You can check your credit score in Canada for free in three ways: through your bank’s mobile app, through a fintech platform like Borrowell or Credit Karma, or directly from the two national credit bureaus, Equifax and TransUnion. Scores run from 300 to 900, and pulling your own file never lowers the number. Most people finish the whole process online in about ten minutes.
Check Through Your Bank’s App
If you bank with RBC, TD, Scotiabank, BMO, or CIBC, the fastest route is the one you already have. All five have partnered with TransUnion to show a free score inside their online and mobile banking under a feature usually called CreditView.1RBC Royal Bank. A Convenient and Secure Way to See Where Your Credit Stands2TD Canada Trust. How to Check Your Credit Score for Free3BMO. BMO CreditView – The No-Fee Instant Way to Get Your Credit Score
Sign in, look for the credit score or CreditView option in the menu, and the number appears. No new account, no separate password. Your bank has already verified who you are.4Scotiabank Canada. How to Check Your Credit Score Online
Check Through Borrowell or Credit Karma
Borrowell offers a free Equifax score and report, refreshed weekly.5Borrowell. Check Your Free Credit Score in Canada Credit Karma Canada offers a free TransUnion score with regular updates. Both are legitimate ways to see your number without paying.
Neither charges you because both make money by suggesting credit cards, loans, and other products based on what your file shows. You’ll see those offers alongside your score. The recommendations don’t affect the accuracy of the score itself.
Get It Directly From Equifax or TransUnion
The bureaus themselves will show you your file for free. TransUnion provides free monthly online access through its consumer disclosure.6TransUnion Canada. Consumer Disclosure Equifax provides its consumer credit report and score as required by consumer reporting legislation.7Equifax Canada. Equifax Consumer Credit Report Going straight to the source gives you the fullest picture, including details that bank dashboards sometimes simplify.
Since Canada has two national bureaus and they keep separate files, checking both is worth the extra few minutes. Something that appears on one report might not be on the other.
What You Need Before You Start
Every provider asks for the same core details to match you to the right file: full legal name, date of birth, and current address. Most also want previous addresses going back two to five years. TransUnion’s mail form, for instance, requires a previous address if you have been at your current one for less than two years.6TransUnion Canada. Consumer Disclosure
You’ll also be asked for your Social Insurance Number. Providing it is optional under federal privacy rules, and no provider can require it as a condition of giving you access.8Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada. Best Practices for the Use of Social Insurance Numbers in the Private Sector Including it does make the match easier, especially if you have a common name or have moved often. Leaving it out can trigger extra verification questions or a failed match.
On the bureau and fintech sites, expect Knowledge-Based Authentication during signup. The system pulls questions from your actual file: name a previous lender, pick the correct monthly payment on an old loan, or identify a past account balance from a short list. Only the real file owner should be able to answer these.
If Online Verification Doesn’t Work, Request by Mail
Online verification fails for some people, particularly newcomers to Canada, people with thin credit histories, or anyone whose recent addresses don’t line up cleanly. Both bureaus accept free mail requests as a backup.
For TransUnion, complete the Consumer Request form and include photocopies of both sides of two pieces of government-issued identification that together show your name, current address, date of birth, and signature. Don’t send originals.6TransUnion Canada. Consumer Disclosure
For Equifax, complete the mail request form and send it to Equifax Canada Co., National Consumer Relations, Box 190, Montreal, Quebec H1S 2Z2.9Equifax Canada. Contact Us
Expect a few weeks for processing and delivery.
Checking Your Own Score Does Not Lower It
When you pull your own file, the bureau logs it as a soft inquiry. Soft inquiries have zero effect on the score and are invisible to other lenders. You can check through your bank, Borrowell, Credit Karma, and both bureaus on the same day without consequence.
Hard inquiries are different. Those happen when a lender pulls your file because you applied for credit, and they can trim the score by a few points for a while. You only trigger one by applying for something, never by checking on yourself.
What the Number Means
Canadian credit scores run from 300 to 900, with higher numbers signalling lower risk. Lenders generally treat 660 and above as acceptable for standard credit products.10Equifax Canada. What Is a Good Credit Score
- 760–900 (Excellent): best interest rates and most favourable terms.
- 725–759 (Very Good): still strong enough for competitive rates on most products.
- 660–724 (Good): acceptable to most lenders, though rates may be slightly higher.
- 560–659 (Fair): approval is possible but often with higher rates or added conditions.
- 300–559 (Poor): most mainstream lenders will decline applications in this range.
These are guidelines, not fixed cutoffs. Lenders also weigh income, employment history, and existing debt alongside the score.
Your Free Score May Not Match What a Lender Sees
The score shown in a bank app or on a fintech dashboard is often called an educational score. It draws on the same bureau data lenders use, but a specific lender may weight parts of your file differently when running its own calculation.11Financial Consumer Agency of Canada. Credit Report and Score Basics A mortgage lender might weigh recent payment history differently than a credit card issuer does.
The gap is usually small. If your free score reads 740, a lender’s model isn’t going to spit out 620. The numbers move in the same direction and sit in the same range, so the free score is reliable for tracking progress and catching problems, even if the exact figure shifts a little when a lender pulls your file.
Check for Errors and Dispute Them
The main reason to check regularly is to catch mistakes. If you spot incorrect information, either bureau will investigate a dispute for free.
Equifax accepts disputes electronically or by mail. You select which category is wrong, such as an account balance, personal details, or a public record entry, and provide supporting information.12Equifax Canada. Start Your Dispute TransUnion also accepts disputes by mail and asks for documentation supporting your claim along with copies of two pieces of government-issued identification.13TransUnion Canada. Credit Report Disputes and Complaints
File separately with each bureau. Their databases don’t talk to each other, so an error corrected at Equifax will still sit on your TransUnion file until you dispute it there too. Keep copies of everything you send, and attach clear supporting documents like bank statements, payment receipts, or correspondence from the creditor. Investigations move faster when the evidence is already in the file.