In the United States, legislation in the form of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) requires the three nationwide consumer reporting companies (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion) to provide you with free credit reports once every twelve months. Credit reports are documents that contain information as to your credit worthiness by providing information categorized under four categories.

These four categories include your identifying information (name, address, date of birth, social security number, etc.); your credit information (your banks, credit cards, and other lenders); your public record information (reported bankruptcies if any, tax liens, and monetary judgments); and new debts that you have incurred. The credit report will also include a credit score, which is a three-digit number that may determine your credit worthiness. A high score can mean lower interest rates and better terms. This score is calculated based on the data that is in your credit reports and is provided to your potential creditors. This information is very helpful to those who are applying for loans from different lending institutions because this document can serve as an easy way to prove credit worthiness.

To access these companies, you can go directly to a website that has been developed by all three organizations (www.annualcreditreport.com), call a hotline number 1-877-8228, or send mail to Annual Credit Report Service, P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, Georgia, GA 303-5281.

If you visit the website, after completing the necessary forms and providing the right information, you can expect to receive your credit report immediately; on the other hand, it will take up to fifteen days for you to receive your credit repot if you requested it through the mail. Having a system that gives access to your credit reports is a good step in making loan application processing less arduous and more practical.