Freezing your credit blocks lenders and other companies from pulling your credit report, which prevents anyone from opening new accounts in your name. It’s free, it doesn’t affect your credit score, and federal law guarantees your right to do it at no cost with all three major credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. A credit freeze is one of the most effective tools available to protect yourself from identity theft.
How a Credit Freeze Works
When you apply for a credit card, auto loan, mortgage, or other line of credit, the lender pulls your credit report from one or more of the three major bureaus. If your file is frozen, the bureau refuses that request. Without being able to review your credit history, most lenders will decline the application. This stops identity thieves who have your personal information from opening fraudulent accounts.
A freeze stays in place indefinitely until you decide to lift it. It doesn’t expire, and there’s no need to renew it. While the freeze is active, your existing accounts continue to work normally. Your current credit card companies and lenders can still access your report, and your credit score keeps updating based on your payment history and balances. The freeze only blocks new inquiries from companies you don’t already have a relationship with.
What a Freeze Costs
Nothing. A federal law that took effect in September 2018 made credit freezes free for all consumers. Placing a freeze, lifting it temporarily, and removing it permanently are all free. You can also freeze credit files for your children at no cost. Before this law, many states allowed the bureaus to charge fees, but that’s no longer the case anywhere in the country.
How to Place a Freeze
You need to contact each of the three credit bureaus separately. A freeze with Equifax does not automatically apply at Experian or TransUnion, so you must place three individual freezes to fully protect yourself. You can submit your request online, by phone, or by mail.
Each bureau will ask you to verify your identity with information like your name, address, Social Security number, and date of birth. Once verified, the bureau will provide you with a PIN or password that you’ll use later when you want to lift the freeze. Keep this PIN somewhere safe.
If you request a freeze online or by phone, the bureau must have it in place within one business day. If you send your request by mail, the bureau has three business days. For most people, the online option takes just a few minutes per bureau.
Lifting a Freeze When You Need It
A freeze doesn’t lock you out of credit permanently. When you need to apply for a new credit card, take out a loan, rent an apartment, or do anything else that requires a credit check, you can temporarily lift the freeze and put it back when you’re done.
You lift a freeze by contacting the bureau (online, by phone, or by mail) and using the PIN or password you received when you placed it. If you make the request online or by phone, the bureau is legally required to lift the freeze within one hour. By mail, they have three business days. You can choose to lift the freeze for a specific lender, for a set period of time, or permanently.
If you know which bureau a lender plans to check, you only need to lift the freeze at that one bureau. When you’re not sure, lifting at all three covers your bases. Once you’ve finished your application, you can refreeze your credit immediately at no cost.
Freeze vs. Fraud Alert
A fraud alert is a lighter-weight option. Instead of blocking access to your report entirely, it places a note on your file asking lenders to take extra steps to verify your identity before approving new credit. A standard fraud alert lasts one year. Unlike a freeze, you only need to contact one bureau to place a fraud alert, and that bureau is required to notify the other two.
The trade-off is that a fraud alert is less protective. It asks lenders to verify your identity, but it doesn’t stop them from pulling your report. A freeze is a hard stop. If you want the strongest protection, a freeze is the better choice. If you just want a layer of caution without the hassle of lifting and replacing a freeze each time you apply for credit, a fraud alert is simpler.
Credit Freeze vs. Credit Lock
Each of the three bureaus also offers a “credit lock” product, sometimes bundled with a paid subscription service. A lock does roughly the same thing as a freeze: it prevents new creditors from accessing your report. The main difference is legal. A credit freeze is a right protected by federal law, with specific timelines the bureaus must follow. A credit lock is a product governed by the bureau’s terms of service, which the company can change.
Some lock products offer a slightly faster toggle through a mobile app, which can be convenient. But the free credit freeze already requires bureaus to act within one hour for online or phone requests, so the speed advantage is minimal. If a bureau offers a free lock option, there’s little harm in using it, but you don’t need to pay for a lock when a freeze provides the same core protection at no cost with legal guarantees behind it.
Who Should Freeze Their Credit
Anyone who isn’t actively applying for new credit benefits from a freeze. Your data has likely been exposed in at least one major breach over the past decade, which means your Social Security number and other personal details may already be available to criminals. A freeze ensures that stolen information can’t be used to open accounts in your name.
Parents can also freeze credit reports for minor children, which is worth doing since children’s Social Security numbers are sometimes used for fraud and the theft can go undetected for years. If you suspect your identity has already been compromised, placing a freeze immediately limits the damage. And if a credit bureau isn’t placing or lifting your freeze properly, you can file a complaint with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau online or by calling 855-411-2372.