Free credit dispute letter template

Use the letter below when a U.S. credit report contains a specific factual error. It can be sent to Equifax, TransUnion, or Experian, but you'll need a separate dispute for each bureau that reports the item.

A dispute is about accuracy, completeness, or whether the information can be verified. It can't force removal of an accurate late payment or charge-off, and filing one doesn't guarantee a higher credit score. If the same error appears on two or three reports, dispute it separately with each bureau.

Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, a bureau generally has 30 days to investigate a properly submitted dispute. Limited circumstances can extend that period to 45 days. When information is found to be inaccurate, incomplete, or unverifiable, it generally must be corrected or deleted.

Copy-and-paste credit dispute letter

Replace the bracketed text with facts from your report. Keep the letter focused, and use a separate numbered entry for each disputed item.

[Your full name]
[Your mailing address]
[City, State, ZIP code]
[Date]

[Credit bureau name]
[Current dispute mailing address]

Re: Dispute of inaccurate information under FCRA section 611

Dear [Equifax, TransUnion, or Experian]:

I am writing to dispute inaccurate or incomplete information in my consumer credit report. Please investigate each item below and correct or delete any information that is inaccurate, incomplete, or cannot be verified.

Report date: [Date you obtained the report]
Report number: [If available]
Identifiers requested by the bureau: [Provide only the information required by its instructions]

1. Furnisher: [Creditor, lender, or collector]
   Account: [Account number or last four digits]
   Reported information: [State exactly what the report says]
   Why it is inaccurate: [Explain the factual error]
   Correct information: [State what the report should show]

2. Furnisher: [Name]
   Account: [Account number or last four digits]
   Reported information: [What is wrong]
   Why it is inaccurate: [Specific explanation]
   Correct information: [Correct balance, date, status, or ownership]

Please investigate these items under the Fair Credit Reporting Act and send me the written results of your investigation. If the information is inaccurate, incomplete, or cannot be verified, please correct or delete it and provide an updated report.

Enclosures:
- Copy of the report page with the disputed item marked
- [Payment record, statement, creditor letter, or other supporting document]
- [Identity and address documents, if required by the bureau]

Sincerely,

[Your signature]
[Your printed name]
[Phone or email, optional]

Specificity is the point of the letter. "This account is wrong" gives the bureau little to work with. Identify the account, name the incorrect field, explain the factual problem, and say what the report should show.

Don't put a full Social Security number in a template that you share or upload casually. When you file a private dispute, follow the bureau's current identity-verification instructions and provide only the identifiers it needs to match your report.

How to prepare and send the dispute

Start with all three credit reports

Get your reports from AnnualCreditReport.com, the official site identified in the FTC's guide to free credit reports. Be cautious with lookalike sites that request a credit card before showing a report.

Read each bureau's report on its own. The information may differ. For every error, record:

• The bureau reporting it
• The creditor, lender, or collector name
• The account number or last four digits
• The exact incorrect balance, status, date, or payment history
• The report page where the entry appears
• The date you obtained the report

Possible errors include accounts that aren't yours, duplicate accounts, incorrect late-payment dates, wrong balances, accounts shown as open after closure, unauthorized hard inquiries, and negative information that appears too old to report.

Match the error with evidence

Documents that may help include:

• Bank statements or payment confirmations
• Account statements showing the correct balance or status
• A creditor letter confirming a correction
• Settlement or payoff records
• Court or bankruptcy documents
• An FTC Identity Theft Report
• A police report, when relevant
• A copy of the credit report with the item highlighted

Send copies rather than originals. Redact unrelated account numbers and other sensitive information when the bureau doesn't need it to identify the dispute. Keep the complete letter, every enclosure, the delivery record, and any online confirmation.

Describe one factual problem at a time

A useful explanation looks like this:

The report says [incorrect information]. That is wrong because [specific fact]. The correct information is [correction]. Attached is [document] supporting this statement.

Don't claim that a debt isn't yours if you recognize it. Don't use a factual dispute to argue that an accurate debt should disappear because it lowers your score. A focused, truthful explanation is more useful than a form letter that disputes every field without support.

Choose online filing or mail

Online filing is convenient and may let you upload documents. Save a copy of the submission, each uploaded file, and the confirmation number. Use the official bureau website rather than a search-ad link or an unfamiliar service.

Mail works well when you have a longer packet or want a paper record. Certified mail with tracking or another delivery-confirmation service isn't required, but it can help document when the bureau received your dispute. Keep the receipt and delivery record. If the bureau's instructions require its own form, include that form with the letter.

The FTC's guidance on disputing credit report errors explains the process and provides bureau-specific information. Experian's dispute instructions describe online, mail, and phone options.

Credit bureau dispute addresses

Check the bureau's current instructions before mailing. Addresses can change, and identity-theft requests or other dispute types may use a different process.

If all three reports contain the error, prepare three packets. A dispute sent to one bureau doesn't automatically update the other two.

Choose the right type of request

A "609 letter" isn't a magic removal tool. Section 609 concerns access to file information. For a factual reporting error, a clear dispute under the FCRA's reinvestigation process is the more relevant request.

Sample wording for common errors

Incorrect late payment

Use this wording only if your records support the claim:

I dispute the 30-day late payment reported for [month and year] on [creditor] account ending in [last four digits]. The report shows that payment was late, but my records show that the payment was received on [date]. I have enclosed [bank statement, payment confirmation, or creditor correspondence]. Please investigate and update the payment history to reflect the correct status.

If the late payment is accurate, ask the creditor for a voluntary goodwill adjustment instead of filing a factual dispute with the bureau:

The late payment reported for [month and year] is accurate. I am asking for a one-time goodwill adjustment because [brief explanation]. My subsequent payment history has been [brief description]. I understand that you are not required to remove accurate information, but I would appreciate your review.

A goodwill request has no guaranteed result.

Incorrect charge-off or collection

A paid charge-off or collection isn't automatically deleted. Identify the actual reporting problem, such as an incorrect balance, ownership, account status, date, or duplicate entry.

I dispute the [charge-off or collection] reported by [company] for account ending in [last four digits]. The report lists [incorrect balance, status, date, or other information]. This is inaccurate because [specific explanation]. The correct information is [correction]. I have enclosed [supporting document]. Please investigate and correct or delete the inaccurate information.

For a collection account that truly isn't yours:

I dispute the collection account reported by [collector] for account ending in [last four digits]. I did not open, authorize, or benefit from this account. Please investigate the account and delete it if the information cannot be verified as belonging to me.

Use the second version only when its statements are true. If the account resulted from identity theft, use the identity-theft process as well.

Medical account

Don't rely on a blanket statement that every medical account must be removed. Identify the particular error, such as an account that isn't yours, a duplicate, an incorrect balance, an account paid by insurance, or a wrong date.

I dispute the medical account reported by [company] for account ending in [last four digits]. The report is inaccurate because [specific fact, such as the debt was paid by insurance, belongs to another person, is duplicated, or shows the wrong balance]. Enclosed are [records]. Please investigate and correct or delete the inaccurate information.

Identity-theft account or inquiry

An unfamiliar entry isn't automatically identity theft. First check whether it could be a legitimate account reported under a different creditor name. If it resulted from identity theft, use the process described by the affected bureau and create an FTC report through IdentityTheft.gov.

I dispute the account reported by [company] for account ending in [last four digits]. I did not open or authorize this account, and it resulted from identity theft. I request that you investigate the account and apply the appropriate identity-theft block or correction process. I have enclosed my identity-theft report, identification, proof of address, and the relevant credit report page.

Contact the creditor as well, secure affected accounts, and consider a credit freeze. A freeze helps prevent new accounts from being opened; it doesn't by itself remove an existing credit-report entry.

Dispute the furnisher when its records are wrong

The bureau reviews information supplied by a lender, creditor, or collector. If the source's records are the problem, send a separate written dispute to the furnisher at the address shown on your report or the address it designates for credit-report disputes. Don't assume the address for payments is the correct dispute address.

Include the same facts and evidence you sent to the bureau, along with a request to investigate and correct the information it supplied. If the account appears on multiple reports, ask the furnisher to send any correction to every bureau to which it reported the information.

A practical approach is:

1. Dispute the inaccurate entry with every bureau displaying it.
2. Send the focused dispute to the company that furnished the information.
3. Keep copies and proof of delivery for both submissions.
4. Compare updated reports after the investigation.

Debt validation is separate from a credit report dispute

A debt-validation request goes to a covered debt collector, not a credit bureau. If you received the collector's initial validation notice, a written dispute generally must be sent within 30 days of receiving that notice to invoke the federal requirement that collection activity on the disputed debt pause until the collector provides verification.

This process doesn't automatically delete a collection from a credit report. If the collection is also reported inaccurately, file a separate dispute with each bureau reporting it.

[Date]

[Debt collector name]
[Address]

Re: Account ending in [last four digits]

Dear [Collector]:

I dispute [all or part] of the debt identified above. Please provide verification of the amount claimed, the name of the original creditor, and the account information supporting your claim. Please also note that I dispute this debt in your records.

Sincerely,

[Your signature]
[Your printed name]
[Mailing address]

The timing and effect of a validation request can depend on the notice you received and the type of company contacting you. Keep this letter separate from a credit bureau dispute.

What happens after you send it?

The bureau may first acknowledge the dispute or ask for more information. It generally then reviews the item and contacts the company that supplied the data. The bureau typically completes the investigation within 30 days, with a limited exception allowing up to 45 days.

The written results should tell you whether the item was changed, deleted, or verified. Check the updated report, not just the letter. If the entry appeared at another bureau, check that report separately too.

A bureau can decline to investigate a submission it reasonably considers incomplete, irrelevant, or frivolous. That is another reason to identify one concrete error and attach documents that relate to it.

If the bureau says the information was verified

"Verified" means the investigation did not produce a change. It doesn't necessarily settle whether the report is accurate. Read the results to see what information the furnisher confirmed and whether it addressed the field you challenged.

If you still have relevant evidence:

1. Send a focused dispute directly to the furnisher.
2. Follow up with the bureau using new or clearer documents.
3. Explain why the first response did not address the specific error.
4. Ask whether you can add a brief consumer statement about the unresolved dispute.
5. After contacting the bureau or furnisher, consider filing a complaint with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

A CFPB complaint can document the problem and request a response, but it doesn't guarantee removal of accurate information. For disputes involving identity theft, bankruptcy, contract interpretation, or significant financial harm, consider advice from a qualified consumer-law professional in your state.

Questions about credit dispute letters

Do I have to send a dispute to all three bureaus?

No. Send it to each bureau that reports the inaccurate information. Since the reports may differ, review all three and file separately where needed.

Will disputing an item raise my credit score?

Not by itself. Only a correction that affects a scoring factor could change your score, and the amount can't be predicted.

Can I remove an accurate charge-off or late payment?

A factual dispute isn't a method for removing accurate negative information. You can ask the creditor for a voluntary goodwill adjustment, but it can refuse.

Is certified mail required?

No. Tracking and delivery confirmation are optional, but they can help document when the bureau received your packet.

Can I dispute online?

Yes. The major bureaus generally offer online dispute channels. Upload readable evidence, save the confirmation, and keep copies of everything submitted. Mail may be preferable when you have a larger paper packet or want a physical delivery record.

This information is for U.S. consumers and is educational, not legal advice. Start by downloading your reports from AnnualCreditReport.com, marking one concrete error, and choosing the document that most directly proves the correction.