How to unfreeze your credit reports

If you’ve experienced credit card fraud or identity theft, freezing your credit can help secure your credit information and limit applications for new accounts in your name. 

But when you want to apply for a new credit card or loan, you might need to unfreeze your credit so lenders can access your credit reports. Here’s how you can unfreeze your credit at the three major credit bureaus: Experian®, TransUnion® and Equifax®.

What you’ll learn:

• You may need to unfreeze your credit if you’re applying for a new loan or credit card. 

• You can unfreeze your credit at any time for free.

• Temporarily unfreezing credit is sometimes called thawing.

• To thaw or unfreeze your credit, you must reach out to each individual credit bureau.

With a credit freeze, you’ll still be able to access your credit scores and reports. But if you want to apply for a credit card, get a mortgage, rent an apartment or get another type of loan, creditors could use your credit reports. That requires you to unfreeze your credit either temporarily or permanently.

If you froze your credit because your personal information was misused or your identity was stolen, you may only want to unfreeze your credit temporarily. This is known as thawing. To thaw your credit, you can lift your credit freeze for a specific number of days to give lenders enough time to access your credit reports. 

You can schedule a thaw in advance if you know the dates you’ll need your credit freeze to be lifted.

If you froze your accounts as a precaution but believe your accounts are secure, then it may make sense to permanently unfreeze your credit. This could save you the hassle of unfreezing and refreezing your credit when you apply for a loan. 

If you decide to freeze your credit again, you’ll have to request a new freeze.

Unlike fraud alerts, which only require you to contact one bureau, unfreezing your credit requires you to contact each of the three credit bureaus. 

You can ask your potential creditor which bureau it uses for credit checks and lift the freeze with just that one bureau. But if you’re shopping around for multiple offers, it may be most beneficial to lift the freeze on all three bureaus. Regardless, unfreezing your credit file at one or all three bureaus is free. 

Here’s a quick look at how you can unfreeze your credit at Experian, TransUnion and Equifax:

To unfreeze your Experian credit file, you can:

• Visit the Experian credit freeze center.

• Call 888-EXPERIAN (888-397-3742). 

• Request by mail:

Experian Information Services LLC
P.O. Box 9554
Allen, TX 75013

To unfreeze your TransUnion credit file, you can:

• Visit the TransUnion credit freeze management page.

• Call 888-909-8872.

• Request by mail:

TransUnion
P.O. Box 160
Woodlyn, PA 19094

To unfreeze your Equifax credit file, you can:

• Visit the Equifax credit freeze management page.

• Call 888-298-0045.

• Request by mail using the printable security freeze form on Equifax’s website:

Equifax Security Freeze
P.O. Box 105788
Atlanta, GA 30348-5788

If you choose to request a credit freeze by mail from any of the three bureaus, you may have to wait up to three days after your request has been received for the change to take effect. But if you go online and register your account, you can make real-time changes.

Here are the answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about unfreezing credit:

Freezing your credit is one way to help prevent unauthorized accounts from being opened in your name. But if you’re doing things like applying for a credit card, mortgage or car loan, you may need to unfreeze your credit. 

You can get free copies of your credit reports from each of the major credit bureaus by visiting AnnualCreditReport.com. You can also access your credit report for free by using CreditWise from Capital One. CreditWise is a free tool that allows you to monitor credit anytime without negatively impacting your scores. Plus, CreditWise is available to everyone, even if you’re not a Capital One cardholder.

Whether your idea of a good time is getting out on the town, traveling the world or staying in, Capital One has a rewards card that may fit your lifestyle.

• See whether you’re pre-approved for rewards cards, with no harm to your credit. 

• Explore travel and miles rewards credit cards with unlimited miles you can use. 

• Earn unlimited 1.5% cash back on every purchase, every day, with a cash rewards credit card.

• Earn unlimited cash back, whether you’re going out or staying in, with a dining and entertainment credit card.