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Your credit file is a lock you can close

Checked

Before opening a new account, lenders typically check your credit file at a credit bureau, a company that collects information about your borrowing and repayment history and sells credit reports. The three nationwide bureaus are Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. A credit freeze lets you close that file to new lenders, which makes it harder for an identity thief to open accounts in your name. It's free, and you can open the file again whenever you need to.

Talk about it at home: jump to the Table Talks

What a freeze does, and what it doesn't

The FTC (Federal Trade Commission) says that while a freeze is in place, nobody can open a new credit account in your name, including you. The CFPB (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau) explains why: a freeze stops prospective creditors from seeing your credit file, and creditors typically won't offer credit if they can't see it.

A freeze doesn't lock everyone out. The CFPB says creditors you already have accounts with, certain government agencies such as child support agencies, and companies you've hired to monitor your credit can still see your file. You can still review your own reports. Experian's list of exceptions also includes landlords screening you as a tenant and employers you've authorized to run a background check. The CFPB notes that the federal law requiring free freezes doesn't apply to credit checks for employment, tenant screening, or insurance, so some of those checks may still go through. If you're applying for a job, an apartment, or insurance, ask which bureau they use; the FTC suggests lifting the freeze there.

Do this now: List the cards and loans you already have. Those lenders can still see your frozen file.

Free, and it doesn't hurt your score

The FTC says there's no cost to place or lift a freeze, and it doesn't affect your credit score. The CFPB adds that freezes are a right under law and do not impact your credit scores in any way. You don't have to wait for a data breach. The FTC says anyone can freeze their credit, at any time, for any reason, and a freeze lasts until you lift it.

Do this now: Pick a time this week to place your freezes.

Freeze at all three bureaus

The FTC says to contact all three bureaus, and Experian says its freeze is not automatically shared with the others.

The CFPB says a bureau must place your freeze within one business day if you ask online or by phone, and no later than three business days after it receives a request by mail. It must send you written confirmation within five business days of placing the freeze. Each bureau explains its online, phone, and mail options: Equifax: security freeze, Experian: credit freeze, and TransUnion: credit freeze.

Do this now: Freeze at one bureau today, and put the other two on your calendar for this week.

Lift it when you need credit

You'll need to lift a freeze before a lender can check your file. The FTC says you can temporarily lift it to apply for credit or a job, rent an apartment, or buy insurance, then put it back when you're done. Its tip: lift it only at the bureau the lender uses.

The CFPB says that when you ask online or by phone, a bureau must lift your freeze within one hour, free of charge, and you can choose a lift for a set period. Experian lets you schedule a thaw with start and end dates. TransUnion says you can schedule a lift up to 15 days ahead, and it suggests waiting a few minutes after a lift before the lender pulls your report.

Do this now: Before your next credit application, ask which bureau the lender uses.

Freezes for children

The FTC says you can request a free freeze for a child under 16, and it stays in place until you ask the bureaus to remove it. The process is different from an adult freeze. Each bureau describes its own steps, which can involve mailing proof of the child's identity and of your authority to act for them.

The CFPB adds that if a bureau has no file on a child under 16 when a parent or guardian asks for a freeze, the bureau will create a record so it can be frozen, and that record can't be used for credit. TransUnion says a minor can ask to remove the freeze once they are 16 or older.

Do this now: If you have a child under 16, read each bureau's steps for minors and gather the documents.

Freeze, fraud alert, or paid lock

Do this now: If you're offered a paid lock, remember that the freeze is free.

Keep the keys to yourself

Each bureau lets you manage freezes through an online account. Experian and TransUnion say their accounts are free, and placing, lifting, or removing a freeze is free at all three. Equifax uses a username and password, and you must be 18 to open its account. Experian says you no longer need a PIN there. By phone, Equifax says you can verify your identity with a one-time PIN sent by text.

FINRA (the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority) says not to share your passwords and to use a different password for each account. The FTC says never to give a verification code to someone else, and that anyone who asks for one is a scammer. Because you lift a freeze from your bureau account, anyone who gets into that account could lift it. Treat the login like your bank login.

Do this now: Give each bureau account its own strong password, and turn on multifactor login (sometimes called two-step verification) if your bureau account offers it.

Teach it this week

Big idea: A credit freeze is a free lock on your credit file. You close it at all three bureaus, open it only when you need credit, and keep the keys to yourself.

Background for parents and grandparents: The FTC explains freezes and fraud alerts on its page FTC: credit freezes and fraud alerts.

Table Talks (10 minutes)

  • Start (2 min): Ask your family: if someone had your name and Social Security number, what could stop them from opening a credit card as you?
  • Explain (3 min): Go over what a freeze blocks, the three bureaus, lifting when you apply, and how a fraud alert differs.
  • Try it (4 min): Kids and grown-ups sort made-up situations (a new car loan application, a purchase on an existing card, a new store credit card, checking your own report) into "a freeze affects this" or "a freeze doesn't."
  • Wrap-up (1 min): Everyone names the three bureaus and one time you'd lift a freeze.

Talk it over

  1. Ask who in the family has credit cards or loans.
  2. Read what a freeze does and what it costs (nothing).
  3. Agree on a family rule: no one shares a bureau login or verification code with anyone.
  4. Tonight's action: one adult places a freeze at one bureau while the family talks through the steps (keep the screen and login private).

No real Social Security numbers, logins, or account details should be shared during this activity. Free to use; please keep the source credit.

Education only, not financial, legal or tax advice. Not a registered investment adviser.

Sources

Primary sources

  1. FTC: credit freezes and fraud alerts, date checked: Oct 22, 2026
  2. CFPB: what is a credit freeze or security freeze on my credit report, date checked: Oct 22, 2026
  3. Equifax: security freeze, date checked: Oct 22, 2026
  4. Experian: credit freeze, date checked: Oct 22, 2026
  5. TransUnion: credit freeze, date checked: Oct 22, 2026

Supporting links

  1. FTC: what's a verification code and why would someone ask me for it, date checked: Oct 22, 2026
  2. FINRA: customer account takeovers, what they are and how to protect yourself, date checked: Oct 22, 2026
  3. CFPB: what is a credit reporting company?, date checked: Oct 22, 2026