Freezing your credit is free, takes about 10 minutes per bureau, and blocks new accounts from being opened in your name. You need to place a freeze separately at each of the three major credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. Lifting the freeze is just as simple, and by law it must be removed within one hour when you request it online or by phone.
What a Credit Freeze Does
A credit freeze prevents lenders, credit card companies, and other businesses from pulling your credit report. Since most creditors won’t approve a new account without checking your report first, a freeze effectively stops anyone from opening credit in your name, including identity thieves who have your personal information.
A freeze does not affect your existing accounts. Your current credit card companies, mortgage servicer, and auto lender can still access your report. So can certain government entities like child support agencies and any credit monitoring service you’ve signed up for. You can also still check your own credit report while a freeze is in place. The freeze only blocks new inquiries from lenders you haven’t done business with yet.
How to Freeze Your Credit
You must contact each bureau individually. There is no single form that covers all three. The fastest method is online, though each bureau also accepts requests by phone and mail.
- Equifax: Visit equifax.com/personal/credit-report-services/credit-freeze or call 800-685-1111.
- Experian: Visit experian.com/freeze or call 888-397-3742.
- TransUnion: Visit transunion.com/credit-freeze or call 888-909-8872.
At each bureau, you’ll create an account (or log into an existing one), verify your identity with personal details like your Social Security number, date of birth, and address, and then request the freeze. When you freeze online or by phone, the bureau must place it within one business day. If you send a written request by mail, they have three business days.
After each freeze is placed, you’ll receive a PIN or confirmation number. Save these. You’ll need them to lift the freeze later, especially at bureaus that rely on a PIN for verification rather than account login credentials.
How to Unfreeze (Thaw) Your Credit
When you need to apply for a new credit card, mortgage, auto loan, apartment, or anything else that requires a credit check, you’ll need to lift the freeze temporarily. You can do this at the same online portals or phone numbers listed above.
You have two options when lifting a freeze. You can unfreeze for a specific lender, which keeps the freeze in place for everyone else. Or you can lift it entirely for a set period of time, say a few days or a week, and it will automatically refreeze when that window closes.
The legally required timeline for lifting a freeze is fast. When you request it online or by phone, the bureau must remove the freeze within one hour. By mail, the deadline is three business days. In practice, online requests are often processed in just a few minutes.
If you’re applying for a mortgage or another loan, ask the lender which bureau (or bureaus) they pull from. You may only need to lift the freeze at one or two bureaus rather than all three.
Freezing a Child’s Credit
Federal law allows parents to freeze the credit of children under 16 for free. Guardians, conservators, and those with a valid power of attorney can also freeze credit for their dependents. This is worth doing because children’s Social Security numbers are sometimes stolen and used to build fraudulent credit histories that go undetected for years. The process requires contacting each bureau directly and providing documentation proving your relationship to the child.
Credit Freeze vs. Credit Lock
Each bureau also offers a “credit lock” product that does something similar to a freeze but works differently behind the scenes. The practical difference: locks can typically be toggled on and off instantly through a mobile app, while a freeze can take up to an hour to lift. Locks may also come with extras like credit monitoring alerts.
The trade-off is cost and legal protection. A credit freeze is always free, and it’s backed by federal law. Credit locks are proprietary products with their own terms of service. TransUnion charges $29.95 per month for its lock as part of a monitoring bundle. Experian charges $24.99 per month after a seven-day free trial. Equifax is the exception, offering a free lock product called Lock & Alert that the company says will remain free for life. Note that at Equifax, you can’t have a lock and a freeze active on your report at the same time.
For most people, a credit freeze provides the same core protection at zero cost. A lock makes sense mainly if you toggle access frequently and want the convenience of instant switching through an app.
What a Freeze Won’t Do
A credit freeze doesn’t prevent all forms of identity theft. Someone who steals your credit card number can still make charges on your existing account, since the freeze only blocks new credit inquiries. It also won’t stop fraudulent tax returns filed in your name, medical identity theft, or someone using your information for employment fraud.
A freeze also won’t hurt your credit score. It has no effect on how your score is calculated or reported. And it won’t prevent you from using your existing credit cards, paying bills, or doing anything with accounts you already have open.
If you suspect you’re already a victim of identity theft rather than trying to prevent it, you can also place a fraud alert on your credit file. A fraud alert doesn’t block access like a freeze does, but it requires lenders to take extra steps to verify your identity before opening new accounts. You only need to contact one bureau to place a fraud alert, and that bureau is required to notify the other two. Initial fraud alerts last one year.
Keeping Your Freeze in Place Long Term
A credit freeze stays active until you remove it. There’s no expiration date, no annual renewal, and no fee to maintain it. Many security experts recommend keeping a freeze in place permanently and only lifting it temporarily when you need to apply for credit. Since the process takes just a few minutes online and lifts within an hour, the inconvenience is minimal compared to the protection it provides.
If you’ve frozen your credit and later lose your PIN or forget your login credentials, you can reset them through the bureau’s identity verification process. This usually involves answering security questions or uploading identification documents, so it takes a bit longer than a standard thaw. Keeping your PINs in a password manager or secure location saves that hassle.