportImage: Young man at home on cellphone, contacting a credit bureau to get a copy of his credit report

In a Nutshell

Finding exactly how to contact a company can be frustrating. Some websites seem like they’re designed to avoid giving you access to this information. If you’re trying to contact a credit bureau because you have questions or want to dispute a mistake, it’s important that you know how to reach out. Here’s how to contact each of the three major bureaus: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.
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If you have a problem with or question about your credit reports, you’ll need to know how to contact the credit bureau.

While there are many different credit-reporting agencies, Equifax, Experian and TransUnion are the three major consumer credit bureaus that collect your credit information and compile it into credit reports. These credit reports are used as the basis for your credit scores. If information on your reports is incorrect or you have questions about the info on your reports, it makes sense to want to talk to someone about it.

Here’s the information you’ll need if you want to contact one of the three major credit bureaus.

Why you might want to get in touch with a credit bureau

You may want to contact a credit bureau for any number of reasons. If you’re using products or services sold by the credit bureaus, you may need customer support or want to cancel your subscriptions.

Even if you don’t use any specific products the credit bureaus offer, you may need to get in touch with them to dispute an incorrect item on your credit report or to get further clarification about an item on your report. Or maybe you just want to register a name change with a bureau.

Victims of identity theft may want to put security freezes or fraud alerts on their credit reports. To do this, you may want to contact the credit bureaus directly.

We’ve compiled a list below of contact information for the three main credit bureaus. When dialing the phone numbers listed, pay special attention to the number you dial. You’ll want to be careful of the type of information you release to the person at the other end of the line, and you could accidentally get in touch with someone other than the credit bureaus if you don’t pay attention to what you dial. For instance, a credit repair company owns the 1-800 number similar to one of the credit bureau phone numbers below.

How to contact Equifax

Equifax has a straightforward contact page that shows how to get in touch with the bureau based on the reason you’re trying to contact it. Note that many of these reasons can be addressed online via Equifax’s website.

For a copy of your credit report

To request a copy of your Equifax credit report, call 1-866-349-5191 any time from 8 a.m. to midnight Eastern time, seven days a week. You can also send mail to the following address:

Equifax Information Services LLC
P.O. Box 740241
Atlanta, GA 30374-0241

Or, you can go to Equifax’s webpage.

For a dispute

You can dispute information on your Equifax credit report by calling 1-866-349-5191 any time from 8 a.m. to midnight Eastern time, seven days a week. You can also mail your dispute to the address below.

Equifax Information Services LLC
P.O. Box 740256
Atlanta, GA 30374-0256

For a fraud alert

Placing a fraud alert on your Equifax credit report can be done using an automated service line at 1-888-836-6351 from 7:30 a.m. to 1:30 a.m. Eastern time, seven days a week. Equifax also recommends that you reach out to 1-888-EQUIFAX for assistance resolving this issue.

To place a fraud alert on your Equifax credit report by mail, contact Equifax at the following address:

Equifax Information Services LLC
P.O. Box 105069
Atlanta, GA 30348-5069

For security freezes

For calls related to security freezes (including placing, temporarily lifting or permanently removing a security freeze), call Equifax at 1-888-298-0045 from 8 a.m. to midnight Eastern time, seven days a week. You can also send correspondence about a security freeze to the following address:

Equifax Information Services LLC
P.O. Box 105788
Atlanta, GA 30348-5788

For other Equifax products

If you want to contact Equifax about TrustedID Premier, Lock & Alert or the 2017 Equifax Cybersecurity Incident, you can reach support staff at 1-888-548-7878. The phone number is available seven days a week from 8 a.m. to midnight Eastern time.

If you need help using or want to cancel a different Equifax product, you can call 1-866-640-2273 from 8 a.m. to 3 a.m. Eastern time, seven days a week.

To opt out of mailing lists

You can opt out of Equifax mailing lists by calling 1-888-567-8688.

How to contact Experian

Experian’s contact page shows you how to get in touch with the bureau based on why you’re trying to contact it. Experian also offers many of these services via its website if you’d prefer to go online instead of calling or mailing.

For a copy of your credit report

You can order your Experian credit report by phone by calling 1-888-397-3742. You can also request a copy online.

For a dispute

To dispute an item on your Experian credit report, the bureau refers you to its online option or you can reach out by mail at the address below.

Experian
P.O. Box 4500
Allen, TX 75013

You can also dispute by phone. But you’ll need to get a copy of your Experian credit report first. Then you can call the phone number listed on the report to begin a dispute by phone.

The phone number listed on my personal credit report to contact Experian was 1-855-246-9409. It’s available Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in your time zone.

For fraud or identity theft

To contact Experian about fraud or identity theft, call 1-888-397-3742.

For other Experian products

You can call 1-479-343-6239 for inquiries related to MyExperian products. This number is available Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Pacific time and Saturday and Sunday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Pacific time.

To opt out of mailing lists

To be excluded from Experian’s marketing lists, you can call 1-402-458-5247, email optout@experian.com or send mail to the address below.

Experian Marketing Services
Attn: Opt-out Services
P.O. Box 80128
Lincoln, NE 68521

How to contact TransUnion

TransUnion’s contact page shares the bureau’s contact information based on what you’re trying to accomplish.

For a copy of your credit report

To get your free annual credit report, TransUnion doesn’t provide any of its contact information, instead redirecting you to AnnualCreditReport.com.

For a dispute

If you need to dispute an item on your TransUnion credit report, you can call 800-916-8800 Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. Eastern time. You can mail any relevant documents to the following address:

TransUnion Consumer Solutions
P.O. Box 2000
Chester, PA 19016-2000 

For a fraud alert

For fraud alerts, contact TransUnion at 1-800-680-7289 from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. Eastern time or send mail to the address below.

TransUnion Fraud Victim Assistance
P.O. Box 2000
Chester, PA 19016

For security freezes

To freeze or unfreeze your credit with TransUnion, the bureau directs you to a page with options to complete the process online. It also lists a contact phone number of 1-888-909-8872, which is available from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. Eastern time. Another option is to send a letter to the address below.

TransUnion
P.O. Box 160
Woodlyn, PA 19094

For other TransUnion products

For TransUnion credit monitoring, you can call 1-833-806-1626 Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Eastern time, or Saturday and Sunday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern time.

You can contact TransUnion’s TrueIdentity service after logging in to your account or by calling 1-855-260-9279 Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Eastern time, or Saturday through Sunday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern time.

To opt out of mailing lists

If you wish to opt-out of TransUnion’s prescreened credit and insurance offers, the bureau directs you to OptOutPreScreen.com, which you can reach at 1-888-567-8688.

Next steps: Review your credit reports

Now that you understand how to contact a credit bureau, it’s time to check your credit reports. It’s important to review your credit report from each of the three major credit bureaus to look for potential errors across all three — they may not necessarily show the same information.

Mistakes on your credit reports could lead to lower credit scores, a loan denial or higher interest rates. If you find any errors, get in touch with the bureaus reporting the errors to begin the dispute process. Once any errors are corrected, your credit reports and credit scores will be a more accurate representation of your credit to potential lenders.

About the author: Lance Cothern is a freelance writer specializing in personal finance. His work has appeared on Business Insider, USA Today.com and his website, MoneyManifesto.com. Lance holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in … Read more.