What Happens When You Check Your Own Credit Report?

The quick answer? Nothing bad.

Your credit report contains a host of valuable information about your borrowing history and habits. It shows you how timely you are with paying bills, what your credit mix looks like, and how much of your total available revolving credit you're using at once.

It's a good idea to check your credit report every few months. Doing so could help you keep tabs on your open accounts and identify patterns that may be hurting your credit score, such as late payments or a high rate of usage across your credit cards.

Just as importantly, by checking your credit report regularly, you're more likely to spot a mistake that might be working against you. And in some cases, a credit report can alert you to the fact that someone has stolen your identity and opened a new account in your name.

Now, you may be worried that if you check your credit report too frequently, you'll end up causing damage to your credit score. The good news, though, is that checking your own credit report won't have a negative impact on your credit score whatsoever.

You're free to check your credit report as much as you want

Whenever you apply for a new credit card or loan, the issuing company or lender will perform a hard inquiry on your credit report. That's because lenders and credit card companies need to know what sort of borrower they're loaning money to or extending a line of credit to.

Each hard inquiry on your credit report has the potential to drag your credit score down by a handful of points. A single hard inquiry won't do very much damage. But a series of hard inquiries might result in a notably lower credit score, and that's not ideal.

You can rest assured, though, that checking your own credit report is not the same thing as a lender checking it. So you can access your credit report when you want or need to without having to worry.

In fact, it's a smart idea to check your credit report several times a year. If you spot an error that could work against you, like a delinquent debt you never racked up in the first place, correcting it could help your credit score improve quickly.

Also, let's say you spot an open credit card account on your credit report that you don't recognize. That could prompt you to contact the company in question, explain that the account is fraudulent, and minimize the damage.

You can check your credit report for free every week this year

Normally, you're entitled to a free copy of your credit report once a year from each of the three reporting bureaus -- Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. During the pandemic, credit reports were made available for free on a weekly basis, and that benefit has been extended through the end of 2023.

Of course, most people don't need to check their credit reports on a weekly basis, since not much is likely to change from one week to the next. But it definitely pays to check your credit report every few months on an ongoing basis.