KNOW YOUR RIGHTS · THE UNITED KINGDOM

Your credit reporting rights in the United Kingdom

Understand access, accuracy and correction rights for your credit file, and which organization to contact.

Last reviewed: 20 October 2026

Access and accuracy

You can request a free statutory credit report from Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. Lenders and other information suppliers have accuracy responsibilities as well as the agencies. A paid monitoring subscription is not required to request your statutory report.

Official sources: ICO: credit reports, access and accuracy (opens in a new tab)

Ask for inaccurate information to be corrected

Raise the entry with the agency and the lender or organization that supplied it. Explain what is wrong and keep evidence. Data-protection rectification requests generally require a response within one calendar month; extensions, identity checks and other exceptions can affect timing. Check the current ICO guidance for your request.

Official sources: ICO: credit reports, access and accuracy (opens in a new tab) · ICO: right to rectification (opens in a new tab)

Reporting periods depend on the record

Do not apply one six-year rule to every entry. For example, an England and Wales court judgment generally stays on the register for six years, with different treatment if paid within one month. Bankruptcy can stay on a credit file for six years from the bankruptcy date. Check the record type and starting date.

Official sources: GOV.UK: court judgments and your credit rating (opens in a new tab) · GOV.UK: bankruptcy and your credit file (opens in a new tab)

Escalation and regional differences

If the agency and supplier do not correct an obvious inaccuracy, the ICO explains how to raise a data-protection complaint. A disagreement about whether money is owed may need the relevant financial or service complaint route first. Court and insolvency procedures differ across England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Official sources: ICO: credit reports, access and accuracy (opens in a new tab) · GOV.UK: court judgments and your credit rating (opens in a new tab)

Check the current guidance

The ICO flags its credit and rectification guidance as under review following the Data (Use and Access) Act. Read the linked current guidance before relying on an exception or response period.

Official sources: ICO: credit reports, access and accuracy (opens in a new tab) · ICO: right to rectification (opens in a new tab)

Use these rights with your own evidence

Save the report page, account details, relevant dates, supporting records and correspondence. A possible error needs evidence; this guide does not decide whether a particular entry breaks the law.

CRP explains supported issues in your uploaded report and helps you prepare a packet you review and approve. The rights described here are broader than the checks CRP currently supports. Check the available country, bureau and report options in your workspace. No correction, deletion or score increase is guaranteed.