How to Fill Out and Mail the Experian Opt-Out Form: Address and Effect

Experian does not publish its own standalone opt-out form. To stop Experian from including you on prescreened lists sold to lenders and insurers, you use the joint Experian opt-out form at OptOutPrescreen.com, which covers Experian along with Equifax, TransUnion, and Innovis in a single request. The online and phone submissions last five years. For a permanent block, you print the form the site generates, sign it by hand, and mail it to the processing center in Omaha.

Five Years or Permanent

Pick your duration before you start, because it determines whether you need to mail anything at all.

A five-year opt-out can be completed entirely at OptOutPrescreen.com or by calling 1-888-5-OPT-OUT (1-888-567-8688). No printout, no signature, no mail. The block expires automatically after five years.
A permanent opt-out starts the same way, online or by phone, but you must then print the Permanent Opt-Out Election Form, sign it, and mail it in. The block stays in place until you reverse it.

The distinction comes from 15 U.S.C. § 1681b(e): a request made only through the electronic or phone system runs five years, while a permanent election requires a signed written form.¹ Either way, the opt-out becomes effective five business days after the bureaus receive your request.

Filling Out the Form

Go to OptOutPrescreen.com and choose the permanent option. The site walks you through a secure form, then produces a PDF for you to download and print. Experian and the other bureaus need enough identifying information to match your request to your credit file, so have the following ready:

Your full legal name as it appears on your credit reports. Add any prior names (maiden name, former married name) so the request reaches every associated file.
Your current mailing address. If you have moved recently, the bureaus may still have an older address on file, which is fine.
Your Social Security number, which is the primary identifier the bureaus use to distinguish between consumers.
Your date of birth, which pairs with the SSN to confirm identity.

After printing, sign the form in the signature block. This step is not optional. The statute specifically requires a “signed notice of election form” for a permanent opt-out, and an unsigned submission will be rejected.¹ Check that the printed name, address, and SSN are legible before you seal the envelope. A faint or smudged printout can hold up processing.

Where to Mail It

Send the signed form to the centralized address that handles all four bureaus:

OptOutPrescreen
P.O. Box 5055
Omaha, NE 68106

First-class postage is enough. You don’t need a cover letter or copies of your ID; the form itself carries all the information the processor needs. Neither the FTC nor OptOutPrescreen specifically recommends certified mail, but because the envelope contains your Social Security number, USPS Certified Mail with a return receipt is worth the few dollars. You get proof of delivery, which matters if the request is later disputed or misplaced.

When It Takes Effect

Your opt-out kicks in five business days after Experian and the other bureaus receive it. From that point on, they stop putting your name on the prescreened lists they sell to lenders and insurers, and the election also applies to each bureau’s affiliates.¹

Your mailbox won’t clear out immediately, though. Many lenders and insurers buy their mailing lists weeks or even months before the offers actually go out, so mail that’s already been printed will still arrive. Give it roughly sixty to ninety days for the volume of unsolicited offers to drop off noticeably.

What the Opt-Out Doesn’t Cover

The Experian opt-out has no effect on your credit score. The soft inquiries prescreening generates are visible only to you and don’t feed into scoring models.² You can still apply for any credit card, loan, or insurance policy on your own; when you do, the lender pulls your report through a separate permissible-purpose channel that has nothing to do with prescreened marketing lists.¹

You may also keep receiving marketing mail from companies you already do business with. A bank where you hold an account can still send offers based on its own customer data. The opt-out stops bureau-generated lists, not every piece of financial marketing.

If Prescreened Offers Don’t Stop

If offers are still landing in your mailbox well past ninety days, first verify your opt-out status back at OptOutPrescreen.com. If the site confirms you’re opted out and the mail keeps coming, the problem is on the sender’s side. File a complaint with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau at consumerfinance.gov/complaint under the “Credit reports and other personal consumer reports” category. The CFPB forwards complaints to the company involved, and companies typically respond within fifteen days.³

Reversing the Election

Changed your mind? You opt back in through the same two channels: OptOutPrescreen.com or 1-888-567-8688.² The statute keeps a permanent election in place until you notify the bureaus otherwise, so reversing it takes an affirmative step on your end.¹ No mailed form is needed to opt back in.

Opting Out an Experian File for a Minor Child

Credit bureaus don’t normally have files on children. If your child is receiving prescreened offers, that itself can signal identity theft, because a thief may have opened accounts using the child’s SSN. The OptOutPrescreen website and phone line handle adult requests only. For a child, you write directly to each bureau, including Experian, in separate letters.²

Each letter should include the child’s full name, address, and date of birth, plus copies of:

The child’s birth certificate
The child’s Social Security card
Your driver’s license or other government-issued ID

Experian’s address for these requests is P.O. Box 9532, Allen, TX 75013. Given what unexplained offers to a child usually mean, consider also placing a credit freeze on the child’s file with each bureau while you’re writing in.²

1
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1681b – Permissible Purposes of Consumer Reports
2
Federal Trade Commission. What To Know About Prescreened Offers for Credit and Insurance
3
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Submit a Complaint