To find out what debt you owe for free, start with your credit reports from Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion at AnnualCreditReport.com, then work outward: contact any collectors listed to demand written validation, and check the separate databases and public records that credit reports miss, including tax agencies, court records, the utilities database, and your medical providers. Debts scatter across bureaus, collection agencies, court dockets, and government files, especially when accounts have been sold or you’ve moved, so a single source is never the whole picture.
Gather Your Identifying Information First
Before you request anything, write down what the agencies will use to match records to you: your full legal name, your Social Security number, and every address you’ve lived at for the past seven to ten years. If your name has changed through marriage, divorce, or any other reason, list every version you’ve used as an adult. Older accounts may still sit under a previous name, and reporting agencies use past addresses to connect you to accounts opened in different cities or states. An account missed because of an address mismatch is the most common blind spot in a self-search.
Pull Your Free Credit Reports
The three nationwide credit bureaus collect payment history and account data from lenders and build a file on your borrowing activity. Federal law requires each bureau to clearly and accurately disclose all information in your file when you request it.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1681g – Disclosures to Consumers
The three bureaus have permanently extended a program that lets you pull your report from each bureau once a week for free at AnnualCreditReport.com. Equifax is also offering six additional free reports per year through 2026 at the same site.2Consumer Advice – FTC. Free Credit Reports Pull all three. Lenders don’t always report to every bureau, so an account missing from one report can show up on another.
What Each Report Will Show You
Each report lists the creditor’s name, the account number, the current balance, the date the account was opened, and the date of the most recent activity. Accounts are marked as open and current, closed, or in collections. When a lender writes off a past-due balance, the report shows the account as “charged off.” That doesn’t mean the debt is gone. A collection agency often buys the account and keeps pursuing payment, so your report will typically show both the original creditor and any third-party collector now holding the debt.3Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. What Is an Original Creditor and What Is the Difference Between an Original Creditor and a Debt Collector?
Flag every entry you don’t recognize. A debt may have been sold multiple times, and the company listed as the current creditor might be one you’ve never heard of. Note each unfamiliar account. You’ll confirm whether those debts are legitimately yours through the validation process below.
Check Debts That Don’t Appear on Standard Credit Reports
The three major bureaus don’t track every kind of debt. Unpaid utility, phone, and cable balances are reported to a separate database called the National Consumer Telecom & Utilities Exchange (NCTUE). You’re entitled to one free NCTUE report every 12 months at nctue.com or by phone at 866-349-5185.4Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. National Consumer Telecom and Utilities Exchange (NCTUE)
Medical Debt
Medical debt follows its own reporting rules. In 2023, the three major credit bureaus voluntarily stopped reporting paid medical collections, medical collections less than a year old, and medical collections under $500.5Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Have Medical Debt? Anything Already Paid or Under $500 Should No Longer Be on Your Credit Report A broader federal rule that would have removed all medical debt from credit reports was vacated by a federal court in July 2025, so medical collections above $500 that are more than a year old can still appear.6Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. CFPB Finalizes Rule to Remove Medical Bills from Credit Reports Some states have their own restrictions, so check your state’s rules too.
Because small medical balances may never show up on any report, call your health care providers and hospitals directly and ask about outstanding balances. Many medical offices use outside billing services that can send unpaid accounts to collections without the provider’s office notifying you first.
Search Public Records for Tax and Court Debts
Tax debts, court judgments, and certain government fines are tracked separately from credit reports and need their own searches.
Tax Debts
If you owe unpaid federal taxes, the IRS may file a Notice of Federal Tax Lien, a public record that alerts other creditors the government has a legal claim against your property. Check for outstanding federal tax liabilities by requesting a tax transcript through your IRS online account or by calling the IRS directly. State income tax debts and local property tax debts are handled by your state’s department of revenue and your county tax assessor’s office, most of which offer online account portals.
Civil Judgments
If a creditor sued you and won, the court entered a civil judgment for the amount owed. These are public records filed with the court in the county where the case was decided. Search court records in every jurisdiction where you’ve lived. Most state and county courts have online case-lookup tools. For federal court judgments, the PACER (Public Access to Court Electronic Records) system provides a nationwide index across all federal courts.7PACER: Federal Court Records. Search by a Specific Court vs. Using the PACER Case Locator
Make Collectors Prove the Debt
When a debt collector first contacts you, it must send a written notice within five days that includes the amount of the debt, the name of the creditor, and a statement of your right to dispute the balance. You then have 30 days from receiving that notice to send a written dispute. If you dispute in writing within that window, the collector must stop all collection activity on the disputed amount until it sends you verification of the debt or a copy of a court judgment.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1692g – Validation of Debts
One detail catches people out: the 30-day period is your deadline to dispute, not the collector’s deadline to respond. The law sets no specific time limit for the collector to send verification. It just can’t resume collection efforts until it does. If you don’t dispute within 30 days, the collector may treat the debt as valid, though failing to dispute is not treated as an admission of liability in court.9Federal Trade Commission. Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
What the Validation Notice Must Contain
Under federal regulation, the validation notice must include the name of the original creditor, the account number, the amount of the debt as of a specific itemization date, and an itemization of the current balance showing any interest, fees, payments, and credits added since that date.10eCFR. 12 CFR 1006.34 – Notice for Validation of Debts That breakdown lets you see exactly how the balance grew from the original amount and catch any charges that don’t belong.
Send your dispute by certified mail with a return receipt for proof of delivery. If you’ve spotted a collection on your credit report but haven’t been contacted by the collector, you can still write to the agency listed and request verification. Keep copies of every letter you send and every response you receive.
Fix Errors on Your Credit Report
If a report lists a debt you’ve already paid, shows a wrong balance, or includes an account that isn’t yours, you can dispute it directly with the credit bureau online, by mail, or by phone. Once the bureau receives your dispute, it must conduct a free investigation, typically within 30 days, and either correct, delete, or verify the information.11Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1681i – Procedure in Case of Disputed Accuracy
If the investigation doesn’t resolve the issue, you can add a brief statement to your file explaining why you believe the entry is inaccurate. That statement will be included whenever someone pulls the report. For the strongest paper trail, submit disputes in writing by certified mail with a return receipt, and include copies (never originals) of supporting documents like payment receipts or account statements.
Before You Pay Anything on an Old Debt
Every state sets a time limit, called the statute of limitations, on how long a creditor can sue you to collect a debt. For most written contracts, the window runs from 3 to 15 years depending on the state, with 6 years being the most common. Once the clock runs out, the debt is “time-barred,” and a collector is prohibited from suing you or threatening to sue you.12eCFR. 12 CFR Part 1006 – Debt Collection Practices (Regulation F)
Time-barred debt doesn’t vanish. Collectors can still call and write to ask for payment; they just can’t use the courts to force it. In many states, making even a small partial payment on a time-barred debt can restart the statute of limitations and give the creditor a fresh window to sue you for the full amount. Find out whether the statute has expired and whether a payment would restart it in your state before you put money toward an old balance.
The statute of limitations is separate from how long negative information stays on your credit report. Most delinquent accounts drop off after seven years from the date you first fell behind, regardless of whether the statute is longer or shorter.
Watch for a Tax Bill if a Debt Is Forgiven
If a creditor forgives or settles a debt for less than you owe, the IRS generally treats the canceled amount as taxable income. The creditor will typically send you a Form 1099-C reporting the forgiven amount, and you must include it on your tax return for the year the cancellation occurred.13Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 431, Canceled Debt – Is It Taxable or Not?
Several exceptions apply. Canceled debt is not taxable if the debt was discharged in a Title 11 bankruptcy case; if you were insolvent immediately before the cancellation, meaning your total liabilities exceeded the fair market value of your total assets (the exclusion is limited to the amount by which you were insolvent)14Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 108 – Income From Discharge of Indebtedness; if the debt was qualified principal residence debt discharged before January 1, 2026, or under a written agreement entered into before that date; or if it was certain student loan debt canceled based on working in specific professions, or student loan debt discharged before January 1, 2026.13Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 431, Canceled Debt – Is It Taxable or Not? Claiming the insolvency or bankruptcy exclusion requires filing IRS Form 982 with your return. A surprise tax bill can undo much of what you gained by settling, so factor the potential tax hit in before agreeing to any settlement.