How to Freeze Your Credit in 2026 After Identity Theft

How to Freeze Your Credit in 2026: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion Steps After Identity Theft

If your identity or Social Security number has been compromised, freeze your credit immediately. A security freeze limits access to your credit reports, making it harder for an identity thief to open a credit card, loan, or other new account in your name.

Credit freezes are free under federal law. Anyone can request one—even without confirmed identity theft—and a freeze remains in place until the consumer lifts or removes it.

The most important detail is that there is no single nationwide freeze request. To freeze your credit in 2026, you must contact Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion separately. This guide explains how to freeze each report, what to do afterward, and how to temporarily restore access when you need to apply for credit.

What a Credit Freeze Does—and Does Not Do

A credit freeze generally prevents a prospective lender from accessing your credit file while reviewing a new application. If a thief applies for a credit card using your information, the lender may be unable to retrieve the frozen report and may reject or pause the application.

A freeze does not make your credit report completely inaccessible. Depending on the circumstances and applicable law, access may remain available to:

• You, when viewing your own credit report.
• Your existing creditors and card issuers for account-management purposes.
• Debt collectors attempting to collect an existing debt.
• Landlords and tenant-screening companies.
• Potential employers when you have authorized a background check.
• Insurance companies and certain prescreened credit providers.
• Child-support agencies and government officials acting under legal authority, such as a court order or warrant.

A freeze also addresses only certain types of new-account fraud. It does not stop someone from taking over an existing account, using a stolen payment card, filing a fraudulent tax return, withdrawing money from a bank account, or using personal information for medical or government-benefit fraud.

Placing a freeze does not lower your credit scores, erase negative information, or stop you from checking your own reports. You can continue using existing credit cards and loans normally.

How to Freeze Your Credit in 2026 at All Three Bureaus

Online requests are generally the fastest option. Use the bureaus’ official websites rather than links in unsolicited emails or text messages. Be prepared to provide identifying information such as your legal name, current and previous addresses, date of birth, and Social Security number.

Step 1: Freeze Your Equifax Credit Report

Go to the official Equifax Security Freeze page. Equifax directs consumers to create or sign in to a myEquifax account.

Once signed in, you can generally:

• Place a security freeze.
• Check whether a freeze is active.
• Temporarily lift the freeze.
• Permanently remove the freeze.

You may also call Equifax at 888-298-0045. You will need to verify your identity, potentially through a one-time text-message code or questions based on information in your credit file. Phone numbers and procedures can change, so confirm the contact information on Equifax’s official freeze page before providing sensitive information.

Placing, lifting, and removing an Equifax security freeze is free.

Different documentation applies when an authorized representative requests a freeze for someone else. Equifax provides separate request forms for:

• A minor younger than 16.
• An incapacitated adult.
• An active-duty military service member represented by another person.

The representative generally must submit proof of the protected person’s identity, proof of the representative’s identity, and documentation establishing authority to act. Follow the instructions on the applicable Equifax form. Experian and TransUnion have their own procedures and must be contacted separately.

Step 2: Freeze Your Experian Credit Report

Visit the official Experian Freeze Center. Experian describes its online service as the easiest and quickest way to place or manage a freeze.

If you cannot complete the request online, use one of these alternatives:

• Phone: 888-397-3742
• Mail: Experian Security Freeze, P.O. Box 9554, Allen, TX 75013

A mailed request may require copies of identity and address documentation. Review Experian’s current instructions before sending anything, and do not mail original identification documents unless Experian specifically requires them.

An Experian freeze applies only to your Experian file. It does not automatically freeze Equifax or TransUnion.

Save the confirmation, account credentials, and any recovery information you receive. Store them in a password manager or another secure location—not in an unprotected note or email draft containing your Social Security number.

Step 3: Freeze Your TransUnion Credit Report

Use the official TransUnion credit-freeze page to reach the TransUnion Service Center. Create an account or sign in to manage your freeze.

TransUnion’s other published contact methods include:

• Phone: 800-916-8800
• Mail: TransUnion, P.O. Box 160, Woodlyn, PA 19094

An online or phone request typically requires your name, address, date of birth, Social Security number, and answers to identity-verification questions. A mailed request may require copies of supporting documents, so check TransUnion’s current requirements before sending the request.

TransUnion does not automatically share your freeze request with Equifax or Experian. Completing this third request is essential if you want all three nationwide credit files frozen.

Credit Freeze vs. Fraud Alert After Identity Theft

A credit freeze and a fraud alert serve different purposes:

• Credit freeze: Restricts access to a credit report, which can prevent or delay approval of new credit until the freeze is lifted.
• Fraud alert: Leaves the report accessible but tells prospective lenders to take steps to verify the applicant’s identity before extending credit.

An initial fraud alert lasts one year and is free. Unlike a freeze, you need to contact only one of the three nationwide credit bureaus. That bureau must notify the other two to add the alert to their reports.

An extended fraud alert lasts seven years and is intended for identity-theft victims. It generally requires an FTC Identity Theft Report or another qualifying identity-theft report, such as an eligible police report, plus contact information that creditors can use to verify your identity.

After confirmed identity theft, using both tools may provide broader protection. The freeze restricts new-credit access, while the alert adds an identity-verification warning. However, a freeze can delay your own applications, so consider whether you expect to apply soon for a mortgage, apartment, auto loan, credit card, insurance policy, or service involving a credit check.

Example: If you do not expect to apply for credit in the next several months, you could freeze all three reports and add an extended fraud alert. If you need an auto loan next week, ask the lender which bureau it plans to check and temporarily lift only that freeze during the application window.

What to Do After Placing All Three Freezes

A freeze is an important containment measure, but it is not a complete identity-theft recovery plan. Take the following steps after confirming all three freezes:

1. Report the identity theft. Visit IdentityTheft.gov, the Federal Trade Commission’s official recovery website. Create an Identity Theft Report and follow the personalized recovery steps.
2. Contact affected businesses. Notify banks, card issuers, lenders, utilities, merchants, or other companies connected to fraudulent activity. Ask them to close or restrict affected accounts and document the fraud investigation.
3. Review all three credit reports. Obtain your reports through AnnualCreditReport.com, the federally authorized source. Look for unfamiliar accounts, hard inquiries, addresses, balances, and collection activity.
4. Dispute inaccurate information. Send a dispute to the bureau displaying the error and to the company that supplied the information. Identify each disputed item, explain why it resulted from identity theft, and retain copies of supporting records.
5. Secure exposed accounts. Change compromised passwords, replace reused passwords with unique ones, and enable multifactor authentication. Prioritize email, banking, brokerage, payment, tax, and mobile-phone accounts.
6. Monitor financial activity. Review bank, card, and credit accounts frequently. Turn on alerts for transactions, password changes, new payees, transfers, and contact-information updates.
7. Create a secure case file. Keep freeze confirmations, dispute letters, delivery records, account statements, case numbers, police reports, and FTC documents together. Record the date, time, phone number, and representative for every follow-up conversation.

If a thief may have accessed your tax, Social Security, medical, driver’s-license, or bank information, follow the corresponding recovery steps in your IdentityTheft.gov plan. A credit freeze alone will not protect those systems.

How to Temporarily Lift or Remove a Credit Freeze

You can lift a freeze temporarily or remove it permanently at no cost. A temporary lift is usually the safer choice when you need access for a specific application but want the protection restored afterward.

Before requesting a lift, ask the lender or service provider which credit bureau it will check. If it uses only Experian, for example, you may be able to leave Equifax and TransUnion frozen.

Ways to Manage Each Freeze

• Equifax: Use your myEquifax account, call 888-298-0045 after verifying the number on the current official page, or mail the required request and documentation to Equifax Information Services LLC, P.O. Box 105788, Atlanta, GA 30348-5788.
• Experian: Use the Experian Freeze Center, call 888-397-3742, or write to Experian Security Freeze, P.O. Box 9554, Allen, TX 75013.
• TransUnion: Use the TransUnion Service Center, call 800-916-8800, or write to TransUnion, P.O. Box 160, Woodlyn, PA 19094.

For a planned application, schedule the lift to cover a narrow window, such as three to seven days. Allow extra time if you use mail. Confirm that the freeze is active again after the application period ends rather than assuming it was restored.

Actionable example: Suppose a mortgage lender says it will pull all three reports on October 12. Schedule temporary lifts beginning October 11 and ending several days after the expected pull. If underwriting later requires another check, coordinate a new limited lift instead of permanently removing the freezes.

What to Do Next

• Freeze your Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion reports separately.
• File an identity-theft report and recovery plan at IdentityTheft.gov.
• Review all three credit reports and dispute unfamiliar information.
• Contact every financial institution or business affected by the theft.
• Secure exposed accounts and enable multifactor authentication.
• Document every freeze, dispute, report, and follow-up in one secure file.

Because bureau procedures and contact details can change, verify phone numbers, mailing addresses, and documentation requirements on each bureau’s official website before submitting sensitive personal information.