How to Lock or Freeze Your Credit Reports for Free

To lock or freeze your credit reports for free, place a security freeze at Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion — all three freezes are free, carry federal legal protection, and have no expiration date. Equifax also offers a free credit lock through its Lock & Alert product, but Experian’s lock costs $24.99 per month and TransUnion discontinued its lock in 2025. If your goal is zero-cost coverage across all three bureaus, a freeze at each is the straightforward path.

Free Options at Each Bureau

A security freeze blocks new creditors from pulling your report and is governed by the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Bureaus must place a freeze within one business day of an online or phone request and lift it within one hour of a removal request.¹ Freezes are always free at all three bureaus.²

A credit lock does roughly the same thing — it blocks lender access — but it is a product governed by the bureau’s terms of service rather than federal law. Here is what is free and what is not at each bureau:

Equifax: free security freeze and a free credit lock (Lock & Alert).
Experian: free security freeze. The CreditLock product is only available through a paid IdentityWorks Premium membership at $24.99 per month after a seven-day trial.³
TransUnion: free security freeze. The lock product was discontinued in 2025.⁴

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has stated that credit locks are no more effective than security freezes.² So the free freeze gives you the same blocking function plus statutory protections.

What You Need Before You Start

Each bureau will verify your identity before letting you place a freeze or create an account. Federal regulations require them to match your request against their records using your full legal name, Social Security number, date of birth, and current or recent addresses.⁵ Have those details on hand, along with an active email address and a mobile phone for two-factor authentication.

Bureaus typically ask knowledge-based security questions pulled from your credit history, such as a past loan amount or a prior address. If you cannot answer them online, you may need to mail copies of a government-issued ID or a utility bill to verify your identity.⁵ That process can take several days, so starting online is faster when it works.

How to Freeze Your Equifax Report for Free

Go to equifax.com/personal/credit-report-services/credit-freeze or call 1-888-378-4329.⁶ Create a free account, complete identity verification, and request the freeze. It must be in place within one business day.¹

If you prefer a toggle you can flip from a phone app, Equifax’s free Lock & Alert does the same blocking job for its own report at no cost.⁷ Visit the Lock & Alert page or download the Equifax app, create the account, and slide the dashboard toggle to the locked position. A confirmation message verifies the status. Phone support for Lock & Alert is at 1-888-378-4329, Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. ET and weekends 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET.⁸

How to Freeze Your Experian Report for Free

Visit experian.com/help/credit-freeze or call 1-888-397-3742. You will verify your identity and place the freeze through Experian’s free portal. Experian also lets you schedule a temporary thaw with specific start and end dates, so the freeze automatically returns without you having to remember.⁹

One boundary to be clear about: Experian’s CreditLock is not a free alternative to the freeze. It is bundled into IdentityWorks Premium at $24.99 per month and comes with a mandatory arbitration clause and class action waiver.³ If cost is the deciding factor, use the freeze.

How to Freeze Your TransUnion Report for Free

TransUnion no longer offers a credit lock. The TrueIdentity portal and the legacy credit monitoring products that included the lock were shut down in 2025, so the only way to restrict your TransUnion report is the free security freeze.⁴

Go to the TransUnion Service Center page and create a free account, or call 800-916-8800. If you already have a TransUnion Credit Essentials or Credit Premium account, log in and access the freeze option through the Service Center on your homepage.⁴ Complete identity verification and place the freeze. Federal law requires it to be in place within one business day of your online or phone request.¹

Lifting the Freeze When You Apply for Credit

A freeze lasts until you remove it, with no expiration date.⁶ When you apply for a mortgage, auto loan, credit card, or anything else that triggers a credit pull, log into the bureau’s portal or call the freeze line to lift it. Under federal law, the bureau must act within one hour of an online or phone request.¹

A few practical notes:

Ask the lender which bureau they pull. You may only need to lift one freeze instead of all three.
Re-freeze promptly once the credit check is complete.
Each bureau is independent. Lifting the freeze at one does not affect the others, and freezing at one does not freeze the others.⁶
With Experian, use the scheduled temporary thaw if you know your application window in advance.⁹

What a Freeze or Lock Does Not Block

Even with full restrictions in place at all three bureaus, some parties can still access your file:

Existing creditors you already have accounts with can review your report for account management.
Certain government agencies, such as child support enforcement, retain access.
Credit monitoring services you signed up for can still pull your data.
The federal freeze law does not apply to credit report requests made for employment, tenant screening, or insurance underwriting.²

A freeze also does not stop prescreened credit offers from arriving by mail. To stop those, opt out separately at OptOutPrescreen.com or by calling 1-888-567-8688.

Freezing a Child’s Report for Free

Parents and guardians can place a free security freeze on a child’s credit file at all three bureaus. If no file exists for the child, which is the case for most minors, the bureau is required to create one solely for the purpose of freezing it.¹⁰

You will need to provide proof of your authority over the child, such as a birth certificate, and you must contact each bureau separately. The record created for the freeze cannot be used for credit purposes; it exists only to keep the file frozen and protected until the child reaches adulthood.¹⁰

1
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1681c-1 – Identity Theft Prevention; Fraud Alerts and Active Duty Alerts
2
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. What Is a Credit Freeze or Security Freeze on My Credit Report
3
Experian. Experian CreditLock
4
TransUnion. TransUnion Credit Memberships Help Center
5
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. 12 CFR Part 1022 (Regulation V) – 1022.123 Appropriate Proof of Identity
6
FTC: Consumer Advice. Credit Freezes and Fraud Alerts
7
Equifax. Using Lock and Alert and Other Products
8
Equifax. Contact Us – Customer Service
9
Experian. Freeze or Unfreeze Your Credit File for Free
10
Federal Trade Commission. New Protections Available for Minors Under 16