How to dispute an error on your credit report

Dispute in two places

The CFPB’s advice is to dispute the information with the credit reporting company or companies first, and then with the company that furnished it. Fixing an error generally means contacting both. If the same mistake appears on all three reports, you dispute it with each company that shows it.

Before you write: get the reports and mark the errors

Pull the report from each company that is showing the problem. If the error is a debt you do not recognize, a collector may already be involved; see what debt collectors can and cannot do. The only website authorized to fill the free reports you are entitled to by law is AnnualCreditReport.com, and our guide to free credit reports covers the steps. Print or save the page, then circle or highlight each error. Typical targets are an account you never opened or a payment marked late that was paid on time.

What to include in the dispute

The CFPB lists these items for a dispute letter:

• Your complete name, address and telephone number.
• The credit report confirmation number, if you have one.
• Each error, with the account number for any disputed account.
• A clear explanation of why you are disputing it.
• A request that the information be removed or corrected.
• A copy of the relevant part of your credit report, with the disputed items circled or highlighted.
• Copies of supporting documents. Send copies and keep the originals.

Keep a copy of everything you send. A certified mail receipt gives you proof of the date each company received your letter.

A furnisher is a company that supplies information about you to the credit reporting companies, such as a lender, card issuer or landlord. Here is a template we built from the CFPB’s list. It is our wording, so adjust it to your case.

[Your full name]
[Address and phone number]
[Date]

[Credit reporting company name and address]

Re: Dispute of inaccurate information
Confirmation number: [number from your report, if you have one]

I am disputing the following information in my credit report.

1. [Creditor name], account number [number].
   What is wrong: [for example, a payment due on March 1 is shown as 30 days late, but it was paid on time on February 28].

Please investigate this item and remove or correct it. I have enclosed copies of [list documents] and a copy of my report with the disputed item circled.

Sincerely,
[Your name]

What happens after you dispute

The credit reporting company has to investigate. It forwards your dispute and the relevant information to the furnisher and tells you the result. If it decides a dispute is frivolous or irrelevant, it must send you a notice explaining why within five business days of making that decision.

If the furnisher finds that its information is wrong or cannot be verified, it must update or remove the information and notify all the credit reporting companies, which then update your reports. The CFPB page does not give a number of days that applies to the reporting companies themselves, so check the date on any response you receive and keep following up in writing.

If the error stays

When the furnisher says the information is accurate, you can ask the credit reporting companies to add a statement to your file explaining that you dispute it. The statement does not remove the item, but anyone who reads the report sees your side. Errors on a checking account report follow the same pattern of disputing with the reporting company and the bank, as described in our guide to being denied a checking account.

Frequently asked questions