Before you start
US consumer credit files at Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. These protections do not resolve an existing fraudulent account or stop every type of identity theft. A child’s or protected adult’s freeze uses separate representative and identification procedures.
1. Match the protection to your situation
You may freeze your own credit even if no fraud has occurred. An initial fraud alert is for someone who in good faith suspects they have been, or are about to become, a victim of fraud or a related crime such as identity theft. You do not need to buy a service first.
An alert does not block access to the report. Under the federal rules, covered requests include opening new credit, a consumer-requested additional card, or a consumer-requested credit-limit increase. Initial alerts require reasonable identity checks; extended alerts require contact through the designated method. Neither promises a particular approval outcome.
| Protection | Eligibility | Contact | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| Security freeze | Anyone for their own file | Each of the three bureaus | Until you request removal; temporary lifts are possible |
| Initial fraud alert | Good-faith suspicion of actual or imminent fraud | One bureau must notify the other two | One year; renewable |
| Extended fraud alert | Identity-theft victim with an identity theft report, such as an FTC or police report | One bureau must notify the other two | Seven years; renewal requires resubmitting the report |
| Active duty alert | Eligible active-duty military consumer; check bureau requirements | One bureau must notify the other two | One year; can be renewed for deployment |
2. Use the correct free bureau route
For freezes, make separate requests to Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. The FTC guide links to the bureaus’ official help for alerts. Choose the security-freeze or fraud-alert process that matches your action.
The bureau must verify your identity. Send required identifying documents only through its verified secure process. For an alert, provide a reliable verification contact method directly to the bureau and keep it current. Do not put your phone number, SSN, PIN, passwords, recovery codes or identity documents in this page’s notes.
3. Understand what remains accessible
A freeze restricts new-credit access; it does not freeze your bank account, cancel an existing card, remove inaccurate reporting or prove an account is fraudulent. Check existing statements and promptly contact the actual account provider about unauthorized activity. Use the identity-theft recovery process for an account opened without your permission.
Federal exceptions include access for existing-account review or collection, your own report requests, subscribed monitoring, certain government uses, insurance underwriting, and employment or tenant screening. This is not an exhaustive list. An access exception does not itself authorize an account decision or waive other legal requirements. A freeze cannot guarantee that all fraud is prevented.
4. Distinguish the right from optional products
Placing, temporarily lifting and removing a security freeze are free. Fraud alerts are also free. A credit lock is a separate product with its own terms and may be included in a paid membership. A screen advertising a lock or monitoring subscription is not evidence that the free freeze requires payment.
Monitoring can notify you about changes it detects; it does not itself restrict access like a freeze. Check which bureaus and events a monitoring product covers. You can request the free protection directly without subscribing to a paid package. A freeze does not lower your credit score.
5. Record requests and verify the actual state
Use the shared freeze plan to organize each bureau separately. A planned action, an actual request and a confirmed status are different facts. Record a generic confirmation-document reference after the bureau responds, then check the bureau’s own status channel. For an alert, follow up if a bureau’s record does not show the requested alert after the referral process.
Set your own next check for any missing confirmation, alert renewal or planned credit application. The plan cannot submit requests, contact bureaus, send reminders or change a freeze. If you later need credit access, ask the lender which report it needs and use the separate temporary-lift guide.
Fictional example: a breach notice and three separate checks
A reader receives a breach notice and suspects possible identity misuse, but has found no unfamiliar account. They choose freezes at all three bureaus and request an initial fraud alert through Experian. They send each actual request through the official channels; this worksheet submits none of them.
Equifax and Experian provide freeze confirmations; the TransUnion request still needs identity verification. The reader marks the first two as confirmed and TransUnion as awaiting verification, without assuming it is frozen. They complete TransUnion’s secure process, check the resulting status, and separately verify the alert records. Finding a fraudulent account later would require its own recovery steps.
Before you finish
- Choose a freeze, an eligible alert, or both.
- Request each freeze separately at the three bureaus.
- Use one bureau’s official alert process and verify follow-up.
- Keep identity documents and all access codes outside these notes.
- Separate planned action, actual request and bureau-confirmed status.
- Check existing accounts and arrange any needed renewal or credit-access follow-up.
My protection choice and follow-up notes
Optional notes use generic descriptions and document labels. Keep SSNs, PINs, passwords, contact details and identity evidence out of this page.
Entries are optional and stay in this page's memory. This worksheet does not send or save them. Use generic account labels and document labels. Do not enter account numbers, Social Security numbers, PINs, access codes, passwords, names or addresses, and do not upload documents. Downloading or printing creates a copy you control.
Use the official bureau channels for the action, then update your notes only from the response you actually receive.
Record a freeze or fraud alert plan
Choose an intended action for each relevant bureau. Add a requested date window only if needed, what an official confirmation says, and what you will check next. Use a document label instead of a confirmation number or code.
This is a personal plan. Selecting an action does not submit it. Requested dates and a confirmed state are separate. Request a fraud alert or active duty alert through one nationwide bureau, which must notify the other two; use the other rows to record follow-up if needed. A freeze must be handled with each bureau separately.
Enter actual dates as YYYY-MM-DD. If a date is unknown, leave it blank; do not invent one. Dates are calendar dates, with no time zone or time-of-day comparison. This record does not calculate a legal deadline or schedule reminders.
Questions you may have
Can I have an alert and a freeze at the same time?
Yes. The FTC says both can be in place. Lifting a freeze for an application does not replace the identity-verification requirements of an alert that remains active.
Does freezing one bureau freeze the other two?
No. Request each freeze separately. Fraud alerts use a different process: the bureau you contact must notify the other two. Keep records and check any missing confirmation.
Will this remove a fraudulent account already on my report?
No. A freeze or alert helps protect against additional misuse. Address the existing account with the company, the credit bureaus and the identity-theft recovery process as appropriate.