# Freeze your credit at all three bureaus \(US\)

It's free, it doesn't touch your credit score, and it's one of the most useful things you can do after a data breach. About half an hour for the three bureaus, plus a few minutes per kid.

- Kind: Money & tax
- Applies to: United States
- Your time: about 1½ hr
- Steps: 7
- Written by: @helg
- Version 1, updated 2026-10-24
- Source: https://helg.app/community/freeze-your-credit-at-all-three-bureaus-us

## Steps

1. **Freeze at Equifax** (10 min)
   Online with a myEquifax account, or call \(888\) 298-0045. Placing and lifting it are both free.
   - [Equifax credit freeze](https://www.equifax.com/personal/credit-report-services/credit-freeze/)
2. **Freeze at Experian** (10 min)
   Through a free Experian account, or 1-888-397-3742. Ignore CreditLock: that's their paid product, not the free freeze.
   - [Experian freeze center](https://www.experian.com/freeze/center.html)
3. **Freeze at TransUnion** (10 min)
   Online or by phone. Same deal: free, and it stays on until you lift it.
   - [TransUnion credit freeze](https://www.transunion.com/credit-freeze/credit-freeze-faq)
4. **Keep the logins somewhere you'll find them in two years** (5 min)
   You'll need them the day you apply for a mortgage, a car loan or a new card, which is usually years from now.
5. **Freeze the kids' credit too** (30 min)
   If they're under 16 you can freeze theirs for free. Each bureau has its own route for minors, and some of them are by mail, so give this one a little longer.
   - [FTC: credit freezes and fraud alerts](https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/credit-freezes-and-fraud-alerts)
6. **When you apply for credit, thaw only the bureau the lender uses** (5 min)
   Ask the lender which one they check, lift that one for a few days, then freeze it again. Online or by phone, a lift has to happen within an hour.
7. **Freeze ChexSystems if you're worried about bank accounts** (10 min)
   ChexSystems is what banks look at when someone opens an account. You get a PIN; keep it with the bureau logins. Check their page for any fee where you live.
   - [ChexSystems security freeze](https://www.chexsystems.com/security-freeze/information)

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Written by people who have done it, not by Helg or any government. Check the official sites before paying for anything.
Add it to Helg as a checklist: https://helg.app/community/freeze-your-credit-at-all-three-bureaus-us