How to Freeze Your Credit (All Three Bureaus)

A credit freeze (security freeze) is a free federal right. You tell Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion not to release your file for most new credit. A thief with your Social Security number has a much harder time opening a card or a loan. It does not lower your score, and it does not remove collections already on the report.

You must freeze each bureau separately. Freezing one leaves the other two open. A bureau “lock” in an app is not the same legal tool — see credit freeze vs credit lock.

How to freeze (all three)

1. Equifax — freeze.equifax.com or the Equifax app. Create or sign in to an myEquifax account. Place the freeze. Save the PIN or login; you will need it to thaw.
2. Experian — experian.com/freeze or the Experian app. Same idea: identity check, freeze on, store the credentials.
3. TransUnion — transunion.com/credit-freeze or the TransUnion app. Repeat. There is no one-click that covers all three.

You can also mail a freeze request, but the websites are faster and still free. If a bureau cannot verify you online, they will tell you what document to send. Official consumer pages live on each bureau’s site and on IdentityTheft.gov.

How to thaw when you need credit

Lift the freeze at the bureau the lender pulls — or at all three if you are not sure. You can thaw for a date range or for a specific creditor, then the freeze goes back on. If you are rate-shopping a mortgage or auto loan, thaw before you apply or the pull can fail.

Existing cards, your own report checks, and most insurance or employer soft pulls still work while frozen. New credit is what stops.

Freeze vs lock vs fraud alert vs opt-out

• Freeze — statutory. Use this as the default after identity theft or a major breach.
• Lock — bureau product. Convenient toggle; not a replacement for the freeze right.
• Fraud alert — lenders should take extra steps to verify it is you. Weaker than a freeze; useful as a complement. An extended alert is available with an identity theft report.
• Opt-out of prescreen — stops most firm-offer junk mail. Does not freeze the file. OptOutPrescreen.com.

What a freeze will not do

• It will not raise your score or delete a collection.
• It will not stop someone who already has an account in your name from using it.
• It will not replace a dispute or a CFPB complaint.

After you freeze, still read the file. How to read your credit report and the dispute-deadline calculator if you are already mailing letters. 850ai can analyze a report you upload even when the file is frozen for new lenders — a freeze does not block you from seeing your own data.