Edition: 20 October 2026. Before applying for shopping finance or another loan, check what lenders are being told about you. Read the accounts behind the score, especially anything you do not recognise. This guide explains the free annual entitlement, official request routes and a practical way to investigate mistakes. The checking suggestions are MyDealNinja's recommendations.
What RBI requires
RBI's free-report rule requires each credit information company (CIC) to provide one free full credit report, including the credit score, per calendar year, after a request and identity authentication. It applies where that CIC holds your credit history. The electronic report must contain the information in its most detailed report supplied to lenders. The year runs from January to December, not April to March or twelve months from registration.
RBI's CIC Directions, published here by Experian, list TransUnion CIBIL, Experian, Equifax and CRIF High Mark. Request your entitlement separately from each. A report from one does not use up your entitlement at another.
For example, CIBIL says someone who has already obtained their free report during 2026 becomes eligible again on 1 January 2027. Choose the full report rather than stopping at a score displayed on a dashboard.
Prepare before registering
Keep your own identity details, mobile phone, email access and existing loan records ready. Enter details carefully, as recorded with your lenders. Read the authorisation before accepting it. Save the downloaded report privately with its bureau name, generation date and reference number; avoid uploading it to public forums.
Request it from each official site
- TransUnion CIBIL: Open the Free CIBIL Score and Report page. Choose the free-report option, or log in if you already have an account. Its registration form asks for contact details, identifying information, date of birth and location details; it verifies email and mobile through OTPs. Complete authentication yourself and open the report. If offered an upgrade, check that you are still following the annual free route.
- Experian: Use Experian India's report-download guide and follow the free-score link from experian.in. Its instructions show registration with a mobile number, OTP verification, choosing the free plan, entering identity and address details, and selecting Download Report from the dashboard. Follow the live screen if labels differ. You do not need to select a paid plan for the annual entitlement.
- Equifax: Its published consumer policy directs readers to the online D2C service through equifax.co.in. Create an account, complete identity verification and request the full free report. If account creation fails, the policy provides an alternative: email [email protected] for the free-report process. Ask for current document requirements before sending attachments. These instructions were checked in Equifax's policy; its live registration flow could not be verified during this review.
- CRIF High Mark: Follow the free-report link in CRIF's official instructions. Enter your name, identification details, mobile and email, then complete OTP verification and any identity questions presented. Its instructions show My Report, Latest Report, then Download. Save the complete report and retain the reference number for any later query.
Check the report line by line
Use Experian's report-field explanation and CIBIL's report guide alongside this checklist:
- Identity and contact details: Compare your name, date of birth, PAN or other identifiers, addresses, telephone numbers and email addresses. Mark details you never supplied separately from familiar old addresses.
- Employment details: Check the occupation and income where shown. CIBIL explains that these reflect information reported when a credit facility was opened; do not assume they describe your current job.
- Each account: Match the lender, account number, loan or card type, ownership, opening date and closing status to your records. Check whether you are shown as an individual borrower, joint borrower or guarantor.
- Amounts and dates: Compare the original loan amount or credit limit, current balance, overdue amount, last payment and reporting date. Use statements covering the corresponding period rather than comparing everything with today's balance.
- Repayment history: Examine each month. CIBIL explains that DPD means days past due; 000 indicates no late payment, while XXX means information was not reported for that month. Query a late-payment entry you believe is wrong, with evidence.
- Account status and enquiries: Investigate an unexpected settled, written-off or legal-action entry. Match enquiries to applications you remember. An enquiry records a request for your credit information; it does not itself establish that a loan was disbursed.
CIBIL's dispute guidance explains that closed accounts can remain visible and that an app-based loan may appear under its financing bank or financial institution. Check the agreement before treating an unfamiliar lender name as fraud.
If you find a loan you never took
Treat an unexplained account as a possible identity-misuse issue requiring investigation. Save the report and relevant messages. Contact the named lender using contact details independently obtained from its official website. State clearly that you dispute ownership, rather than asking only for a balance correction.
Ask for the application, identity-verification records and disbursement details, and request an investigation. Raise an ownership dispute with every bureau whose report contains the account; Experian expressly provides for disputing accounts that are not yours. Keep acknowledgement numbers together.
For suspected cybercrime, report through the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal and contact the police as appropriate. For financial cyber fraud, call 1930 promptly; the Home Ministry identifies it as a helpline for assistance with online complaints. Keep pursuing the lender and bureau corrections too.
Raise a precise dispute
Our free credit report dispute letter generator drafts the letter to your lender for you. It runs in your browser, so nothing you type is sent to us.
Send a short explanation identifying the report number, lender, account, incorrect field and correction requested. Attach relevant statements, payment acknowledgements or a closure letter through the official channel. For an account you never opened, say that explicitly; do not invent repayment evidence.
- CIBIL: Use Consumer Dispute Resolution, sign in, identify the relevant entry and raise the dispute; track its status in your account.
- Experian: Its FAQs direct you to the consumer portal's Dispute section. Select the affected account and describe the error.
- Equifax: Its policy allows a written dispute through the website's Dispute Resolution Form or [email protected]. Include the report order number, disputed details and supporting documents.
- CRIF: Its dispute page directs users through My Report and Raise a Query, selecting the report and affected information before submission. Retain the emailed ticket number.
Also complain to the reporting lender. Ask for the investigation outcome in writing and inspect the corrected report before considering the matter finished.
Deadlines and escalation
RBI's correction framework, also carried into its CIC Directions, provides an overall 30-calendar-day resolution period from the initial complaint to the lender or CIC. Eligible delays beyond that attract Rs 100 per calendar day. This is not compensation merely for disliking a score: exclusions include disputes about score computation or the scoring model.
If unresolved, use the organisation's grievance escalation route. RBI's 2026 Ombudsman FAQs require approaching the entity first. Escalation is available after an unsatisfactory reply, or no reply within 30 days or a longer applicable prescribed period. Check admissibility and file through RBI CMS.
Avoid fake free-score apps
CERT-In warns that fake apps can copy legitimate apps and harvest credentials or sensitive information. A familiar logo or the words "free CIBIL score" should not replace checking who operates the service.
Our recommendation is to use the bureau's website directly. If installing an app, reach its store listing from the bureau's official site and inspect the developer and permissions. Stop if a score check demands unexplained access to contacts, call logs, photographs or messages. Read data-sharing and marketing choices before accepting.
CIBIL's fraud guidance advises verifying communications and protecting passwords and OTPs. Enter verification codes only in the official process you initiated; never dictate them to a caller. For payment-related precautions, read our UPI scams guide.
Quick checklist
- I requested the full report from each relevant bureau.
- I checked identity, accounts, balances, repayment history and enquiries.
- I investigated unfamiliar lender names against my agreements.
- I reported suspected fraud and filed specific disputes.
- I saved reports, evidence, acknowledgement numbers and complaint dates.
- I avoided unnecessary app permissions and sharing verification codes.
Sources
Edition dated 20 October 2026. Source links checked on 21 October 2026. Public instructions were reviewed; no personal reports were requested or disputes submitted.
- RBI: Free Annual Credit Report; CIC Directions, 2025, copy hosted by Experian; correction compensation framework.
- RBI: Ombudsman Scheme, 2026 FAQs; Complaint Management System.
- CIBIL: free report; registration; report guide; reading report fields; disputes; fraud prevention.
- Experian: report-download instructions; report and dispute FAQs.
- Equifax: consumer disclosure and grievance policy.
- CRIF High Mark: free-report instructions; dispute instructions.
- Government reporting and safety: National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal; Home Ministry on I4C and 1930; CERT-In fake-app advisory.
