Your credit rights
A plain-language summary. Last updated September 28, 2026.
You don't need to pay anyone to fix errors on your credit report. Federal law gives you these rights directly.
Free credit reports
You can get free credit reports from Equifax, Experian and TransUnion at AnnualCreditReport.com, the official site for free reports.
Disputing errors yourself, for free
- You can dispute information you believe is inaccurate or incomplete directly with the credit bureau and with the company that reported it. There is no charge.
- Credit bureaus generally must investigate within 30 days, and sometimes up to 45 days.
- Information that is inaccurate, incomplete or can't be verified must be corrected or deleted.
- Accurate negative information can generally be reported for up to seven years, and some bankruptcies for up to ten.
Your protections when you hire a credit repair company
- A credit repair company can't charge you before it has fully performed the services it promised.
- You must receive a written contract that spells out the services, their cost and how long they will take.
- You can cancel the contract within three business days of signing without paying anything.
- A credit repair company can't tell you to make false statements to a credit bureau or to create a new credit identity.
Upstanding Credit will give you the full written disclosure of your rights required by federal law before you sign any service contract.