Absolutely Free Credit Report with No Trial Required

If you’re looking for an “absolutely free credit report with no trial required,” there’s really only one place to go.

The federal government offers this type of free credit report with absolutely no strings attached at Annualcreditreport.com.

Credit Report Sans Credit Score

While it is absolutely free, no trial, no sign-up, no credit card needed, no nonsense, it doesn’t include a free credit score, so it may not be what you’re looking for.

Most consumers don’t know how to read a credit report, so their interest lies in that ever-powerful three-digit credit score.

But having free access to your credit report, even if it doesn’t include the credit score, isn’t a bad thing.

You get all the information you’d get on a typical credit report that you’d have to pay for (or at least sign up for a free trial) without all the hassle.

With AnnualCreditReport.com, you’re limited to one credit report from each of the 3 major credit bureaus once per year, so you can order all three at once, or spread it out through the year.

Keep in mind that information is reported differently amongst bureaus, so be sure to track all three if you want the complete picture.

Start With the Free Credit Report

Personally, I like to start with a free credit report to determine if a paid credit report complete with credit score is actually necessary.

If I don’t see anything derogatory or fishy on the initial credit report, I can get a fair estimate of my credit score using my handy credit score range as a barometer (what is a good credit score?).

Warning: When signing up for the absolutely free credit report via the government website, watch out for attempts by the credit bureaus to charge you for a credit score or “more access.”

Be sure to click on the “no thanks” tabs when prompted, usually below the oversized print telling you to sign up for full access. =)

If you DO want access to your credit scores as well, there are two services that provide instant access to your credit scores from all 3 major credit bureaus via free trial:

GoFreeCredit gives you free access to all 3 scores for 7 days, while CreditScoreQuick gives you access for a full 14 days.

*After obtaining your free credit scores, you must cancel the credit monitoring service during the trial period to avoid being charged.