There are three main credit reporting agencies in the US and they are Equifax, Experian & TransUnion. All three of these agencies have to provide any American there credit report free of charge once a year upon request. This means you can request your free credit report from any of the three agencies listed above. You can also receive your free credit report from the government. The request can take fifteen days to process and after that you will have it, you can request your free government credit report by mail or phone. To request a credit report you will need to supply information such as your name, address, social security number, and some other personal details.

Your credit report basically has all of your financial history bundled up into one report. The report lists all your credit card history, public records and list of people who have accessed your credit report within the past six months. Employers and creditors are both allowed to view your credit report and it's often a determining factor in being approved for loans and mortgages as well as being selected for jobs. Often times someone with a low credit score will lose a job offer because someone with the same skills but better credit score is also applying for the position. The single most important piece of information on your free government credit report is the credit score that is listed. This score is the actual number used to determine the above factors. Your credit score also determines how much interest rate you'll pay if you are approved for loans or mortgages.

There are also many reasons why it's important to view your credit report every year apart from the fact it helps you understand your financial situation and those include identity theft, incorrect information and to reveal your credit score. Identity theft is huge in America and to protect yourself you need to always insure nobody is using your name to create forged credit cards or legal documents. A good way to catch someone using your identity is by viewing your credit report. You may find incorrect information on your free credit report as well and if this is the case you need to contact the proper authorities and have it corrected instantly so it doesn't continue to harm your credit score. Each penalty you receive for not paying bills and debt as well as other things goes onto your credit report and lowers your credit score. With a low credit score it can be terrible trying to receive loans and if you do the interest rate will be high so maintaining a high credit score is ideal and necessary. If you happen to incur serious penalties like liens or bankruptcies then it will remain on your credit report for a certain amount of years before being cleared off so making sure you don't get into that predicament is the best situation.