RitezyNew York legal help
Ask for free

Credit, banks & credit reports · How to

How to dispute an error on your credit report: the free process and deadlines

Updated By The editorial teamNot reviewed by an attorney — based on the official sources below

In short

Under the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act, you can dispute any inaccurate or incomplete item on your credit report directly with the credit bureau, free of charge. The bureau must reinvestigate within 30 days — up to 45 if you send more relevant information during that time — and must tell the company that supplied the information within 5 business days. Anything found inaccurate, incomplete or that can't be verified must be corrected or deleted, and you get the results in writing within 5 business days after the investigation ends. If the dispute isn't resolved, you can add a short statement to your file. You can get your free reports through annualcreditreport.com.

Read on for the details, the exceptions and the sources.

In plain words

Credit bureau
A company that collects credit information about you and sells reports, such as Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. The law calls it a consumer reporting agency.
Furnisher
The company that sends information about you to the credit bureau, such as your lender, card issuer or a debt collector.
Reinvestigation
The bureau's check of an item you dispute.
Statement of dispute
A short note you can add to your file explaining your side, if the dispute isn't resolved in your favor.

Where to go

Start with the credit bureau whose report shows the error — dispute with each bureau that reports it. The bureau must reinvestigate items you dispute directly with it (15 U.S.C. § 1681i(a)(1)). The CFPB notes that the law requires you to dispute inaccurate information with the credit bureau first before complaining to it about the bureau.

You can also dispute with the furnisher — the company that reported the information. After a bureau passes on your dispute, the furnisher must investigate, review what the bureau sends, report back, and correct, delete or block inaccurate or unverifiable information (§ 1681s-2(b)). Federal rules also let you dispute some items directly with the furnisher (§ 1681s-2(a)(8)).

To see your reports, the Attorney General points to annualcreditreport.com, 1-877-322-8228, or Annual Credit Report Request Service, P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta GA 30348-5281.

What documents you need

  • A copy of the report, with each disputed item marked.
  • Proof of who you are and your address — bureaus need enough information to find your file.
  • Evidence for each item: payment records, account statements, letters from the creditor, court papers showing a debt was paid or dismissed.
  • If an account isn't yours because of identity theft, an identity theft report (see our identity theft page).
  • Copies of everything you send, and proof of when you sent it.

Fees and costs

Disputing is free: the bureau must reinvestigate "free of charge" (§ 1681i(a)(1)(A)). Each nationwide credit bureau must also give you a free report once every 12 months when you ask through the centralized source, within 15 days of your request (§ 1681j(a)). Be careful with look-alike websites — the Attorney General warns that some misleading sites imitate the official one.

Deadlines

  • The bureau has 30 days from receiving your dispute to finish its reinvestigation (§ 1681i(a)(1)(A)).
  • It can extend by up to 15 days if you send relevant information during the 30 days — but not if it already found the item inaccurate or unverifiable (§ 1681i(a)(1)(B)–(C)).
  • It must notify the furnisher within 5 business days of receiving your dispute (§ 1681i(a)(2)(A)).
  • Results must reach you within 5 business days after the reinvestigation ends (§ 1681i(a)(6)(A)).
  • If you need to sue, the deadline is 2 years after you discover the violation, and no later than 5 years after it happened (§ 1681p).

Step by step

  1. Get your reports

    Order them from all three nationwide bureaus through annualcreditreport.com, by phone or by mail.

  2. List every error

    Look for wrong personal details, accounts that aren't yours, accounts wrongly shown as late or in collections, and old debts or judgments that don't belong to you.

  3. Dispute with the bureau

    The CFPB notes the nationwide bureaus take disputes online, by mail or by phone. In writing, say for each item what is wrong and why, and attach copies (not originals) of your evidence; certified mail with a return receipt gives you proof.

  4. Dispute with the furnisher too

    Writing to the lender or collector that reported the item can help, especially with documents it can check.

  5. Keep a log

    Write down the date you sent each dispute, the confirmation numbers, and when the 30 days end.

What happens next

If an item is inaccurate, incomplete or can't be verified, the bureau must promptly delete or correct it and tell the furnisher (§ 1681i(a)(5)(A)). A deleted item can come back only if the furnisher certifies it is complete and accurate, and the bureau must tell you in writing within 5 business days of putting it back (§ 1681i(a)(5)(B)). The results notice must include an updated report and tell you that you can ask how the item was verified, add a statement, and have corrections sent to others (§ 1681i(a)(6)(B)).

If the bureau decides your dispute is frivolous or irrelevant — for example, because you didn't give enough information — it must tell you within 5 business days and say what it needs (§ 1681i(a)(3)). If the reinvestigation doesn't resolve the dispute, you can add a brief statement to your file, which may be limited to 100 words if the bureau helps you write it (§ 1681i(b)). You can ask the bureau to send a correction or your statement to anyone who got your report for employment in the past two years, or for other purposes in the past six months (§ 1681i(d)).

If a bureau or furnisher willfully ignores the law, you can sue for actual damages or $100 to $1,000, punitive damages and attorney's fees; for negligence, actual damages and attorney's fees (§§ 1681n, 1681o). You can also complain to the CFPB.

Figures that change

  • Time for the credit bureau to reinvestigate: 30 days (up to 45 if you send more information) (as of 2026-10-30; Fair Credit Reporting Act — disputes, 15 U.S.C. § 1681i)

Frequently asked questions

How long does a credit bureau have to fix an error?

30 days from receiving your dispute, extendable by up to 15 days if you send more relevant information during that period (15 U.S.C. § 1681i(a)(1)).

Does it cost anything to dispute a credit report error?

No. The bureau must reinvestigate free of charge (§ 1681i(a)(1)(A)).

The creditor "verified" the wrong information. What now?

You can ask the bureau how it verified the item, including the furnisher's name and contact details (§ 1681i(a)(6)(B)(iii), (a)(7)), dispute directly with the furnisher, add a statement of dispute (§ 1681i(b)), and complain to the CFPB. If the violation was willful or negligent, you may be able to sue (§§ 1681n, 1681o).

Should I pay a company to fix my credit?

You don't need to. You can dispute errors yourself, free of charge (§ 1681i(a)(1)(A)). Keep in mind that the dispute process corrects or removes information that is inaccurate, incomplete or can't be verified (§ 1681i(a)(5)) — not accurate information.

Want your own situation checked?

This page is general. Describe what happened, attach the letter or document you received, and get a free first answer — then, if you want, a full check against New York and federal law and a letter ready to send.

Check my situation — free

Official sources

This page was written from the sources below. “Checked” is the date the source was last opened and read.

Related questions

Related guides

This page is general information based on the official sources listed, current as of the update date. It is not legal advice and does not replace a review of your own situation; if a case is already in court, a deadline is close, the amount is large, or there are criminal, immigration or family-law consequences, talk to a lawyer or legal aid.