Freezing your credit is the strongest single thing you can do about identity theft, and one of the few security steps that is free, permanent and finished inside half an hour. It is also the step people start and do not finish, because there is no single button: your credit history sits in three separate companies and each has to be told separately.
This page walks the whole job. What a freeze blocks, how to place one at Equifax, Experian and TransUnion, how to lift it for an hour when you apply for a loan, how to do it for a child, and where a freeze stops helping.
What Is a Credit Freeze?
A credit freeze, called a security freeze in the law, tells a bureau not to release your credit report to new lenders. Almost every credit application ends with a lender pulling your file, so a frozen file ends the application. In the FTC's words, while a freeze is in place "nobody can open a new credit account in your name, including you."
Four facts settle most of the hesitation about it. It is free to place, lift and remove at all three bureaus under federal law. It lasts until you remove it, with no expiry date to diary. It does not affect your credit score: the CFPB says security freezes "do not impact your credit scores in any way whatsoever." And anyone can place one for any reason, victim of something or not.
It works because new account fraud needs your credit file to succeed. A thief holding your name, date of birth and Social Security number can fill in an application perfectly and it still fails at the credit check, because there is nothing to check.
How to Freeze Your Credit at All Three Bureaus
Each bureau runs its own process. There is no shared portal, no government form, and no service that does all three at once for free. Set aside half an hour and do them back to back.
Have this ready: your Social Security number, date of birth, current address and any address from the past two years, and a phone that can receive a verification code. Each bureau also asks a few identity questions drawn from your own credit history, which is the step that fails when you answer from memory rather than from your records.
- Equifax. Go to equifax.com/personal/credit-report-services/credit-freeze, create or sign in to a myEquifax account, and place the freeze on your file.
- Experian. Go to experian.com/freeze/center.html. Experian no longer uses a freeze PIN; a free Experian account manages it instead. Its phone line is 1-888-397-3742 and mail goes to Experian Security Freeze, P.O. Box 9554, Allen, TX 75013.
- TransUnion. Go to transunion.com/credit-freeze and place the freeze through a TransUnion account.
- Save what each one gives you, whether that is a PIN, a confirmation number or a login. Recovering it later takes far longer than storing it now.
- Check that all three say frozen before closing the tabs. A request that stalled at an identity question is the usual reason someone believes they are frozen and is not.
All three also accept requests by phone and by mail, which matters when the online identity check fails, as it does for people with thin files, recent moves or a name change. Mail is slower and it always works.
How Long Does It Take to Freeze Your Credit?
The deadlines are set in law, not by the bureaus, and USA.gov lists all four. A request made online or by phone must be acted on within one business day, a mailed request within three business days. Lifting is faster: one hour online or by phone, three business days by mail.
In practice an online freeze takes effect in minutes, and Experian handles its online requests in real time. Treat the statutory limits as the worst case.
How to Temporarily Lift a Credit Freeze
A freeze blocks you as well as a thief, so you lift it whenever a legitimate check needs your file: a mortgage, a car loan, a credit card, a phone contract, some rental applications.
You do not have to unfreeze all three. Ask the lender which bureau it pulls, then lift only that one. Most will tell you, and it is a normal question. If nobody can, lift all three for the day and re-freeze afterward.
- Ask which bureau the lender uses, before you apply.
- Sign in to that bureau and choose a temporary lift, not a permanent removal.
- Set the date range to cover the application. Some bureaus let you lift for a named creditor instead of a period, which is tighter.
- Apply, allowing the one hour the bureau has to act, then check that the freeze came back on when the window closed rather than assuming it.
How to Freeze Your Child's Credit
A child's credit file is the most valuable one a thief can find, because it is clean and because nobody looks at it for eighteen years. Federal law lets a parent or guardian freeze it, free, for anyone under 16.
Generally a child under 18 has no credit report at all, which is not a problem. The FTC's guidance is that if the nationwide credit reporting agencies do not have a file on the child, they will create one so they can freeze it, and that record exists only to hold the freeze. Because you are proving a relationship rather than an identity, this one goes by mail or through each bureau's dedicated form, not the ordinary online flow.
The FTC's child identity theft guidance is the reference for that list, and it adds a step worth taking at the same time: ask each bureau for a manual search on your child's Social Security number. If a file already exists, someone has been using the number, and you have found it years earlier than most families do. A 16 or 17 year old is treated as an adult here and requests or removes a freeze themselves.
Credit Freeze vs Fraud Alert vs Credit Lock
Three products, similar names, and only one of them is what most people are looking for.
| Credit freeze | Fraud alert | Credit lock | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it does | Blocks release of your file to new lenders | Asks lenders to verify your identity before opening an account | Blocks release of your file at that bureau |
| Cost | Free at all three bureaus | Free | Free at some bureaus, part of a paid membership at others |
| Where you place it | Each bureau separately | One bureau, which tells the other two | Each bureau separately, in its own app |
| How long it lasts | Until you remove it | One year, or seven years with an identity theft report | Until you unlock it |
| What backs it | Federal law | Federal law | The bureau's terms of service |
| Turning it off | One hour online or by phone | Not applicable | Immediate, in the app |
A fraud alert is the lighter option, in three kinds, with durations the FTC sets out: an initial alert lasts one year and can be renewed, an extended alert lasts seven years and requires an identity theft report, and an active duty alert lasts one year and is for deployed servicemembers. All are free, and you place any of them at one bureau, which must tell the other two. That is the whole argument for an alert, one call rather than three. What you give up is that an alert asks a lender to take a step rather than stopping it.
A credit lock is the bureau's own product, doing roughly what a freeze does through an app switch instead of a legal request. Some are free and some sit inside a subscription: Experian's CreditLock is included in a paid membership while its security freeze is free. The CFPB's assessment of the paid versions is that they are "no more effective than security freezes".
Should You Freeze Your Credit After a Data Breach?
Yes if a Social Security number was exposed, and it is a defensible default even when the notice does not say one was. The reasoning is arithmetic: the number never changes, breaches are constant, and the FTC's Consumer Sentinel Network received 6.5 million consumer reports during 2024 across fraud, identity theft and related complaints. Assume the number is out there and close the door it opens.
- A breach exposes your detailsName, date of birth, address and Social Security number
- The set is bundled and soldComplete identities are worth more than loose email addresses
- Someone applies for credit as youA card, a loan, a phone contract, often online
- The lender pulls your credit fileThe one automated check every application makes
- The frozen file returns nothingNo report, no decision, no account
The freeze is one part of the response to a breach notice, and the order of the rest depends on what was taken, which is the subject of what to do after a data breach. The data classes named in the notice decide it, and the recent data breaches we have written up list those classes with a source for every figure.
What a Credit Freeze Does Not Stop
This is the question people ask second, and no bureau page answers it. A freeze is narrow: it protects one thing very well and nothing else at all.
It does not touch your existing accounts. A thief with your card number can still use it, and the card issuer is who to call. It does not stop account takeover, where someone signs in as you with a password from a breach, which is what two-factor authentication is for. It does not stop tax refund fraud: for that, request an Identity Protection PIN from the IRS, a six-digit number that must accompany any return filed under your Social Security number and that the IRS regenerates each calendar year. And it does not stop medical or benefits fraud, which surfaces in explanations of benefits rather than on a credit report.
It also does not close your file to everyone. Per the CFPB, creditors you already hold accounts with can still see it, as can certain government agencies such as child support enforcement and any monitoring service you hired yourself. A freeze does not restrict employment, tenant screening or insurance inquiries either, which run on different report types.
You can still see your own file while frozen, which is worth doing twice a year. All three bureaus have permanently extended weekly free credit reports at AnnualCreditReport.com, the only site authorized to provide them.
How to Unfreeze Your Credit Permanently
Removing a freeze uses the same account or PIN you used to place it, at each bureau you froze, and the bureau has one hour to act on an online or telephone request.
There is almost never a reason to. Permanent removal makes sense only if you are applying for credit repeatedly over months and the lifts have become the bigger nuisance. Otherwise use a temporary lift and let the freeze put itself back.
Key takeaways
- A credit freeze blocks new credit accounts in your name, is free, lasts until you remove it, and does not affect your credit score.
- Place it separately at Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. A freeze at one does not notify the others.
- Bureaus have one business day to place a freeze requested online or by phone, and one hour to lift one.
- Lift temporarily when you apply for credit, and lift only the bureau the lender pulls.
- A parent or guardian can freeze a child under 16 free, by mail, with the child's birth certificate and Social Security card plus your own ID.
- A fraud alert is easier and weaker. A paid credit lock is, in the CFPB's judgment, no more effective than the free freeze.
- A freeze does not stop existing account fraud, account takeover, tax refund fraud or medical identity theft.
Common questions
How do I put a freeze on all three credit bureaus?
Separately, at each one: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion each have their own freeze page and there is no combined portal. Each takes about ten minutes online with your Social Security number, date of birth and address history to hand, and must be acted on within one business day.
Is it free to freeze your credit?
Yes. Placing, lifting and removing a security freeze is free at all three bureaus under federal law, for you and for a child under 16. Any service charging for it is charging for convenience.
Does freezing your credit hurt your credit score?
No. The CFPB states that security freezes do not impact credit scores in any way, and the FTC says the same. A freeze changes who can see the file, not what is in it.
Can someone steal your identity if your credit is frozen?
Yes, in ways a freeze was never meant to cover. It stops new credit accounts. It does not stop fraud on cards you already have, account takeover using a leaked password, tax refund fraud, or medical and benefits fraud. It closes the largest door, not every door.
How do I temporarily turn off my credit freeze?
Sign in to the bureau the lender will pull, choose a temporary lift rather than a removal, and set a date range covering your application. The bureau has one hour to act on an online or phone request. The freeze restores itself when the window ends and the other two stay frozen throughout.
How long will a credit freeze last?
Until you remove it. There is no expiry and no renewal, which is its main practical advantage over a fraud alert, which lasts a year unless you renew it.
What is the difference between a credit freeze and a fraud alert?
A freeze blocks lenders from seeing your file and must be placed at each bureau. An alert asks lenders to verify your identity first, is placed at one bureau which must notify the other two, and lasts one year, or seven with an identity theft report. Both are free.
Is a credit lock the same as a credit freeze?
Not quite. A lock is the bureau's own product, governed by its terms rather than federal law, and at some bureaus it sits inside a paid membership. The CFPB's position is that a paid lock is no more effective than a free security freeze.
Can I still use my credit cards if my credit is frozen?
Yes. Existing accounts are unaffected: cards keep working, loans keep running, and creditors you already have can still see your file. A freeze only affects new applications that need a credit check.
Do I need to freeze my credit if I already have credit monitoring?
They do different jobs. Monitoring tells you after an account has been opened; a freeze stops it being opened. Activate the free monitoring a breach notice offers, then freeze anyway, which is the sensible setup for anyone protecting their own accounts.
How do I freeze my child's credit?
By mail or through each bureau's minor freeze process, with proof of your identity and address, your child's birth certificate and Social Security card, and guardianship papers if you are not the parent. If no file exists, the bureaus create one purely to hold the freeze. Children aged 16 or 17 request their own.
On this page
- What Is a Credit Freeze?
- How to Freeze Your Credit at All Three Bureaus
- How Long Does It Take to Freeze Your Credit?
- How to Temporarily Lift a Credit Freeze
- How to Freeze Your Child's Credit
- Credit Freeze vs Fraud Alert vs Credit Lock
- Should You Freeze Your Credit After a Data Breach?
- What a Credit Freeze Does Not Stop
- How to Unfreeze Your Credit Permanently
Daniel Reyes
Daniel Reyes is a CISSP who spent twelve years in security operations, most recently leading a detection and response team for a mid-sized healthcare group in Texas. He reviews every resource and breach report on Cyber Security Firms for technical accuracy before it publishes.
Most of the people he has trained arrived having been told too much: a dozen acronyms, six vendors, and no clear idea which risk was theirs. His approach is to explain what an attack actually does before naming the tool that stops it, on the basis that most breaches start with something a reader could have recognised.