Credit Bureau Dispute Letter

The letter that starts a formal FCRA § 611 investigation with Equifax, Experian, or TransUnion. Free, and the same letter a paid service would send on your behalf.

Free template Legal basis: FCRA § 611 (15 U.S.C. § 1681i) Updated
Before you use this

What it does: Triggers a formal investigation. The bureau must investigate within 30 days (45 if you send additional documentation during the period), forward your dispute to the furnisher, and delete or correct anything it cannot verify.

When to use it: When a specific field on your credit report is factually wrong — an account that is not yours, a balance that is incorrect, a late payment that did not happen, a date that is off, a duplicate entry, or an item past its seven-year reporting window.

What it cannot do: It cannot remove accurate information. If the account is yours and reported correctly, the investigation will verify it and it will stay. No letter, free or paid, changes that.

How this works here

This is a free template you may adapt and send yourself. HomeBuyers Alliance does not send it for you, does not review your file, and does not charge for it. A template is a starting point — the facts you add are what matters, and inaccurate statements in a dispute can carry consequences.

Dispute letter — one item per letter
[YOUR FULL NAME] [YOUR STREET ADDRESS] [CITY, STATE ZIP] [DATE] [BUREAU NAME] [BUREAU DISPUTE ADDRESS] Re: Request for investigation of inaccurate information Report number: [REPORT CONFIRMATION NUMBER, IF YOU HAVE ONE] Date of birth: [YOUR DATE OF BIRTH] Last four of SSN: [XXXX] To whom it may concern: I am writing to dispute information in my credit file. I have identified the item below as inaccurate and I am requesting an investigation under Section 611 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1681i. Item disputed: Creditor or furnisher name: [NAME AS IT APPEARS ON THE REPORT] Account number as reported: [PARTIAL ACCOUNT NUMBER FROM THE REPORT] Field that is inaccurate: [E.G. PAYMENT STATUS FOR MARCH 2024] What the report currently states: [WHAT IT SAYS NOW] What is accurate: [WHAT IT SHOULD SAY] Basis for the dispute: [ONE OR TWO PLAIN SENTENCES. STATE THE FACT, NOT AN ARGUMENT. EXAMPLE: "THIS ACCOUNT WAS PAID IN FULL ON MAY 3, 2024. THE ENCLOSED STATEMENT FROM THE CREDITOR SHOWS A ZERO BALANCE AS OF THAT DATE."] Enclosed documentation: [LIST EACH ENCLOSURE. SEND COPIES, NEVER ORIGINALS.] Under Section 611, I understand that you must conduct a reasonable investigation, forward all relevant information I have provided to the furnisher of this information, and complete the investigation within 30 days. I further understand that if the information cannot be verified, it must be deleted from my file. Please send me written results of the investigation and a free copy of my credit report if the file is changed, as provided by Section 611(a)(6). Sincerely, [SIGN HERE] [YOUR PRINTED NAME] Enclosures: [NUMBER] items

How to fill this in

One item per letter. If you have four errors, send four letters. A single letter listing eight disputes is the pattern most associated with bulk commercial dispute filing, and it makes it easier for a bureau to treat the whole thing as frivolous. Separate letters also give you separate, traceable results.

Be specific about the field, not the account. “This account is inaccurate” gives the investigator nothing to check. “The payment status for March 2024 shows 30 days late; the enclosed statement shows the payment posted on March 8, 2024” gives them a single fact to verify.

State facts, not arguments. No legal theories, no accusations, no boilerplate about willful non-compliance. The investigator reading this is checking a data field.

Send copies of documents, never originals. You will need the originals later if this escalates.

Where to send it

Each bureau maintains its own dispute address, and they change. Get the current mailing address from each bureau’s own website before sending. Do not use an address you found on a third-party site.

Send it certified mail with return receipt. It costs a few dollars and it establishes the date the 30-day clock started. That date is the single most useful thing you will have if the bureau misses its deadline.

Send the same dispute to the furnisher too. The company that reported the information has its own obligations under FCRA § 623 (15 U.S.C. § 1681s-2), and disputing at both ends is materially more effective than disputing at one. Use the same letter with the addressee changed.

Keep a file

Keep a copy of every letter you send, every certified mail receipt, every response, and the credit report as it looked on the day you disputed. If a deleted item reappears later — which happens — that saved report is the evidence that it was removed once already.

What happens next

The bureau has 30 days from receipt, extended to 45 if you send additional documentation during the investigation period. You should receive written results.

Three outcomes are possible: the item is deleted, it is corrected, or it comes back verified as reported.

If it comes back verified and you believe it is still wrong, you have three next moves, all covered in how to dispute credit report errors: request the method of verification, re-dispute with stronger documentation, or file a complaint with the CFPB.

Before you send this, if you are buying a home

An open dispute flag can stall a mortgage approval — including a dispute you filed for entirely good reasons. If you are within six months of a mortgage application, read disputes and mortgage approval: the timing trap first.

Primary sources