How to get a free credit report
Order a copy of your credit report from both Equifax Canada and TransUnion Canada. Each credit bureau may have different information about how you have used credit in the past. Ordering your own credit report has no effect on your credit score.
Equifax Canada refers to your credit report as “credit file disclosure”.
TransUnion Canada refers to your credit report as “consumer disclosure”.
Order by mail or fax
- Make your request in writing using the forms provided by Equifax and TransUnion
- Provide copies of two pieces of acceptable identification, such as a driver’s licence or passport
- You must receive your credit report by mail
Order by telephone
- Call the credit bureau and follow the instructions
- Equifax Canada
Tel: 1-800-465-7166 - TransUnion Canada
Tel: 1-800-663-9980 (except Quebec)
Tel: 1-877-713-3393 (Quebec residents)
- Equifax Canada
- Confirm your identity by answering a series of personal and financial questions
- You may also need to provide your Social Insurance Number and/or a credit card number to confirm your identity
- You must receive your credit report by mail
Get your credit report online
You may pay a fee to order your credit report online if you want to see it right away. TransUnion allows you to order your credit report online once a month for free.
Get your credit score
A lender will use your credit score to determine if they will lend you money and how much interest they will charge you to borrow it. Your credit score is a number calculated from the information in your credit report. It shows the risk you represent to a lender compared to other consumers.
Knowing your credit score before a major purchase, such as a car or a home, may help you to negotiate lower interest rates.
You usually need to pay a fee when you order your credit score online from the two credit bureaus.
Some companies offer to provide your credit score for free. Others may ask you to sign up for a paid service to see your score.
Make sure you do your research before providing a company with your information. Carefully read the terms of use and privacy policy to know how your personal information will be used and stored. For example, find out if your information will be sold to a third party. This could result in you receiving unexpected offers for products and services. Fraudsters may also offer free credit scores in an attempt to get you to share your personal and financial information.
Always check to see if a website is secured before providing any of your personal information. A secured website will start with “https” instead of “http”.
What is credit monitoring
Canada’s credit bureaus, as well as many credit card issuers and financial institutions, offer credit monitoring services. These services provide you with a notification after certain updates to your credit file, such as a credit inquiry.
You could consider using this service if you think you’ve been the victim of fraud or if you have been affected by a data breach. This can help you see if somebody is trying to apply for credit in your name.
You usually need to pay for these services.
How often you should check your credit report
Consider requesting your report from one bureau, then wait six months before you order from the other bureau. By spacing out your requests, you may be able to detect problems sooner.
Courtesy: canada.ca/en/financial-consumer-agency/services/credit-reports-score/order-credit-report.html