Three websites, one coffee break, zero dollars. That is the full cost of a credit freeze, the strongest self-defense tool ordinary consumers have against new-account identity theft, and the one the Federal Trade Commission most consistently recommends after a data breach. Yet most people have never placed one, often because they assume it is complicated, expensive, or bad for their credit score. It is none of those things.
A freeze restricts access to your credit report, which means a thief holding your stolen Social Security number generally cannot open a new credit card, personal loan, or cell phone plan in your name, because the lender cannot pull your file to approve it. Freezes have been free nationwide since a federal law took effect in September 2018, a change the FTC announced at the time. Here is the process, step by step.
1. Know what a freeze does, and what it does not
A freeze blocks most new credit checks by lenders you have never done business with. It does not affect your credit score, and it does not stop you from using your existing cards and accounts, according to the FTC’s guide to credit freezes and fraud alerts. You can still get your own free credit reports, and existing creditors can still see your file.
It also has limits. A freeze will not stop a thief from running charges on a card number they already have, filing a fraudulent tax return, or misusing your health insurance. It is a lock on the front door of new credit, not a force field.
2. Gather what you need
Each bureau will ask you to verify your identity. Have your Social Security number, date of birth, current address, and, if you have moved recently, your prior address. Online signup typically also asks security questions drawn from your credit history, so a few minutes with your own records helps. If you would rather not do this online, each bureau takes freeze requests by phone and by mail as well.
3. Place the freeze at all three bureaus
This is the step people skip, and it matters: a freeze at one bureau does nothing about the other two, and you cannot predict which report a lender will pull. Work through all three, one at a time:
Equifax’s security freeze page, Experian’s freeze center, and TransUnion’s credit freeze page each handle the request directly. Current phone numbers and mailing addresses for all three are collected on the federal government’s credit freeze page at USA.gov. If you request the freeze online or by phone, the bureau must place it within one business day. By mail, the deadline is three business days after they receive your request.
4. Save your PINs and confirmations
Each bureau will give you a PIN or an online account for managing the freeze later. Write these down somewhere you will actually find them, whether that is a password manager or a folder with your tax papers. Losing the PIN does not lock you out forever, but recovering access adds friction at exactly the moment you are trying to close on a car loan.
5. Lift it when you actually need credit
A freeze is not a vow of credit celibacy. When you apply for a mortgage, card, or apartment, you unfreeze, either permanently or for a window of time you choose. Under the same federal rules, a bureau must lift a freeze within one hour of an online or phone request. Ask the lender which bureau it uses and you may only need to thaw one of the three. The freeze itself lasts until you remove it, and placing, lifting, and re-placing it is free every time.
Consider freezing your children’s files too
Identity thieves like Social Security numbers with no credit history attached, because the fraud can run for years before anyone looks. The same 2018 federal law that made adult freezes free also lets parents and guardians create and freeze a credit file for a child under 16 at no charge, and the process is outlined in the same FTC guidance. It requires a bit more paperwork, typically copies of birth certificates and proof of guardianship sent to each bureau, but it closes a door most families never think to check. The freeze then sits there, quietly, until the child is old enough to need credit and lifts it themselves.
If a freeze feels like too much, know the alternative
The lighter-weight option is a fraud alert, which stays on your file for one year and tells lenders to verify your identity before extending credit. Unlike a freeze, one call does it all: whichever bureau you contact must notify the other two. The FTC’s comparison of the two tools is worth reading, but the practical difference is that an alert asks lenders to be careful, while a freeze removes the choice.
Either way, pair it with an occasional review of your actual credit reports, which are available for free from all three bureaus at AnnualCreditReport.com. A freeze stops most new accounts from being opened in your name. Reading your report is how you confirm nothing slipped through before the lock went on.
This article was produced with AI assistance and reviewed by a human editor. Figures are linked to their primary sources; where a claim could not be verified from the public record, we say so.
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