How can you make inquiries on your credit report?

There are three companies that track consumer credit history and produce reports: Equifax, TransUnion and Experian. Reports are purchased by contacting each company through its website, on the telephone or by writing to them. Each is required under federal law to provide consumers with one free credit report each year, which can be viewed online if preferred.

1. Go to annualcreditreport.com

   Load annualcreditreport.com into your browser.

2. Click on Request Your Free Credit Reports

   On the lower left side of the screen, click on a dark red button labelled Request Your Free Credit Reports.

3. On the next screen, click on Request Your Credit Reports

   On the next screen, which is titled 3 Steps to Your Free Credit Reports, click on another dark red button at the bottom of the page labeled Request Your Credit Reports.

4. Fill in the form with the information required

   On the next page, fill in all the details of the form, including previous address if you have not lived at the same address for the past two years. Complete the CAPTCHA challenge, and click on the dark red button labelled Submit.

5. Choose the report you want

   Choose from the three reporting agencies, either Equifax, TransUnion or Experian. Click on the dark red button labelled Submit.

6. View the report online

   View the credit report from the chosen company. To view reports from other companies, repeat steps five and six until three reports have been generated.