15 U.S.C. § 1681c-1 Federal Credit Freeze: Placing, Lifting, and Fees

A federal credit freeze is your right under 15 U.S.C. § 1681c-1 to block Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion from releasing your credit report to most new creditors, at no cost and with no expiration. You place it, lift it when you need to apply for credit, and put it back — each step is free, and the credit bureaus have to act within deadlines set by statute.¹ You do not need to be an identity theft victim or have received a breach notice to use it.

How to Place a Freeze at Each Bureau

You have to contact all three nationwide bureaus separately. A freeze placed at one does not carry over to the other two. Each maintains its own freeze portal, toll-free line, and mailing address, and you can use whichever channel you prefer.

The law gives the bureaus tight windows to act:

Once the freeze is in place at a bureau, that bureau will not release your report to a new creditor that requests it. The freeze stays active indefinitely; there is no renewal, and placing or lifting it has no effect on your credit score.²

Lifting the Freeze When You Apply for Credit

A frozen file will stall any application that depends on a fresh credit pull. Mortgage, car loan, new credit card — the lender pulls a report, sees a freeze, and stops. The fix is to temporarily lift the freeze at whichever bureau the lender uses, for a time period you choose. When that period ends, the freeze reinstates itself automatically.¹

The one-hour rule for online and phone lifts is the reason this system works day to day. If you ask the lender which bureau they use, you can lift only that one and leave the others frozen. If you do not know, lift all three for the length of the underwriting window.

The Freeze Is Free

The statute prohibits nationwide bureaus from charging anything to place, temporarily lift, or permanently remove a security freeze.¹ If a bureau is asking you for money, you are being routed to a paid product, not the statutory freeze.

Identification You Will Need

The statute requires “proper identification” but does not list specific documents. In practice, the bureaus ask for your full legal name, Social Security number, date of birth, and current address. A mail request usually needs a copy of a government-issued ID such as a driver’s license or passport, plus something like a utility bill showing your address. Representatives placing a freeze for someone else need proof of authority — a birth certificate for a parent, a court order for a guardian or conservator.

What a Freeze Does Not Block

Several categories of access remain open even when your file is frozen, and some of them surprise people.

Existing creditors and their debt collectors can still pull your report for account maintenance.¹ Your credit card issuer reviewing you for a limit change does not need a lift. Neither does a collector working a legitimate debt.

Government agencies acting under a court order, warrant, or subpoena can access a frozen report, and child support agencies have separate access for enforcement.¹

Insurance underwriting is not blocked.¹ Auto and homeowners insurers commonly use credit-based scores to set premiums, and a freeze does not stop that.

Prescreened credit and insurance offers continue as well. To stop those mailings, go to optoutprescreen.com or call 1-888-567-8688. The online opt-out lasts five years; a signed mailed form makes it permanent.³

Employment and tenant screening are outside the federal freeze law entirely.⁴ An employer or landlord you have authorized to pull a report may still be able to obtain one while your freeze is on. This is the most common gap people miss.

The freeze also applies only to the three nationwide bureaus. Specialty bureaus that track banking history, tenant records, or employment data are not automatically bound by the § 1681c-1 timelines, though some, such as ChexSystems, offer freezes on their own terms.¹

Freeze, Fraud Alert, or Credit Lock

These three products get marketed side by side, and they are not the same.

A security freeze blocks new-creditor access entirely. It is free, statutory, and permanent until you remove it. The bureau cannot override it except for the exceptions listed in the statute.

A fraud alert does not block access. It flags your file so creditors must take reasonable steps to verify your identity before opening a new account. An initial alert lasts one year and is available to anyone; an extended alert lasts seven years but requires an identity theft report.¹ Both are free, and one practical convenience: you contact only one bureau and it must notify the other two. A freeze requires three separate requests.

A credit lock is a commercial product offered by the bureaus under their own terms of service. The CFPB has said credit locks are “no more effective than security freezes,” and locks typically require a paid subscription.⁴ Because a lock is a contract rather than a statutory right, you do not get the same legal remedies if the bureau fails to honor it.

Freezing a Child’s or Dependent’s Credit

The statute treats anyone under 16, or anyone with a court-appointed guardian or conservator, as a “protected consumer.” A parent, guardian, or other legal representative can request the freeze on their behalf.¹

If a bureau has no file on the protected consumer, it must create one for the sole purpose of applying the freeze.¹ Children’s Social Security numbers are attractive to thieves precisely because no one is watching them, and this provision closes that gap. Expect to send a birth certificate, the child’s Social Security card, and your own ID; a guardian sends the court order instead of a birth certificate.

If a Bureau Ignores the Deadlines

The one-business-day and one-hour windows are enforceable. When a bureau blows them, the Fair Credit Reporting Act gives you two paths.

For a willful violation, you can sue for actual damages or statutory damages of $100 to $1,000, whichever is greater, plus possible punitive damages and mandatory attorney’s fees if you win.⁵ The statutory floor means you can recover even without proving a specific dollar loss.

For a negligent violation, you can recover actual damages and attorney’s fees.⁶ Here you need real harm, such as a loan denial that a timely lift would have prevented.

Federal enforcement is a live threat too. In 2023, the CFPB and FTC took joint action against TransUnion for failing to place freezes on time, letting a backlog build for years, and telling consumers their freezes had been placed when they had not. The CFPB ordered $3 million in consumer redress and $5 million in civil penalties.⁷ If a bureau tells you a freeze is on when it is not, or drags past the statutory windows, that history is worth mentioning in your complaint.

1
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1681c-1 – Identity Theft Prevention; Fraud Alerts and Active Duty Alerts
2
Federal Trade Commission. Credit Freezes and Fraud Alerts
3
Federal Trade Commission. What To Know About Prescreened Offers for Credit and Insurance
4
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. What Is a Credit Freeze or Security Freeze on My Credit Report?
5
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1681n – Civil Liability for Willful Noncompliance
6
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1681o – Civil Liability for Negligent Noncompliance
7
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. TransUnion, Trans Union LLC, and TransUnion Interactive, Inc.