How to get a copy of your credit report

How is credit reporting regulated in the US?

While the three main credit bureaus and the credit scoring companies aren't government entities, they are subject to certain US government regulations, such as the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

One in five Americans has an error on their credit report, according to the Federal Trade Commission

In 2026, four US senators sent letters to two of the nation's major credit bureaus (TransUnion and Experian) after an investigation revealed that they were fixing fewer errors on consumers' credit reports.

The three major credit bureaus were created in the mid-1900s to sort local credit reporting into national databases

In the 1800s, credit bureaus went into business to help lenders make decisions. But today's three major credit bureaus, Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion, didn't become the industry leaders they are today until the 20th century, around the same time FICO was founded.

How to check your credit score

Contrary to popular belief, checking your credit score doesn’t hurt your credit. Many credit card companies show your score when you log into their app online, but there are other ways to check it.

The first steps to rebuilding your credit score include getting to know exactly what's on your credit report and figuring out how far you are from the '700 club,' or 'good score' range.

How to rebuild your credit score

It's easy to let your credit score slip without realizing it. Checking your credit score and getting to know what's on your credit report are the first steps to getting to the "700 club," or "good score" range, according to one financial expert.

Listen to a podcast episode that goes inside the 2017 Equifax credit bureau hack

This podcast episode details a 2017 credit bureau hack in which Equifax data about millions of Americans was compromised. It dives into the history of credit bureaus, specifically how they became legally allowed to access Americans' financial information without Americans actually volunteering it themselves.

Privacy concerns in the credit scoring system

Because credit scores use a lot of personal information (such as whether or not someone makes credit card payments on time), some worry their privacy is being compromised in the data collection process.

How credit scoring works outside the US

If you move outside the US, you won’t get to take your credit score with you. Credit scoring systems work differently in other countries. In the UK, for instance, being registered to vote improves your credit score.

Credit monitoring services may oversell the benefits of dark web monitoring

Currently, technology exists to scrape and download data from webpages, which can then be analyzed to identify a user's information. However, scrapers cannot access or remove personal data from dark websites because they are often protected by paywalls, rendering monitoring ineffective beyond reporting publicly available data breaches.

Credit scores seriously suffer when individuals file for bankruptcy, and there’s no easy fix

Those who file for Chapter 7 must wait 10 years before the bankruptcy is removed from their credit report. For Chapter 13, the wait time is seven years.

Americans spend an average of $200 on tax preparation services like TurboTax and H&R Block

In 2025, about half of Americans were able to file taxes directly with the IRS for free. It was the second year of the agency's new program, which cuts out intermediaries. Though tax preparation has been free for many Americans, critics say tax companies upsell customers.

The federal government offers billions in student aid each year in the form of scholarships, grants, loans, and more

The very first—and necessary—step is to fill out a federal application to get your information into the system. Known as the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, this key form must be completed by Oct. 1 for the following academic year.

Explore a college affordability and transparency guide

From the US Department of Education, this portal provides everything you need to evaluate colleges. The college scorecard provides handy data on every school, from graduation rates to annual average earnings out of school, while the net cost calculator directs you to each school's calculator that allows you to estimate the cost of college based on your unique circumstances.

US women got the right to open a credit card in their own name in 1974

Before that year, banks in the US were legally allowed to deny women credit or charge them higher interest if they failed to get a male cosigner.

Credit limits can be lowered as well as increased

Some common reasons for someone's credit limit being lowered include missed payments, an inactive account, and more.

Find an accredited credit union near you

The National Credit Union Administration is to credit unions what the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation is to traditional banks—it insures deposits of up to $250,000 per customer per account. This lookup tool allows you to search for nearby credit unions so you can check that a business is accredited by the NCUA before you begin your banking journey.

US consumers collectively owe more than $1T to credit card companies—almost as much as they owe in auto loans.

A list of public companies' filings

To go public, a company has to file a registration statement with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, also known as the SEC. You can find these filings on the SEC’s website to learn more about a company’s share pricing before its IPO date.

How to get out of debt

This article provides a few helpful tips for getting out of debt, such as learning more about the debt itself and asking for better interest rates. It also explains the popular "debt snowball" and "debt avalanche" methods for getting out of debt. Curious to learn more? Read the full article here.

The Platinum American Express card is among the most expensive mainstream travel credit cards

American Express charges a $895 annual fee on its Platinum Card in exchange for nearly $3.5K worth of credits and benefits. Some of the credits include a $600 for hotels, a $400 credit at restaurants with Resy, a $300 Lululemon credit, and even a $200 credit at Oura ring. (Some users may experience a paywall.)

Old credit cards can be made into guitar picks, phone stands and more

Experts recommend always cutting through the chip and the card number when disposing of expired credit cards, as the magnetic strip, the chip, and the card number all contain information that thieves might be interested in.

Why the employment report matters to Wall Street

On the first Friday of every month, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics releases the infamous "jobs report." The report essentially tracks how US employment is doing, from the unemployment rate to the number of people in the US currently on payroll. But most importantly, the jobs report has major implications for the economy at large. To find out how this monthly report impacts Wall Street, read this article.

Food companies usually issue recalls voluntarily and you can be automatically notified about them

Protecting yourself from food poisoning means staying on top of food recall announcements. Notices about these from the US government, which you can automatically receive after signing up at this link, note what products have been recalled by food companies. Companies alert the US Food and Drug Administration or the US Department of Agriculture when they issue recalls so the public can stay informed.

Virtually all public libraries in the US offer free internet access

Beyond providing internet access, libraries have also expanded into broad digital hubs for communities. Ninety percent offer basic digital literacy training, 76% help patrons navigate online government services, and 73% assist people with job applications.

How US currency is issued

Cash in the US is the result of a collaborative process between the Federal Reserve, the Treasury Department, regional banks, and a little-known agency called the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. From design to issuance, learn the steps in currency production in the US with this smart, aesthetic interactive.

Presidents are required to update Congress on the state of the country from 'time to time'

Article II, Section 3 of the US Constitution says that the president "shall from time to time" give Congress information on the state of the union and recommend measures deemed "necessary and expedient," leaving the timing and format unspecified.

Calculate how much of your tax dollars go to each federal program based on your income, filing status, and number of children

Learn how to read a prospectus, the juicy document that any company must file with the SEC before going public.

The American Society of Civil Engineers' infrastructure report card gave the US a C in 2025, its highest grade since the project launched in 1998.

The United States is one of only around two dozen countries with a fully federal system of government, in which power is divided between national and state governments.

The idea for the Federal Reserve was conceived in secret in 1910—with bankers donning duck hunt gear for disguise while traveling to a remote country club on Georgia's Jekyll Island

While the first exchange-traded fund (a 'basket' of different assets that can be bought and sold on a stock exchange) in the US only launched in 1993, the global ETF market has grown to more than $10T in the short time since.

In 2026, Finland was named the world's happiest country for the ninth consecutive year based on its wealth, social safety network, and high life expectancy, among other factors.

The first line of 'immortal' human cells, which can divide indefinitely and are used in scientific research, was nonconsensually taken from a Black woman.

As of 2025, the most cited papers in science include a review of graphene, methods to improve image recognition, streamlining electron density calculations, and optimizing protein studies.

When you complete a CAPTCHA on a website to prove you are human, you may be unknowingly training algorithms for self-driving cars, whose systems require training data to help identify crosswalks, bicycles, and other outdoor objects.

Track the location of the Voyager probes, currently between 13 and 15 billion miles away from Earth.

Fireworks-related ER visits are on the rise—in 2024, they increased by 52% as compared to the prior year.

Watch a 1934 short film starring jazz legend Cab Calloway, a major figure in the Harlem Renaissance's music scene

View the ten deadliest tornadoes in US history.

Objects can be 3D printed with light by projecting 2D computerized tomography (CT) scans onto rotating cylinders of resin, which solidify upon exposure.

Researchers believe the brain consolidates memories, processes emotions, and plans for the future during dream states

The Beatles' US label rejected the band's first two singles, 'Please Please Me' and 'From Me to You,' with one executive calling the band 'dead in the water.'

Long before Major League Baseball began allowing instant replay for balls and strikes, an umpire reluctantly used the technology to determine whether a hit was a home run, a move that inadvertently ushered in a new era for the sport.

Scientists can determine Earth's past climate conditions by analyzing air trapped in microscopic bubbles within ice cores—columns of compressed snow layers that build up over hundreds of thousands of years.

20,000 letters to the advice columnist 'Dear Abby' provide insight into prevailing sex, religion, and LGBTQ fears, anxieties, and concerns from the 1950s onward.

Three Ebola species are responsible for most large outbreaks of the disease, yet the only approved Ebola vaccine is known to work against just one of them.

Art theft is the third-largest source of criminal revenues worldwide, thanks in part to the subjective nature of valuing a work of art.

The Brothers Grimm were lawyers before they were storytellers, and became interested in fairy tales as they began investigating how rules and customs had been passed down through cultures.