The three dispute mailing addresses
Each block below is the recipient string the bureau itself prints on its dispute form, dispute page or mailing label. Use the string the bureau publishes; the ZIP code variations you will see on other official pages, including the versions the CFPB and FTC print, are listed on each bureau page, and if in doubt the address printed on your own credit report governs your file. Every address was checked on the date shown, and each bureau page below covers online and phone alternatives, enclosures, and that bureau's own quirks.
Equifax Information Services LLC P.O. Box 740256 Atlanta, GA 30374
Experian Dispute by Mail P.O. Box 4500 Allen, TX 75013
TransUnion Consumer Solutions P.O. Box 2000 Chester, PA 19016-2000
Which bureau do you write to?
Write to each bureau whose report shows the item. A dispute sent to one bureau is not a dispute with the others, so an item that appears on all three reports needs three letters, one to each address above. If an item appears on only one report, one letter is enough.
The FCRA also lets you dispute directly with the company that reported the item, called the furnisher, under Section 623. The CFPB publishes a separate sample letter for furnishers. You can send both, but the Section 611 clock described below runs only on the dispute you send to the bureau.
If you do not have a current copy of your report, request one first. Federal law entitles you to a free report from each of the three bureaus at AnnualCreditReport.com at least once every 12 months. The report or confirmation number printed on that copy is worth including; the CFPB lists it as "if available", and neither Equifax's nor Experian's mailed dispute form requires it.
What a mailed dispute letter should include
The CFPB's dispute guidance lists what a mailed dispute letter should contain. The bureau pages linked above add each bureau's own identity documentation rule: Equifax and Experian each ask for copies of one document proving who you are and one proving where you live, while TransUnion's dispute-by-mail page asks for identifying details rather than document copies.
- Your complete name, mailing address and telephone number.
- The credit report confirmation or report number, if you have one.
- Each item you are disputing, including the account number for any account, identified exactly as the report shows it.
- A clear explanation of why you believe each item is inaccurate or incomplete.
- What you are asking the bureau to do after it reinvestigates: correct the item, or delete it if the bureau cannot verify it.
- A copy of the portion of your report that contains the disputed items, with those items circled or highlighted.
- Copies, never originals, of documents that support your position, such as statements, letters or payment records.
- For Equifax and Experian, a copy of a government-issued ID and a copy of a utility bill, bank statement or similar document showing your current address, per those two bureaus' own instructions.
Write the letter in your own words and keep it specific. A bureau may decline to reinvestigate a dispute it reasonably determines is frivolous or irrelevant, and both the statute and the CFPB name a dispute that does not contain enough information to investigate, such as a letter that does not say what is wrong with each item, as an example of what a bureau may treat that way.
Certified mail: recommended, not required
No bureau requires certified mail. TransUnion says outright that it accepts standard or certified mail, and Equifax and Experian print no mailing method at all. The CFPB and FTC both suggest sending a dispute by certified mail with a return receipt so you have a dated record that the bureau received it. That date matters because it is the date the Section 611 clock starts.
Whatever method you use, keep a complete copy of the letter and every enclosure, and photograph or scan the mailing receipt. If you later need to send more information, add a statement of dispute, or file a complaint with the CFPB, the receipt is the document that proves when the bureau had your dispute in hand.
How the FCRA Section 611 timeline applies to a mailed dispute
The Fair Credit Reporting Act sets deadlines on the bureau, not on the outcome. These are the windows that apply once your letter is received, as written in 15 U.S.C. § 1681i and § 1681j and summarized by the CFPB.
- Receipt starts the clock. Under FCRA Section 611(a)(1)(A), the bureau must complete a reasonable reinvestigation, free of charge, within 30 days of the date it receives your dispute. Certified mail with a return receipt gives you a dated record of that receipt.
- Forwarding to the furnisher. Section 611(a)(2)(A) requires the bureau to send notice of your dispute, with the relevant information you provided, to the company that reported the item within 5 business days of receiving it.
- A possible 15-day extension. Section 611(a)(1)(B) lets the bureau extend the 30 days by up to 15 additional days if you send more relevant information during the original window. The extension does not apply if the bureau has already found the item inaccurate or unverifiable.
- Up to 45 days after a free annual report. Section 612(a)(3) gives the bureau up to 45 days when the dispute follows a free annual file disclosure from AnnualCreditReport.com.
- Written results. Section 611(a)(6)(A) requires written notice of the results not later than 5 business days after the reinvestigation is completed.
- Frivolous or irrelevant disputes. Section 611(a)(3) lets a bureau decline to reinvestigate a dispute it reasonably determines is frivolous or irrelevant, for example one that does not identify what is wrong, and it must tell you so within 5 business days of that determination.
One limit applies everywhere: accurate items cannot be removed by disputing them. The FTC states that no one can legally have information taken off a report if it is both accurate and current, and that most negative information stays on a report for seven years, bankruptcy for ten. A dispute is a request for reinvestigation of an item you believe is wrong, not a demand for deletion, and the bureau decides the result.
After the results arrive
The bureau must send the results in writing, and the FTC notes that if the reinvestigation changes your report, you are entitled to a free copy. If you disagree with the result, FCRA Section 611(b) lets you file a brief statement of dispute, which the bureau may limit to 100 words if it helps you write it. Under Section 611(c) that statement, or a summary of it, must accompany the item in later reports.
You can also submit a complaint to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which forwards it to the bureau and asks for a response. The CFPB complaint guide on this site walks through when that step makes sense.
Identity theft: where a Section 605B block request goes
None of the three bureaus publishes a separate mailing address for FCRA Section 605B block requests. Equifax routes identity theft disputes through its standard dispute form, which has a fraud checkbox, to the same P.O. Box 740256. TransUnion's Fraud Victim Assistance Department shares P.O. Box 2000 in Chester with its dispute unit. Experian publishes a fraud correspondence box, P.O. Box 9554, for fraud alerts, which TransUnion's fraud victim contacts page also lists as Experian's fraud contact, and its dispute box, P.O. Box 4500, for disputed items; Experian does not say which box handles a 605B request. The Experian page covers what to do with that gap.
Under FCRA Section 605B, a bureau must block information you identify as resulting from identity theft within 4 business days of receiving a complete request. A complete request contains four elements: appropriate proof of your identity, a copy of an identity theft report, identification of the specific information, and a statement that the information does not relate to any transaction of yours. The bureau may decline to block, or may later rescind a block, in the circumstances the statute lists, so a complete packet is a legal request and the decision remains with the bureau. This route is only for information that actually resulted from identity theft; an ordinary inaccuracy belongs under Section 611.
Analyze your report, then mail the letter yourself
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Every address, phone number, URL and deadline above was checked against the official page listed here on 2026-09-03. Bureaus move mailboxes and change hours without notice; the address printed on your own credit report is the most current one for your file.
- Equifax Dispute Request Form (PDF) (checked 2026-09-03)
- Equifax help article: How do I dispute information on my Equifax credit report by mail? (checked 2026-09-03)
- Experian: Dispute credit report information (Dispute Center) (checked 2026-09-03)
- Experian dispute form and instructions (PDF) (checked 2026-09-03)
- Experian: Fraud alert center (checked 2026-09-03)
- TransUnion: Dispute your credit by mail or phone (checked 2026-09-03)
- TransUnion printable dispute-by-mail mailing label (PDF) (checked 2026-09-03)
- TransUnion: Important contacts for fraud victims (checked 2026-09-03)
- CFPB: How do I dispute an error on my credit report? (checked 2026-09-03)
- CFPB: How long does it take to resolve an error on a credit report? (checked 2026-09-03)
- CFPB: What if I disagree with the results of my credit report dispute? (checked 2026-09-03)
- CFPB: Sample letters to dispute information on a credit report (checked 2026-09-03)
- CFPB: Credit reporting sample dispute letter, September 2016 (PDF) (checked 2026-09-03)
- CFPB: Disputing errors on your credit reports handout, August 2021 (PDF) (checked 2026-09-03)
- FTC: Disputing errors on your credit reports (checked 2026-09-03)
- FTC: Fixing your credit FAQs (accurate information cannot be removed) (checked 2026-09-03)
- FCRA Section 611, 15 U.S.C. § 1681i (reinvestigation procedure and timelines) (checked 2026-09-03)
- FCRA Section 612, 15 U.S.C. § 1681j (45-day window after a free annual report) (checked 2026-09-03)
- FCRA Section 605B, 15 U.S.C. § 1681c-2 (identity theft block) (checked 2026-09-03)
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