A credit freeze lasts indefinitely. Once you place one at Equifax, Experian, or TransUnion, it stays on your credit report until you ask for it to be lifted or removed—there is no expiration date, no annual renewal, and no fee.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1681c-1 – Identity Theft Prevention; Fraud Alerts and Active Duty Alerts2Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. What Is a Credit Freeze or Security Freeze on My Credit Report When you do need a lender to check your credit, federal law requires bureaus to process an online or phone request to lift the freeze within one hour, so the protection does not lock you out for long.
Why the Freeze Does Not Expire
The Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act of 2018 made credit freezes permanent by default and free at all three nationwide bureaus.3Federal Trade Commission. Starting Today, New Federal Law Allows Consumers to Place Free Credit Freezes and Yearlong Fraud Alerts You can leave a freeze on for months or years without doing anything to maintain it. Nothing lapses, nothing needs to be renewed, and nothing arrives in the mail asking you to reconfirm.
The freeze also does not affect your credit score.4Federal Trade Commission. Credit Freezes and Fraud Alerts Your existing accounts keep reporting normally, and lenders reviewing accounts you already hold cannot see that a freeze is in place. The only practical effect is that any new-credit application will be blocked until you lift it.
What a Freeze Still Allows Through
A freeze stops new lenders from pulling your file. It does not block everything. Banks and lenders you already have accounts with can still review your credit for account management, certain government agencies (including child support agencies) can access your file, and companies you have hired to monitor your credit can still see your report.2Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. What Is a Credit Freeze or Security Freeze on My Credit Report Soft inquiries, such as pre-screened offer checks, also continue.
Employment, tenant screening, and insurance requests sit in a gray area: the federal freeze law does not cover them, so if a prospective employer or landlord needs to check your credit, you may still need to lift the freeze or work through the bureau’s alternate access process.2Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. What Is a Credit Freeze or Security Freeze on My Credit Report
Temporary Lift or Permanent Removal
When a lender needs to see your report, you have two ways to open the file, and both are free.2Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. What Is a Credit Freeze or Security Freeze on My Credit Report
- A temporary lift, sometimes called a thaw, opens the file for a date range you specify. The freeze goes back into place automatically at the end of that range with no follow-up on your part. This fits most situations, including a single loan or credit card application.
- A permanent removal takes the freeze off entirely. If you want the protection back later, you have to place a new freeze.
One practical shortcut: ask the lender which bureau they plan to pull, and lift only that one. If only Experian will be checked, there is no reason to open Equifax and TransUnion as well.4Federal Trade Commission. Credit Freezes and Fraud Alerts
How to Lift a Credit Freeze
You can request a lift or removal online, by phone, or by mail. Because each bureau maintains your file separately, you contact each one where you originally placed a freeze.
Online and Phone
These are the fast options. Federal law requires each bureau to process an online or phone request within one hour of receiving it.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1681c-1 – Identity Theft Prevention; Fraud Alerts and Active Duty Alerts That deadline makes online and phone the only realistic choices when you are in the middle of a credit application.
To lift a freeze online, you log into your account at the bureau’s website. TransUnion uses its Service Center account and Equifax uses a myEquifax account; neither requires a traditional PIN for online requests. By phone, the bureau will verify your identity through your name, date of birth, address, Social Security number, and possibly additional security questions.
Bureaus have up to three business days after receiving a mailed request to process the change.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1681c-1 – Identity Theft Prevention; Fraud Alerts and Active Duty Alerts Include your full name, Social Security number, date of birth, current address, and a copy of a government-issued ID.5Annual Credit Report.com. Security Freeze Basics Given the longer timeline plus mail delivery, this method rarely makes sense for a time-sensitive request.
Confirmation
After the bureau processes your request, it sends confirmation—typically an on-screen message or an email for online requests. Check that the lift went through before telling a lender to pull your report.
What You Will Need
Regardless of method, you have to verify your identity. Have your full Social Security number, date of birth, and current address ready.5Annual Credit Report.com. Security Freeze Basics If you received a PIN or password when you placed the freeze, keep it accessible; some bureaus still use PINs for phone and mail requests. Online, most bureaus have moved to account logins with a username and password instead.
Lost your PIN? Each bureau offers a recovery path through its website, usually built around identity verification questions. Recovery can add time to the process, so saving your original freeze confirmation—as an email or a paper letter—prevents that delay next time you need to lift.
Freezes on a Child’s or Protected Person’s File
Federal law extends freeze protections to children under 16 and to incapacitated adults, and a parent, guardian, or authorized representative can request the freeze on their behalf.2Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. What Is a Credit Freeze or Security Freeze on My Credit Report If no file exists yet for the child, the bureau creates a record specifically to freeze it.
The process differs from the standard adult flow.4Federal Trade Commission. Credit Freezes and Fraud Alerts Each bureau sets its own documentation rules, but expect to provide proof of your own identity, proof of the child’s or protected person’s identity such as a birth certificate, and proof of your legal authority, such as guardianship papers or a power of attorney. Because these documents get reviewed by hand, the process usually runs through the mail rather than online.
Duration is the same as an adult freeze: indefinite. The guardian has to request removal when it is needed, for example when a teenager turns 16 and wants to open a first credit account.
If a Bureau Misses the Deadline
If you submit a complete request and the bureau does not process it within the legal window—one hour for online or phone, three business days for mail—you can file a complaint with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau at consumerfinance.gov/complaint.6Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Submit a Complaint The Federal Trade Commission also accepts reports at ftc.gov.
Before filing, confirm that your submission was complete. A wrong PIN, an outdated address, or a missing ID copy can delay processing without the bureau being at fault. If your paperwork was correct and the deadline has passed, keep a record of the date, time, and method of your request; that timeline is what makes a complaint stick.