What Does Locking Your Credit Do? Freeze, Bureaus, Alerts

Locking your credit tells a credit bureau to block most new lenders from pulling your credit report, which stops someone from opening a new account in your name even if they have your Social Security number. When the lock is on and a would-be creditor tries to check your file, the request is automatically rejected. The lender never sees your credit history or score, so they cannot approve the application.

That is the whole point of the tool: it cuts off the step a thief needs most.

What Happens When Your Credit Is Locked

You activate a lock through the credit bureau’s app or website. The bureau flags your file as restricted in its database, and from that moment any new-credit inquiry is turned away at the door. A credit card issuer, auto dealer, or online lender running a hard pull gets nothing back, so the application stalls before an account can be created.

A lock does not touch the rest of your credit life. Your existing accounts keep reporting normally. Balances, payments, and account age continue to feed into your score. Turning the lock on or off has no effect on the score itself.¹

One thing to know up front: each of the three major bureaus keeps a separate file on you, and locking at one does not lock the others. To be fully covered, you need to set up a lock at Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion individually.²

Who Can Still See Your Report

A lock blocks most new creditors. It does not black out your file entirely. Federal law lets certain parties keep pulling your report regardless of a lock or freeze:

Companies you already have an account with can review your report to manage that account. This is a permissible purpose under the Fair Credit Reporting Act.³
Debt collectors working on a valid debt can pull your file in connection with collecting it.
Bureaus must comply with a court order or a subpoena issued in connection with a federal grand jury proceeding.⁴
Soft inquiries go through untouched. Pre-approved offers, insurance underwriting checks, and your own personal credit checks are soft pulls, not new-credit applications, and they do not affect your score.

Employment and Tenant Screening

Under federal law, a lock or freeze does not apply to credit checks run for employment or tenant screening.⁵ In practice, some employers and landlords use the same standard credit pull that a lock would block. If a prospective employer or landlord says they cannot access your report, plan to lift the lock briefly so the check can go through.

Credit Lock vs. Credit Freeze

A lock and a freeze do the same core job: they stop new lenders from seeing your report. The difference is legal, not functional.

A credit freeze is a right guaranteed by federal law. The Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act requires all three bureaus to let you place and lift a freeze for free, and the statute sets deadlines the bureau has to meet.⁶

A credit lock is a commercial product. The bureau writes the terms in its service agreement, and it can change how the lock works, what it covers, or what it costs by updating those terms.⁵ If a lock fails to block an inquiry it should have blocked, your recourse runs through that agreement rather than federal law.

Locks are usually pitched as faster: toggle a switch in the app and the change hits almost instantly. Freezes are quick too. A freeze placed electronically or by phone has to take effect within one business day, and lifts have to happen within an hour of the request.⁷ Many freezes now process in minutes.

The CFPB has said credit locks are “no more effective than security freezes, which are free and which you have a right to by law.”⁵

What a Credit Lock Costs at Each Bureau

Pricing depends on the bureau.

Equifax offers its lock through a plan called Lock & Alert at no cost. The free tier includes a single-bureau credit score, the lock, and alerts.⁸
Experian bundles CreditLock into its IdentityWorks Premium subscription at $24.99 per month after a seven-day free trial. There is no standalone free lock, though the free freeze is available.⁹
TransUnion offers a free credit lock through its TrueIdentity service, along with basic credit monitoring at no charge.

Since a freeze delivers the same core protection at every bureau for free, the practical question with a paid lock is whether the extras bundled with it, such as credit monitoring, identity theft insurance, or dark-web scanning, are worth the monthly charge to you.

Turning the Lock On and Off

Once your account is set up, using the lock is simple. Log in, find the lock controls, and flip the switch. The change usually takes effect within seconds and you should get a confirmation notification or email.

When you apply for a loan, credit card, apartment, or anything that requires a credit check, unlock first. Many people do this in the moment, sitting at the dealership or the loan officer’s desk: unlock, let the lender pull the report, relock afterward. Some bureaus also let you schedule a temporary lift by setting start and end dates, which helps when you know exactly when the check will run.²

Unlock at whichever bureau the lender is going to pull from. If you do not know which one, ask the lender or unlock all three to avoid a snag.

Locking a Child’s or Dependent’s Credit

Children can be targets of identity theft, sometimes for years before it surfaces. Federal law lets a parent or guardian place a credit freeze on behalf of a child under 16 for free, at each of the three bureaus, with proof of authority such as the child’s birth certificate.¹⁰ If no credit file exists yet for the child, which is common, the bureau creates one solely to freeze it, and that file cannot be used for credit purposes.

For a protected adult with a guardian or conservator, the representative typically needs identification for both parties plus proof of authority, such as a court order or a valid power of attorney. Requirements vary by state, so contact each bureau for its specific process.

A Lighter Alternative: Fraud Alerts

If a lock or freeze feels like more than you want to manage, a fraud alert is a lighter option. An alert does not block access to your report. It tells lenders to verify your identity before opening a new account, for example by calling a phone number you provide.¹

Two main types, both free:

An initial fraud alert lasts one year and can be renewed. You only need to contact one bureau, and that bureau must notify the other two.
An extended fraud alert lasts seven years and requires an identity theft report filed with the FTC or a police report. It also removes you from pre-approved credit offer mailing lists for five years.

The tradeoff is real. An alert depends on lenders following through on the verification step. A lock or freeze keeps the lender from seeing your data in the first place.¹

1
FTC: Consumer Advice. Credit Freezes and Fraud Alerts
2
Experian. Freeze or Unfreeze Your Credit File for Free
3
FDIC.gov. VIII-6 Fair Credit Reporting Act
4
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 U.S. Code 1681b – Permissible Purposes of Consumer Reports
5
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. What Is a Credit Freeze or Security Freeze on My Credit Report
6
Federal Trade Commission. Starting Today, New Federal Law Allows Consumers to Place Free Credit Freezes and Yearlong Fraud Alerts
7
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 U.S. Code 1681c-1 – Identity Theft Prevention; Fraud Alerts and Active Duty Alerts
8
Equifax. Security Freeze – Freeze or Unfreeze Your Credit
9
Experian. Instantly Lock and Protect Your Experian Credit File With CreditLock
10
Federal Trade Commission. New Protections Available for Minors Under 16