Freezing Your Credit: What It Blocks, Plus How to Lift It

Freezing your credit blocks new lenders from seeing your credit report at each of the three major bureaus, which stops identity thieves from opening new accounts in your name. It’s free, it doesn’t touch your credit score, and it stays in place until you lift it. What it doesn’t do is close off every path into your financial life: existing creditors, debt collectors, insurers, government agencies, and pre-screened offer lists all keep their access, and fraud on accounts you already have is a separate problem a freeze won’t solve.

What a Freeze Actually Blocks

When your file is frozen, a mortgage lender, credit card issuer, or auto loan company that tries to pull your credit is denied. Most will reject the application outright, because they can’t underwrite a loan they can’t check. Since identity thieves make their money by opening new accounts with stolen personal information, cutting off that lookup shuts down their main play.

Federal law gives every consumer the right to a security freeze at no charge, and the freeze lasts indefinitely rather than expiring on a set schedule.¹ You have to place it separately at each bureau. Freezing your file at Equifax does nothing to your file at Experian or TransUnion.²

What a Freeze Doesn’t Block

The law carves out several categories of access that continue even while your file is frozen:¹

Companies you already have an account with, for account maintenance, monitoring, and credit line increases.
Debt collectors working on a financial obligation you owe.
Federal, state, and local government agencies acting under a court order, warrant, or subpoena, and agencies investigating fraud or collecting delinquent taxes.
Agencies enforcing child support obligations.
Insurance underwriters evaluating risk.
Credit monitoring services you’ve signed up for.
You, pulling your own report or score.
Companies making pre-approved or pre-screened credit offers.

Two consequences of that last category surprise people. Pre-screened credit card and loan offers keep showing up in your mailbox despite the freeze. To stop those, you have to opt out separately at OptOutPrescreen.com or 888-567-8688, either for five years or permanently.

A freeze also doesn’t protect any account already in your name. If a thief has your existing card number, or if someone with authorized access to your accounts misuses them, the freeze is silent on both. It only governs new credit inquiries.

Jobs and Apartments

Employers running a credit check and landlords running tenant screening are not on the exception list, so a freeze does block them. If you’re job-hunting or apartment-hunting, plan to lift the freeze at the relevant bureau before the screening runs, then refreeze afterward.³

Your Score and Existing Accounts Are Unaffected

A freeze doesn’t change your credit score. Payment history, utilization, and the other normal factors keep moving your score up or down as usual.² Your current cards and loans work exactly as before. You can charge, pay, and earn rewards without noticing the freeze is there.

Your current lenders also keep reporting your monthly balances and payments to the bureaus, so your credit history continues to build. A freeze limits who can open a new inquiry, not how existing creditors update your file.

How to Place One

You can place a freeze online, by phone, or by mail, and all three methods are free.² Online is fastest and often takes effect within seconds.⁴ Contact each bureau in turn:

Equifax: equifax.com/personal/credit-report-services/credit-freeze, 888-298-0045, or P.O. Box 105788, Atlanta, GA 30348-5788
Experian: experian.com/freeze, 888-397-3742, or P.O. Box 9554, Allen, TX 75013
TransUnion: transunion.com/credit-freeze, 888-909-8872, or P.O. Box 160, Woodlyn, PA 19094

Each bureau will ask for your full legal name, Social Security number, date of birth, and current address plus any previous addresses from the last two years. Match the address the bureau already has on file to avoid delays.

Federal law requires bureaus to place the freeze within one business day of an online or phone request and within three business days of a mailed request.¹ Each bureau will send a confirmation along with a PIN or login credentials. Save these. You’ll need them to lift the freeze later, and a lost PIN means a replacement process that adds delay when you’re trying to move quickly.

Lifting the Freeze When You Need Credit

Apply for a new card, mortgage, or car loan, and you’ll need to lift the freeze first. You can request a temporary lift for a set window or a permanent removal. Both are free.³

Bureaus have to act on a lift within one hour for online or phone requests, and within three business days for mailed requests.¹ A temporary lift snaps back to a freeze automatically when the window you set expires, with no follow-up call needed. Ask the lender which bureau they pull from before you lift all three; often you only need to unfreeze one or two.

Freeze vs. Fraud Alert vs. Credit Lock

A fraud alert tells lenders to take extra steps to verify your identity before opening a new account. You only contact one bureau, and it must notify the other two. An initial alert lasts one year and can be renewed. Confirmed identity theft victims can request an extended alert that lasts seven years.⁵ An alert is lighter than a freeze because it doesn’t block access, it just adds a verification step.

A credit lock is a bureau product that lets you toggle your file on and off through a mobile app. Locks are not governed by federal law. They are commercial services, and some bureaus charge a monthly fee for the lock features. Because locks don’t carry the federal guarantees a freeze does, including the one-hour lift deadline and the no-cost rule, the freeze is generally the stronger tool.

Beyond the Big Three

Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion aren’t the only reporting agencies. Thieves can use smaller bureaus to open bank, utility, or telecom accounts in your name, and freezes at those bureaus close those doors.

ChexSystems

Banks and credit unions check ChexSystems on new checking and savings applications. Freeze this file online through the ChexSystems consumer portal, by phone at 800-887-7652, or by mail to P.O. Box 583399, Minneapolis, MN 55458.⁶

Innovis

Innovis is a fourth national credit bureau some lenders use. Freeze at innovis.com, by phone at 866-712-4546, or by mail to P.O. Box 530088, Atlanta, GA 30353-0088.⁷

NCTUE

The National Consumer Telecom and Utilities Exchange tracks your history with phone, cable, and utility companies. Freeze this file by calling 866-349-5355 or mailing Exchange Service Center—NCTUE, P.O. Box 105561, Atlanta, GA 30348.

Freezes for Children and Incapacitated Adults

Children under 16 are common identity theft targets because the fraud can sit undetected for years. Federal law lets a parent, guardian, or authorized representative place a free freeze on behalf of a child under 16.¹ Most children don’t yet have a file, so the bureau may need to create one before freezing it.⁵

Expect to supply proof of your identity, proof of the child’s identity such as a birth certificate, and proof of your authority to act, such as a birth certificate showing parentage, a court order, or a power of attorney.¹ Each bureau has its own forms, so check their sites for the exact submission process.

The same right extends to legal guardians of incapacitated adults. You’ll need proof of your identity, the protected person’s identity, and legal authority such as a court-issued guardianship order or a valid power of attorney.⁸

1
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1681c-1 – Identity Theft Prevention, Fraud Alerts and Active Duty Alerts
2
TransUnion. Credit Freeze
3
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. What Is a Credit Freeze or Security Freeze on My Credit Report
4
Experian. Freeze Your Credit File for Free
5
Federal Trade Commission. Credit Freezes and Fraud Alerts
6
ChexSystems. Security Freeze Information
7
Innovis. Add or Manage a Security Freeze
8
Equifax. How Do I Place a Security Freeze on an Incapacitated Adult’s or Minor’s Equifax Credit Report