Your credit report is a permanent financial record that follows you through every major life decision — home buying, car loans, job applications, apartment rentals. Yet most people have never read one. Here is exactly what every section means and what errors to look for.
How to Get Your Free Credit Report
AnnualCreditReport.com (the only official site mandated by federal law) provides free weekly reports from all three bureaus: Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. Get all three — information can differ between them because not all lenders report to all bureaus.
The 5 Sections of a Credit Report
1. Personal Information
Name, current and past addresses, Social Security number (partially masked), employers. This section does not affect your credit score but errors here can indicate identity theft or mixed credit files (your report contains another person’s data).
What to check: Addresses you’ve never lived at. Employers you’ve never worked for. Any name variation you don’t recognize. These can indicate a mixed file — your report may contain someone else’s accounts.
2. Account Summary
A summary of open accounts, closed accounts, and derogatory marks. The big numbers here: total balances, available credit, and number of accounts. Your credit utilization is visible here — total balance ÷ total credit limit.
3. Account History (The Main Section)
Each credit account listed with: creditor name, account number (masked), date opened, credit limit or loan amount, current balance, payment history, and account status. This section has the most scoring impact and the most potential errors.
Payment history key: OK/current = on time. 30, 60, 90, 120 = days late. CO = charge-off. This history goes back 7 years. Every late payment is a derogatory mark.
What to dispute here: Accounts you don’t recognize (identity theft or mixed file). Wrong balance. Incorrect credit limit. Account marked late that was actually paid on time. Charge-off showing wrong date of first delinquency.
4. Public Records
Bankruptcies (Chapter 7 stays 10 years, Chapter 13 stays 7 years). Tax liens, civil judgments (policies vary by bureau on whether these are still reported). If this section is empty, that’s good.
5. Inquiries
Hard inquiries (credit applications) stay for 2 years and affect your score. Soft inquiries (your own pulls, employer checks, pre-approval checks) are visible only to you and don’t affect your score.
Credit Report Dispute Letter Bundle
Found an error? Our templates cover every type of credit report dispute — wrong accounts, wrong balances, late payments that weren’t late, identity theft, and more. Each letter cites the exact FCRA sections.
Get Dispute Letters →The Most Common Credit Report Errors
| Error Type | How Common | Score Impact |
|---|---|---|
| Wrong personal information | Very common | Low (unless mixed file) |
| Account not yours (mixed file) | 1 in 5 reports | High — can add debts |
| Wrong balance or limit | Common | Medium — affects utilization |
| Late payment marked wrong | Common | High |
| Debt past 7-year window | Common | High — must be removed |
| Identity theft accounts | Increasing | Very high |
The 7-year clock starts from the original date of first delinquency on the original account — not the date it was sold to a collector, not the date it was charged off. Find the original delinquency date in the account history and calculate 7 years from there using our date calculator.
A mixed file contains information belonging to two different people — usually those with similar names or Social Security numbers. This can add accounts and debts that aren’t yours to your report. Dispute with a letter explaining the file is mixed and provide documentation of your identity.