A credit report is a register of a person’s credit history and is made up of four categories of data:

• Personal Data – also known as the credit header data, this part includes name, address, social security number, and date of birth.
• Credit History – this contains a person’s payment history and shows account status, credit limit or credit balance, monthly payment information etc.
• Public Records – this part of the report contains data on court judgments, tax liens, bankruptcies, and collections.
• Inquiries – this section contains information about all other organizations or individuals who have looked at the file and for what purpose in the past six months.

By law everyone is entitled to totally free credit report every 12 months. From then on you may have to pay, but this depends on which state you live in and how much you have to pay. The average cost for a credit report ranges from $9 to $15.

How can I get a totally free credit report?

There are basically three ways to get free credit report, and the first is by go to AnnualCreditReport.Com and obtaining your yearly free credit report.

The other way you can get hold of a totally free credit report is if you have been recently turned down for credit. When this happens, you will receive a letter that explains why you were refused and the credit bureau will provide you with information on how to contact them to get a free report.

If requested, by credit bureau that performed the credit check must send your credit report within 30 days of your notification.

The three major credit bureau agencies are Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. Some may have more information than others and it’s possible that one of the credit bureaus doesn’t have any credit information on you at all, especially if you don’t have a great deal of credit history.

You can usually purchase a 3-in-1 report which is basically getting all three reports from each of the credit bureaus. This is a good start especially if you have never seen your credit report before. Also, many of these companies offer credit report programs that gives a free credit report and score if you enroll in their programs. Many of these programs also offer 30 day trial periods if you are not satisfied with their service.

The final way to get a free credit report is if you have been a victim of fraud. If you believe there has been fraudulent activity on your credit report then you can write to the credit bureaus, explain to them your situation and request a free copy of your report. I would look into Lifelock or TrustedID which are companies that help prevent people from being a victim of identity theft. I use it myself.

Also you may want to be cautious if you are using fraud as an excuse to get a totally free copy of your credit report because every time you do it a note goes on your report.