How to Unfreeze Your Credit

In order to place or remove a credit freeze on your credit reports, you must contact each of the 3 major credit bureaus individually. Unfreezing your credit is free and can be fast and easy, as long as you have carefully safeguarded your account passwords or PINs.

You can request to unfreeze your credit online, by phone, or by mail. You’ll need to provide information like your name, address, birthdate, and Social Security number in order to place a freeze or lift one.

Here’s a rundown of how it works at Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion:

How to Unfreeze Credit With Equifax

You can unfreeze your credit report with Equifax online, by phone, or by mail.

Online: Sign up for or log in to your myEquifax account. Request the unfreeze by verifying your personal information, such as your Social Security number. You don’t need a PIN when you unfreeze your credit online.

By phone: Call 800-349-9960. (You’ll need to provide basic information and the 10-digit PIN you were assigned.)

By mail: Complete and send in this form, marking that you want to unfreeze your credit. Along with the basic info, you’ll need to provide proof of identification, proof of address, and the PIN you were assigned.

Send the request to:

Equifax Information Services LLC

P.O. Box 105788

Atlanta, GA 30348-5788

How to Unfreeze Credit with Experian

You can unfreeze your credit report with Experian in similar ways: online, by phone, or by mail. Experian is the only credit bureau that still requires a PIN to unfreeze your credit online, and it offers a single-use PIN that helps ensure your information is only seen by a creditor you approve of.

Online: Fill out the form to remove a security freeze. You’ll need the 5 –10 digit PIN that was given to you when you first put a freeze on your credit.

By phone: Call 888-397-3742.

By mail: Send a letter to Experian requesting to unfreeze your credit report. Your request must include personal information, such as your:

Full name with middle initial
Birthdate
Social Security number
Complete addresses for the past 2 years
A copy of government-issued ID
A copy of your bank statement or utility bill

Send the request to:

Experian Security Freeze

P.O. Box 9554

Allen, TX 75013

How to Unfreeze Credit With TransUnion

You can unfreeze your credit report with TransUnion also online, by phone, or by mail. For unfreezing your TransUnion credit report online, you may need to sign up for a new account with a username and password, but you no longer need a PIN.

Online: Visit TransUnion’s Credit Freeze page, and click on the “Unfreeze” button. Create an account or log in to an existing account.

By phone: Call 888-909-8872.

By mail: Send a letter to TransUnion requesting to unfreeze your credit report. As with the other bureaus, your request must include personal information, such as your: