How to get your free credit report in Canada

People use "credit report" and "credit score" interchangeably, but they are two different things. A credit report is the detailed file of your credit history — your accounts, payment history, credit inquiries, and public records. A credit score is the separate three-digit number, typically on a 300 to 900 scale, that is calculated from the information in your report. Think of the report as the full transcript and the score as the single grade derived from it. This page is about the report — the underlying file you have the right to see.

One nuance worth getting right: historically, the free report you received by mail did not include a score. Today, a free credit score is also available online from both bureaus and from various third-party services. So the cleanest way to say it is: you can get your report free, and a free score is available online too — they are simply not the same document. For a deeper look at the number itself, see our companion guide on the free credit score in Canada.

Canada has two credit bureaus: Equifax Canada and TransUnion Canada. They each maintain their own file on you, and they do not automatically share information. Crucially, lenders may report to one bureau, the other, or both. That means an account, an inquiry, or an error can appear on one report and be completely absent from the other. There is no single "official" Canadian credit file — there are two, and they can disagree.

The practical takeaway is simple: to see the complete picture of how you appear to lenders, it is worth checking both bureaus. You have the right to a free report from each, so there is no extra cost to doing so — only a more complete view and a better chance of catching anything that is wrong.

Here is the empowering part: you have the right to a free copy of your own credit report from each bureau. You do not need to pay a subscription to see your own file. You can request it three ways — by mail, by phone, or online — and both bureaus now make a free report available online. The two bureaus use slightly different names and routes:

TransUnion calls its free report a "Consumer Disclosure." Equifax provides its free report through a free myEquifax account. Whichever route you choose, the official steps for ordering your report — and a plain-language explanation of what it contains — are published by the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC) at canada.ca, the government reference for this process.

A common worry is that pulling your own report will somehow ding your credit. It will not. When you check your own credit report, it counts as a "soft inquiry," and soft inquiries do not affect your credit score. The only kind of inquiry that can affect your score is a "hard inquiry" — typically when a lender pulls your report because you have actually applied for credit, such as a loan or a new card.

Because checking your own file is free and has zero impact, there is genuinely no downside to looking as often as you find it useful. Treat it the way you would checking a bank balance: a routine, consequence-free habit. If you are weighing a borrowing decision, you can review your report first and then compare your options in our guide to the best personal loans in Canada.

There are two big reasons to review your report, and both can save you real money. The first is to catch errors. Mistakes on credit reports are common — a wrong balance, an account that is not yours, a payment marked late that was paid on time — and an error can drag down your score, which may mean a higher interest rate or a declined application. The second reason is to spot signs of fraud or identity theft: accounts you never opened, or inquiries from lenders you never applied to, are red flags that someone may be using your identity.

Because reviewing your report is free, no-impact, and quick, there is simply no downside to doing it regularly. Catching a fraudulent account or a damaging error early — before it grows into a bigger problem — is one of the highest-value, lowest-effort financial habits you can build.

When your report arrives, you do not need to be an expert to review it usefully. Walk through it section by section and ask, for each item, "Do I recognize this, and is it accurate?" The pieces worth scrutinizing are:

• Your accounts — confirm every credit card, loan, and line of credit listed is genuinely yours and shows the right balance and limit.
• Payment history — check that on-time payments are recorded as on-time, and watch for any late marks you do not believe are accurate.
• Credit inquiries — make sure any hard inquiries correspond to applications you actually made; unfamiliar ones can signal fraud.
• Public records — verify that any public-record entries are correct and not outdated.

Anything that looks unfamiliar, inaccurate, or out of date is worth flagging. An unrecognized account is the clearest warning sign of identity theft; an inaccurate balance or late mark is the kind of error that quietly lowers your score. Note each problem so you can dispute it.

If you find something wrong, the dispute process is straightforward — and it is your right to use it. Here is how it works:

1. Contact the bureau that shows the error. Disputes go to the specific bureau — Equifax or TransUnion — whose report displays the inaccurate item. You file the dispute directly with that bureau.
2. The bureau must investigate. Once you file, the bureau is required to investigate, generally within about 30 days, and to correct or remove information that is inaccurate.
3. Also contact the creditor that reported it. It is wise to reach out to the lender or company that reported the item, so the correction is fixed at the source as well as on the bureau's file.
4. Fix it at each bureau that shows it. Because Equifax and TransUnion are separate, the same error may appear on both reports. Dispute it at each bureau that displays it — fixing one does not automatically fix the other.

The key thing to remember is that the two bureaus run independently. A correction at Equifax does nothing for your TransUnion file, and vice versa — so always confirm the error is gone from every report that showed it.

It is worth saying once more, because it is the single most overlooked habit: check both Equifax and TransUnion. Since lenders may report to one bureau, the other, or both, the two reports can differ — and an error or a fraudulent account may be sitting on one file while the other looks clean. You are entitled to a free report from each bureau, so checking both costs nothing and is the only way to be sure you have seen everything.

General information, not financial or legal advice. This guide describes how to access and review your Canadian credit report, but processes, free-report routes, and contact details can change. Request your report only through the official bureaus — Equifax and TransUnion — or through the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada at canada.ca, and confirm the current steps before you act. Read the companion guide on the free credit score in Canada.