How to Get Your Free Credit Report in Canada

You can get a free copy of your credit report in Canada from each of the country's two national bureaus — Equifax Canada and TransUnion Canada. It costs nothing, and you don't have to sign up for a trial or a monitoring product to get it. What you receive is the report itself: your file, not the score that lenders sometimes mention.

That difference matters when you're about to borrow. LoanGoose is a loan matching and comparison service, not a lender — we don't make loans, set rates or make credit decisions. But the file you can order for free today is close to the one a lender will review when you apply.

What "free" actually covers

A free copy of your credit report is available from each national bureau, and you can ask for it by mail, by phone or online (FCAC — credit reports and scores). Federal privacy law backs this up: you have the right to see the personal information a company holds about you and to ask for corrections (Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada).

What usually isn't free is your credit score, along with paid products that bundle the score, alerts and monitoring. Those can be useful if you want ongoing watching. They simply aren't the free copy you're already entitled to.

How to request your free credit report, step by step

1. Decide which bureau to ask. Nothing stops you from ordering both. Since lenders don't all report to the same place, ordering both gives you the fuller picture.
2. Pick a channel. Mail is the traditional route and works even if you'd rather not create an online account. The bureaus also accept online requests, which arrive faster.
3. Gather identification. Expect to provide your full legal name, current address, date of birth, and copies of government-issued ID. If you've moved or changed your name recently, be ready to explain the gap.
4. Send it in. Mail requests take longer than online ones. Online requests usually involve identity-verification questions drawn from your own file.
5. Read it when it lands. Don't skim. The whole point of ordering it is to find problems before a lender does.

Why the two bureaus don't always match

Lenders, utilities and telecom providers decide for themselves which bureau or bureaus they report to. A lender might send your auto loan to one bureau and your phone account to the other. The result: one file shows an account the other has never heard of, and the scores built from those files can differ.

This is why ordering from one bureau and assuming you've seen everything is a small gamble. If you're preparing for a mortgage or a large loan, both copies are worth the effort.

What to look for once you have it

• Identity details. Names, addresses and employers, including old ones. Errors here can point to a mixed file.
• Accounts you don't recognize. A stranger's account on your file is the loudest alarm bell.
• Payment history. Late payments, collections and any account marked as written off.
• Inquiries. Who looked at your file, and when. A cluster of inquiries you didn't trigger deserves a call.
• Duplicates. The same debt listed twice inflates what you appear to owe.
• Balances and limits. Outdated balances distort how much of your available credit looks used.

Report versus score

The report is the raw material: accounts, balances, payment history, inquiries, public records. The score is a number calculated from that material. Because the two bureaus hold different data, the same person can hold two different scores at the same moment.

So when someone says they have "a good score," ask which bureau, which model and which day. And remember that no single number decides an application. Lenders weigh income, debts, the size of the loan and their own lending rules alongside whatever the file says.

Errors, disputes and complaints

If something on your report is wrong, start with the bureau that issued it. Bureaus have a dispute process, and you can ask for a correction at no charge. Keep a copy of everything you send and note the dates.

If you're unhappy with how a financial institution handled you — not the bureau — the route depends on who regulates them. Consumer complaints about federally regulated financial institutions go to the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC — complaints). Provinces license and supervise most other lenders, and each province has a consumer protection office you can approach (FCAC — provincial and territorial regulators).

Why this matters before you borrow

A few items follow people for years, and knowing your dates beats guessing at them. A consumer proposal stays on a credit report for three years after completion, or six years from filing, whichever comes first. A first bankruptcy stays for six years after discharge.

There's no trick to a clean file. Pay on time, keep balances modest relative to your limits, and avoid applying everywhere at once. If your file is thin or bruised, some lenders will still look at your application — but the terms they offer reflect the risk they see, and no service can promise you a particular rate or outcome.

Order the free copy. Read it slowly. Fix what's wrong. Then, when you're ready to compare loan options, come back — LoanGoose is a matching and comparison service, not a lender, and we'll point you toward lenders whose criteria fit your situation.

LoanGoose is a loan matching and comparison service, not a lender. The lowest rates are only available to the most qualified applicants.