A credit freeze, also called a security freeze, locks your credit file at the three major credit bureaus so that no new lender can pull your report. Because almost every credit card, loan, and financing application starts with a credit check, a freeze stops identity thieves from opening accounts in your name, even if they already have your Social Security number, birth date, and address. It is free at every bureau, it never expires, and federal law requires the bureaus to offer it.
A freeze does not touch anything you already have. Your existing cards keep working, your credit score is unaffected, and you can still check your own report whenever you like. The only thing that changes is what happens when someone applies for new credit as you: the lender tries to pull your file, hits a wall, and declines the application.
The whole process takes about twenty minutes online. This guide walks through the exact steps at each bureau, what to do with the logins and PINs you create along the way, and how to lift the freeze when you want to apply for credit yourself.
What a freeze protects you from, and what it does not
A freeze targets one specific crime: new-account fraud. That is when someone uses your stolen personal information to open a credit card, take out a personal loan, finance a phone, or sign a lease in your name. It is among the most damaging forms of identity theft because you usually discover it months later, when a collection agency calls about a debt you never knew existed.
The raw material for this crime leaks constantly. Breaches at retailers, insurers, hospitals, and data brokers have exposed names, addresses, and Social Security numbers on a huge scale, and once that data is out, it stays out. If your information has appeared in even one breach, and you can check whether your data has been leaked in a few minutes, assume it is for sale permanently. You cannot realistically change your Social Security number, but you can make it useless for opening credit. That is exactly what a freeze does.
Be clear about the limits, though. A freeze does not:
- Stop fraud on accounts you already have. A thief with your existing card number can still run charges, so keep reading your statements.
- Prevent tax refund fraud, medical identity theft, or someone giving your name to police.
- Block scam emails or calls. A frozen file does not make you harder to contact, only harder to impersonate at a lender.
Freeze, fraud alert, or credit lock: pick the right tool
Three similar-sounding options get mixed up all the time.
- A credit freeze is free, backed by federal law, and blocks new credit pulls until you lift it. Lenders cannot see your file at all. This is the strongest option and the one this guide covers.
- A fraud alert is a free flag on your file that asks lenders to verify your identity before extending credit. Asks, not forces. It lasts one year unless renewed, and placing it at one bureau copies it to the other two automatically, which makes it a fast stopgap right after a theft. It is weaker than a freeze.
- A credit lock is the bureaus' own app-based product that behaves like a freeze but is governed by a private contract instead of federal law, and it is sometimes bundled into a paid subscription. There is no reason to pay for a lock when the freeze gives you the same protection for free with stronger legal footing.
Step by step: freeze your file at all three bureaus
You must place a freeze separately at Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. A freeze at one bureau does nothing about the other two, and a lender can pull your report from any of them, so do all three in one sitting.
The process has the same shape everywhere:
- Type each bureau's address directly into your browser: equifax.com, experian.com, transunion.com. Do not click through from an email or a search ad. Fake freeze pages built to harvest Social Security numbers do exist, and typing the address yourself sidesteps them.
- Find the page called "security freeze" or "credit freeze," usually under the help or credit assistance section.
- Enter your name, address, Social Security number, and date of birth. The bureau already holds this data; you are proving you are the person the file describes.
- Answer a few identity verification questions, often about past addresses or old loan payments.
- Confirm the freeze. Placed online or by phone, it must take effect within one business day, and in practice it is usually instant.
Equifax
Equifax manages freezes through a myEquifax account. Create the account, verify your identity, and you can freeze and unfreeze from the dashboard from then on. You can also freeze by phone or by mailing a request with copies of your ID and a utility bill.
Experian
Experian runs a Security Freeze Center on its site. You can freeze through an online account, and Experian may issue a PIN for managing the freeze by phone or mail. If you get one, record it immediately; you will need it years from now.
TransUnion
TransUnion handles freezes through its online Service Center account, with phone and mail as alternatives. As with the others, the online account becomes your control panel for lifting and restoring the freeze later.
If a bureau cannot verify your identity online, call instead, or mail the request with the documents listed on its freeze page. The freeze is your legal right either way.
Guard the logins and PINs you just created
One side effect: you now have three new accounts that control access to your credit file. A thief who gets into one of them can simply thaw your freeze and proceed as if it never existed. Treat these logins with the same care as your banking logins.
- Give each bureau account a long, unique password. A password manager makes this painless, and its secure notes are the right place for any freeze PINs too.
- Turn on two-factor authentication in each bureau account's security settings.
- Make sure the email address on file is one you actively use and have secured, since freeze notifications go there.
- If you ever receive a notice that your freeze was lifted and you did not do it, go directly to the bureau's site, not through the email link, refreeze, and pull your report to check for new accounts.
How to unfreeze when you actually need credit
A freeze is not a wall you build once and never touch. When you apply for a mortgage, a car loan, or a new card, the lender needs to see your report, so you lift the freeze first. The bureaus call this a thaw.
- Ask the lender which bureau it pulls from. Many use only one, and then you only need to thaw that one.
- Log in to that bureau and choose a temporary lift with a date range, a week for example. The file refreezes automatically when the window closes, so there is nothing to remember.
- Online and phone thaws must take effect within one hour under federal law. You can do it from your phone in a dealership parking lot.
- If the lender will not say which bureau it uses, lift all three for a few days.
Loans are not the only trigger. New utility service, a cell phone plan, an apartment application, and some background checks can all require a temporary thaw. Worth repeating: freezing, thawing, and refreezing are free, every time, at every bureau. Any site that charges for this is selling you something you do not need.
Freeze your children's files and cover the smaller bureaus
Children are prime targets for new-account fraud precisely because nobody checks a child's credit for years. A thief can use a child's Social Security number quietly until the day the grown child applies for a student loan and finds a ruined file. Each bureau lets a parent or guardian create and freeze a file for a child, generally by mail with a copy of the child's birth certificate and your own ID. The bureau's freeze page lists the exact documents. It is paperwork, but you do it once and the file stays frozen until adulthood.
Every adult needs their own set of freezes too. Spouses have separate credit files, so one partner freezing changes nothing for the other.
For extra coverage, three smaller agencies also offer free freezes: Innovis, a fourth credit bureau some lenders use; NCTUE, which phone and utility companies check; and ChexSystems, which banks consult before opening checking accounts. Freezing these closes the side doors after you have locked the main ones. The big three matter most, so start there.
Your freeze checklist
Set aside half an hour and work down this list.
- Freeze your file at equifax.com, experian.com, and transunion.com, all three in one sitting.
- Save each login, and any PIN, in your password manager as you go.
- Turn on two-factor authentication in each bureau account.
- Pull your free reports at annualcreditreport.com and scan for accounts or hard inquiries you do not recognize.
- Run your address through our free email breach checker to see which breaches already expose your information.
- If you have children, start the mail-in freeze for each of them this week.
- Add a calendar reminder to recheck your reports in a few months. A freeze plus an occasional report review covers most of what new-account fraud can throw at you.
