How to Put a Freeze on Your Credit at All 3 Bureaus

To freeze your credit at all three bureaus, contact Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion separately. Each accepts requests online, by phone, or by mail, and each must place the freeze within one business day of an online or phone request. It’s free, it takes about ten minutes per bureau, and you’ll need your Social Security number, date of birth, and address history. No single portal covers all three at once, so plan to make three separate requests.¹

What a Freeze Does

A freeze restricts who can view your credit report. When a lender or credit card company tries to pull your file while the freeze is active, they’re denied, and without that report, they won’t approve a new account. That’s the whole point: a thief using your stolen information can’t open credit in your name because no lender can see the file to approve them.²

Your existing accounts aren’t affected. Current creditors can still review your file, you can still check your own report, and your credit score keeps calculating normally. The freeze only controls who gets to see the report.³

Federal law under 15 U.S.C. § 1681c-1 guarantees this right at no cost and sets the timelines the bureaus must follow.⁴

What to Have Ready Before You Start

A mismatch on any of these will delay or reject your request, so gather them first:

Full legal name, with any suffix (Jr., III) exactly as it appears on your credit file
Social Security number
Date of birth
Current address and any prior addresses going back two years — discrepancies here are the most common reason online requests fail
A government-issued ID (driver’s license, state ID, or passport)

If you’re mailing your request, include a photocopy of the ID. The bureaus may also ask for a recent utility bill, bank statement, or pay stub to confirm your current address, especially if your ID still shows an old one.⁵

Equifax

Online at equifax.com/personal/credit-report-services/credit-freeze, or by phone at (888) 298-0045. The online path requires creating an Equifax account and answering identity verification questions. The phone line runs through an automated system that asks for your Social Security number, date of birth, and address.⁶

Experian

Online at experian.com/freeze/center, or by phone at 1-888-397-3742. Experian uses an online account to manage your freeze going forward, so save your login credentials somewhere safe.⁷

TransUnion

Online at transunion.com/credit-freeze, or by phone at 800-916-8800. TransUnion manages activity through its online Service Center. One useful feature: you can schedule a temporary lift up to 15 days in advance when you know a lender will be pulling your report.⁸

Freezing by Mail

All three bureaus accept freeze requests by letter. Write out your name, Social Security number, date of birth, and current address, and include photocopies of your government-issued ID and a proof-of-address document. Send it by certified mail with return receipt requested. Each bureau publishes its mailing address on its freeze page. Mail takes longer to process, but some people prefer it to avoid sharing sensitive data online or by phone.

Whichever route you take, the freeze is free. Federal law prohibits the bureaus from charging for placing, lifting, or removing one.¹

How Fast the Bureaus Must Act

Federal law sets maximums for each step:

Placing a freeze from an online or phone request: within one business day
Placing a freeze from a mailed request: within three business days of receipt
Lifting or removing a freeze from an online or phone request: within one hour
Lifting or removing a freeze from a mailed request: within three business days of receipt

The one-hour lift window is what makes freezes practical day to day. If you’re at a car dealership and a lender needs to pull your credit, you can lift the freeze from your phone and the bureau has sixty minutes to process it.⁴

Lifting the Freeze When You Need Credit

You have two options for reopening access to your file.

A temporary lift opens your file for a specific date range. You set a start and end date, and the freeze snaps back automatically when the window closes. If you know which bureau the lender uses, you only need to lift at that one rather than all three.⁹

A permanent removal ends the freeze entirely. Your report goes back to being accessible to anyone with a permissible purpose, just as before. You can always place a new freeze later. Both options are free.⁸

Do You Still Need a PIN?

The old freeze system issued a unique PIN you needed to lift or remove the freeze, and losing it was a real headache. The three major bureaus have moved on. Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion now manage freezes through online accounts with standard login credentials rather than standalone PINs. If you call in, the bureau verifies your identity using personal information instead of a PIN.⁸

What a Freeze Won’t Block

p>A freeze is not a total blackout. Federal law preserves several categories of access:

Existing creditors can still review your file to manage your account or adjust your terms
Insurers evaluating an application for auto, home, or other coverage can access your report
Government agencies, such as child support enforcement, retain access when required by law
Pre-screened credit card offers can still reach you; to stop those, opt out separately at OptOutPrescreen.com or call 1-888-567-8688
You can always pull your own report, and authorized credit monitoring keeps working

The freeze is aimed at new credit applications. If your concern is someone opening a fraudulent card or loan in your name, a freeze handles that. It won’t stop misuse of accounts you already have open, so keep watching your existing statements.³

1
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Free Credit Freezes Are Here
2
USAGov. How to Place or Lift a Security Freeze on Your Credit Report
3
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. What Is a Credit Freeze or Security Freeze on My Credit Report
4
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1681c-1 – Identity Theft Prevention; Fraud Alerts and Active Duty Alerts
5
Experian. How to Freeze Your Credit at All 3 Credit Bureaus – Section: What Information Do You Need to Freeze Your Credit?
6
Equifax. Security Freeze – Freeze or Unfreeze Your Credit
7
Experian. Freeze or Unfreeze Your Credit File for Free
8
TransUnion. Credit Freeze FAQs
9
Federal Trade Commission. Credit Freezes and Fraud Alerts