What Should I Do After I Freeze My Credit Report?

What Should I Do After I Freeze My Credit Report?

If you have placed a freeze on your credit report, you took a proactive step in protecting your personal information. Taking an active role in managing and protecting your data identity is the foundation of building and maintaining healthy credit. It puts you in control. But at some point you’ll want to apply for a new credit opportunity. Whether it’s for house hunting, car shopping or a new credit card, it’s never been easier to unfreeze your credit report.

You can remove the freeze from your credit report or you can temporarily lift the freeze for a specific period of time.

It’s a good idea to ask your potential lender which of the three credit bureau’s credit report they pull. This includes TransUnion, Equifax and Experian. Some may pull one. Others may pull all three. It can depend on the product and lender you’re working with. Because you have to unfreeze your credit with all three credit reporting agencies individually, it can save you time to find out in advance. You have two options when it comes to unfreezing your credit report with TransUnion. You can remove the freeze from your credit report or you can temporarily lift the freeze for a specific period of time.

How to unfreeze your credit

If you’re not sure if your credit is frozen, the simplest way to confirm is to log into your account online. You can bookmark that direct login webpage or you can always go to our dedicated Credit Freeze page to access your account and see more information like FAQs. If you don’t have an online account, you will need to create one.

To unfreeze your credit, simply do the following:

  1. Log in to your account online
  2. Once logged in, you will be presented with a status screen that says “Frozen”
  3. To unfreeze, click the button that says “Remove Freeze” on the screen
Report is Frozen Screen

How to temporarily lift your credit freeze

Unfreezing your credit report temporarily is useful if you know the specific window when the lender will pull your credit. It will allow lenders access to your report, maintain protection of your credit after they pull it and you won’t have to remember to log in again to refreeze your credit.

Here’s how to temporarily lift your credit freeze:

  1. To unfreeze for a specific timeframe, log into your account online and select “Temporarily Lift Freeze”
  2. Enter the dates you want your credit report to be unfrozen
  3. We will automatically add a freeze back on to your credit report on the end date at midnight
You can schedule your freeze removal up to 15 days in advance of when you plan on having your creditor pull your report.

To make things easy, you can schedule your freeze removal up to 15 days in advance of when you plan on having your creditor pull your report. So, if you wish to unfreeze more than 15 days from today, just plan to log in closer to the date when you want your credit report unfrozen.

Building on your good credit habits

Protecting your information, like using a credit freeze, puts you in control of your credit health and data identity. It’s a great safeguard for when you’re not actively house or car shopping or seeking other credit opportunities.

Now that you’ve taken that responsible step of protecting your information, consider building on that good habit by regularly monitoring your credit reports. A subscription to TransUnion Credit Monitoring can further help you manage your data identity with confidence. It provides daily refreshes of your credit report and alerts you to critical account changes to any of your 3-bureau credit reports. Continuously practicing good habits will help you build a healthy credit profile and allow you to capitalize on opportunities you deserve.

Disclaimer: The information posted to this blog was accurate at the time it was initially published. We do not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of the information provided. The information contained in the TransUnion blog is provided for educational purposes only and does not constitute legal or financial advice. You should consult your own attorney or financial adviser regarding your particular situation. This site is governed by the TransUnion Interactive privacy policy located here.

What You Need to Know:

The credit scores provided are based on the VantageScore® 3.0 model. Lenders use a variety of credit scores and are likely to use a credit score different from VantageScore® 3.0 to assess your creditworthiness.

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