How to Unfreeze Your Credit (And Why I Had to Learn This the Hard Way)
So there I was, sitting at a car dealership, ready to drive off in my new-to-me Honda CR-V, when the finance guy comes back with a weird look on his face. “Uh, we cant pull your credit. Its frozen.”
Frozen. Right. Id done that two years ago after the Equifax breach and completely forgotten about it. Talk about awkward.
Heres everything I learned about credit freezes and how to unfreeze them – because apparently this is knowledge more of us need.
Why Did I Freeze My Credit in the First Place?
Back when the Equifax data breach happened (you know, the one that exposed like 147 million peoples info), I panicked. Well, “panicked” might be strong – I was appropriately concerned. All those scary articles about identity theft had me imagining someone opening credit cards in my name while I slept.
So I froze my credit with all three bureaus. It took maybe 20 minutes total. And then I promptly forgot Id done it.
The thing is, a credit freeze is actually a really good idea. It stops anyone (including you, oops) from opening new accounts using your credit report. Lenders cant see your report, so they wont approve applications. Pretty effective against identity thieves. Also pretty effective against yourself when you forget about it.
The Good News: Your Credit Score Doesnt Care
One thing I was worried about when I first froze my credit – would it hurt my score? Nope. Freezing has zero impact on your credit score. Your existing accounts keep reporting normally. The freeze just prevents new inquiries.
This is actually why Id recommend freezing your credit if youre not planning to apply for anything soon. Theres really no downside except the inconvenience of unfreezing when you need to.
Okay, So How Do You Actually Unfreeze It?
Heres what I wish Id known when I was sitting in that dealership, embarrassed and googling frantically on my phone.
Step 1: Figure out where your PIN is
When you freeze your credit, each bureau gives you a PIN or password. You need this to unfreeze. I had mine… somewhere. In an email. From 2017. That took a while to find.
Pro tip: When you freeze your credit, save those PINs somewhere youll actually remember. A password manager. A note in your phone. Something.
Step 2: Contact all three bureaus
This is the annoying part. There are three credit bureaus and they dont talk to each other. You have to unfreeze with each one separately:
- Equifax: You can do this on their website or by phone. I did it online – log in, find the security freeze section, enter your PIN.
- Experian: Same deal. Their website is honestly the easiest to navigate of the three.
- TransUnion: They have an app now which is kind of nice. You can manage your freeze right from your phone.
Step 3: Decide how long to unfreeze
Youve got options here. You can do a temporary thaw (lift the freeze for a specific time period or for a specific creditor) or a permanent unfreeze (keeps it open until you freeze it again).
For my car loan situation, I did a temporary lift for 30 days. That gave the dealership time to run my credit without leaving me exposed forever.
Step 4: Wait (but not long)
If you do this online, its usually instant. I unfroze mine on my phone in the dealership parking lot and the finance guy was able to pull my credit within like 15 minutes. Phone requests can take up to an hour, and mail requests… dont even bother unless you have to.
What If You Lost Your PIN?
This happens to a lot of people. Dont panic. Each bureau has a process for this. Usually involves verifying your identity with some personal information. Its annoying but not impossible.
Equifax was the worst about this in my experience. Experian was pretty straightforward. Your mileage may vary.
Is Unfreezing Free?
Yes! Since 2018, theres a federal law that makes freezing AND unfreezing free. Before that, some states charged like $10 each time. Now its free everywhere in the US. One less excuse not to freeze your credit.
A Few Things I Learned the Hard Way
Give yourself time. If you know youre going to apply for something, unfreeze a few days ahead. Ive heard of people who tried to do it same-day for a mortgage application and it didnt go through fast enough. Dont be that person.
Keep your info updated. If youve moved since you froze your credit, make sure your address is current with the bureaus. Mismatched info can slow things down.
Check your credit report while youre at it. If youre unfreezing anyway, might as well pull your free annual report and make sure nothing weird is on there. Go to annualcreditreport.com (the real one, not the sketchy imitators).
Fraud Alerts: A Different Option
If a full freeze seems like too much hassle, you could do a fraud alert instead. Its less secure but also less inconvenient. Instead of blocking access, it just tells lenders “hey, verify this persons identity extra carefully before approving anything.”
I still prefer the freeze. Yeah, the car dealership thing was embarrassing, but at least I know nobodys opening accounts in my name while Im not looking.
My Current System
These days, I keep my credit frozen by default. When I need to apply for something, I unfreeze temporarily, do my thing, and refreeze. Is it a little extra work? Sure. But after seeing friends deal with identity theft (one spent months cleaning up fraudulent accounts), Ill take the minor inconvenience.
Just… dont forget you did it like I did. Maybe set a reminder on your phone before you walk into a dealership.
