Freezing your credit is free, takes about 10 minutes per bureau, and blocks anyone from opening new accounts in your name. You need to place a separate freeze with each of the three major credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. A freeze stays in place until you remove it, and it won’t affect your credit score.
What a Credit Freeze Does
A credit freeze (also called a security freeze) prevents lenders, credit card companies, and other creditors from pulling your credit report. Since most creditors won’t approve an application without checking your credit first, a freeze effectively stops anyone from opening new accounts using your personal information. This is one of the strongest tools available to prevent identity theft.
A freeze does not affect your existing accounts. Your current credit cards, loans, and mortgage all continue to work normally. You can still check your own credit report. Companies you already do business with can still access your file for account reviews. And employers running background checks with your permission can still see a limited version of your report.
How to Place a Freeze
You must contact each credit bureau individually. There is no single form that covers all three. The fastest method is online, though you can also call or send a request by mail.
- Equifax: Visit equifax.com or call 1-800-685-1111
- Experian: Visit experian.com or call 1-888-397-3742
- TransUnion: Visit transunion.com or call 1-888-909-8872
Each bureau will ask you to create an account (if you don’t already have one) and verify your identity. You’ll typically need to provide your full name, Social Security number, date of birth, and current and previous addresses. Some bureaus may ask security questions based on your credit history.
When you request a freeze online or by phone, the bureau must place it within one business day. Requests sent by mail must be processed within three business days. Once the freeze is active, you’ll receive a confirmation and, depending on the bureau, a PIN or password you’ll use later to lift the freeze. Keep this information somewhere safe.
It Costs Nothing
Federal law, enacted in 2018, makes credit freezes completely free for all consumers. Placing a freeze is free. Lifting a freeze is free. Placing it again is free. This applies at all three major bureaus, regardless of your state or reason for the freeze. Before this law, bureaus in many states charged up to $10 per freeze, but those fees are gone.
How to Lift a Freeze When You Need It
A freeze is not permanent in a practical sense. You can lift it temporarily whenever you need a lender or landlord to check your credit, then put it back in place afterward. You do this through the same bureau website or phone number you used to place the freeze.
Most bureaus let you choose a specific date range for the thaw, so the freeze automatically goes back into effect after that window closes. If you know which bureau a lender plans to check (you can ask them), you only need to lift the freeze at that one bureau rather than all three.
The legally required timelines are fast. When you request a lift online or by phone, the bureau must remove the freeze within one hour. By mail, the deadline is three business days. In practice, online lifts often take effect almost immediately.
You’ll need the PIN or login credentials you received when you placed the freeze. If you lose your PIN, each bureau has a process to issue a replacement, but it adds time. Storing your PINs in a password manager is a simple way to avoid this hassle.
Freeze vs. Credit Lock
Each of the three bureaus also sells a product called a “credit lock,” often bundled into a paid subscription with credit monitoring and other features. A credit lock does roughly the same thing as a freeze: it restricts access to your credit file. But there are important differences.
A credit freeze is your legal right under federal law, with specific response time requirements the bureaus must follow. A credit lock is a commercial product governed by the terms of service you agree to, which the bureau can change. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has noted that credit locks are no more effective than freezes. Since freezes are free and legally protected, a lock is generally unnecessary unless you specifically want the extra monitoring features that come with the subscription.
Freezing a Child’s Credit
Children are common targets for identity theft because no one typically checks their credit until they turn 18. Federal law allows parents and legal guardians to place a freeze on behalf of anyone under 16. If the child doesn’t already have a credit file (most don’t), the bureau will create one solely for the purpose of freezing it. That file cannot be used for credit purposes.
To freeze a child’s credit, you’ll need to contact each bureau and provide proof of your relationship, such as a birth certificate. Representatives of child welfare or probation agencies can also request a freeze for children in foster care by providing documentation certifying the child is in their care. The process takes more effort than freezing your own credit because you’ll likely need to submit documents by mail or through an upload portal, but the protection is well worth it.
Don’t Forget the Smaller Bureaus
Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion are the big three, but they aren’t the only agencies that maintain consumer data. Two others worth freezing:
- Innovis: A fourth credit bureau that some lenders use. You can place a freeze at innovis.com or by calling 1-800-540-2505. You’ll receive a 10-digit PIN by mail for managing your freeze later.
- ChexSystems: A specialty bureau that tracks banking history. Banks check ChexSystems when you open a checking or savings account. Freezing your ChexSystems file prevents someone from opening bank accounts in your name.
Freezing these additional bureaus takes just a few extra minutes and closes gaps that freezing only the big three would leave open.
What a Freeze Won’t Protect Against
A credit freeze stops new account fraud, but it doesn’t cover every type of identity theft. Someone who already has your credit card number can still make charges on that existing account. Tax identity theft, where someone files a fraudulent return using your Social Security number, isn’t prevented by a freeze either. Medical identity theft and unemployment fraud also fall outside its scope.
For broader protection, pair your freeze with regular monitoring of your bank and credit card statements, and check your free annual credit reports at AnnualCreditReport.com for any accounts or inquiries you don’t recognize. A credit freeze is the single most effective step you can take against new account fraud, but it works best as one layer of a larger habit of keeping an eye on your financial accounts.