Customer Service
What is a Security Freeze?
You have the right to place a security freeze on your Equifax Credit File under state law or the Equifax voluntary security freeze program. A security freeze will limit us from reporting your Equifax credit file to third parties, such as credit grantors or other companies and agencies, except those exempted by law or the Equifax voluntary security freeze program or those for whom you contacted us and requested that we temporarily lift the security freeze. For a complete list of exceptions see Security Freeze Exceptions. To determine the fees for placing, requesting a temporary lift, or removing of a security freeze, please click State Freeze Requirements and Fees.
Only you can request a security freeze be placed on your Equifax credit file and only you can request the security freeze be removed or temporarily lifted. A security freeze will remain on your Equifax credit file until you request the security freeze be permanently removed or you request a temporary lift of the security freeze for a specific credit grantor/credit file user or date range.
A security freeze will require you to plan ahead for all your credit applications as you will need to contact us to request that we temporarily lift your freeze to allow us to report your Equifax credit file to the credit grantor you identify. Under the laws of most states and the Equifax voluntary security freeze program, it may take up to three business days to process your request to temporarily lift the security freeze. It may take longer if you have lost the security freeze confirmation number which we provided to you when you first requested the security freeze be placed on your Equifax credit file. You may not be able to request a temporary lift of a security freeze during non-business hours or on weekends. A security freeze may hinder your ability to immediately obtain credit to make major purchases. Accordingly, if you are credit active and apply for credit on a regular basis and have a security freeze on your Equifax credit file you need to be especially mindful of the need to plan ahead and contact us in advance to request a temporary lift of the security freeze on your Equifax credit file. An alternative for people concerned about fraud but who are not victims, or people who have been victims but have resolved the problem, is a credit monitoring service. Equifax Credit Watch™ Gold, alerts you of key changes in your credit file within 24 hours so you can take action quickly to stop any further fraud without the inconvenience of freezing and it will not prevent credit grantors from accessing your credit file.
An alternative to a security freeze under state law is with Equifax Credit Report Control™. This online subscription product provides you the ability to easily lock and unlock access to your Equifax credit report online and alerts you of key changes in your credit report within 24 hours so you can take action quickly to stop any potential fraud or unauthorized activity. You may lock and unlock your Equifax credit report for a period of time - or even for specific companies - when applying for loans, credit cards or insurance. Together with Equifax Credit Watch, Equifax Credit Report Control is the most effective product to prevent identity theft from ruining your credit.