How to Dispute Your Equifax Credit Report

To dispute your Equifax credit report, you can file yourself, for free, online through a myEquifax account, by mail to Equifax Information Services LLC, P.O. Box 740256, Atlanta, GA 30374-0256, or by phone at 1-888-378-4329. Explain what’s wrong and include copies of your proof. The investigation can take up to 45 days, and Equifax must correct or delete information that’s inaccurate, incomplete or can’t be verified.

Below is what the do-it-yourself process looks like, step by step, and why some people choose to have a credit repair company handle their disputes instead. Each bureau keeps its own file, so check your Experian and TransUnion reports too. Our main guide to disputing items on your credit report covers the general dispute process.

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What Does the DIY Equifax Dispute Process Look Like?

Disputing on your own comes down to six steps.

1. Get Your Equifax Report

Start with a current copy so you’re disputing exactly what your report shows. You can get free reports from all three bureaus every week at AnnualCreditReport.com.

2. Spot the Errors

List each item you believe is wrong and why. Common errors include accounts that aren’t yours, late payments you didn’t make, a wrong balance or account status, names, addresses or employers that aren’t yours, hard inquiries from applications you didn’t make, and negative items older than the reporting period allows (see the 7-year rule).

3. File Online, by Mail or by Phone

• Online: Equifax’s credit dispute page says to sign in to or create a free myEquifax account, go to the dispute center and select “File a Dispute.” You can check your dispute status in the same account.
• By mail: Equifax’s mail-in dispute page links to a dispute form you can print. If you write your own letter instead, include your full name, current address, date of birth and Social Security number, plus the company that reported each item, the account number and what’s wrong.
• By phone: Equifax’s contact page lists 1-888-EQUIFAX (1-888-378-4329). Call with your report in front of you. Write down the date, who you spoke with and any confirmation number.

Mail your dispute to:

Equifax Information Services LLC
P.O. Box 740256
Atlanta, GA 30374-0256

Certified mail with a return receipt gives you proof that your dispute arrived. Our guide on how to write a credit dispute letter shows how to lay out your letter.

4. Include Your Proof

Send copies, not originals, of anything that supports your dispute. Equifax says it may ask for documents such as a driver’s license or utility bill for personal information, or recent statements, a letter from the lender confirming a correction, or proof of identity theft for account information. Keep a copy of everything you send. If you think someone opened accounts in your name, our guide to repairing credit after identity theft covers the extra steps.

5. Wait for the Investigation

Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act’s dispute procedure, Equifax passes your dispute to the company that reported the item. The investigation can take up to 45 days, and Equifax sends you the results in writing. Filing a dispute doesn’t hurt your credit score.

6. Review the Results

If the item is inaccurate, incomplete or can’t be verified, Equifax must correct or delete it. If the company confirms it’s accurate, it stays. If you disagree, Equifax’s page on disagreeing with dispute results says you can dispute directly with the lender that reported it, file a new dispute with more information, or add a short statement to your Equifax report. If you believe your dispute wasn’t handled properly, you can file a complaint with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Our guide to your credit report rights covers your other rights.

Why Use a Credit Repair Company Instead of Disputing Yourself?

Everything above is something you have the right to do yourself, for free. Federal law lets you dispute inaccurate information directly with the credit bureaus, and a credit repair company can’t do anything in a dispute that you can’t do on your own. No one, including a credit repair company, can have accurate, current and verifiable information taken off your report.

What a company gives you is time, organization and follow-through. One dispute with one bureau is manageable. But errors often show up on more than one report, each bureau and each creditor responds on its own timeline, and keeping track of letters, documents, deadlines and replies across all three bureaus takes steady work. Some people would also rather have someone experienced read their reports with them.

That’s the work a credit repair company like Credit Saint takes on. When you work with us, our team:

• Reviews your credit history with you and identifies the items you believe are inaccurate
• Sends challenges to your creditors and all three credit bureaus on your behalf
• Gives you an online account page where you can watch progress

About Credit Saint: 350,000+ people helped and 4.8★ from 16,000+ Google reviews. Credit service companies cannot promise a result or credit score increase. If you’d like a team to handle the disputes with you, start a free credit review.

Frequently Asked Questions

The Bottom Line

You can dispute Equifax errors yourself, for free. Get your report, find what’s wrong, file online, by mail or by phone with copies of your proof, and watch for the written results. If you’d rather not manage disputes across all three bureaus on your own, a credit repair company like Credit Saint takes on that work with you, from reviewing your credit history to sending challenges to your creditors and the bureaus.