In most provinces, consumer reporting legislation gives you the right to a free copy of your credit report from each bureau on request, and both Equifax Canada and TransUnion Canada now offer that report online as well as by mail. Because the two bureaus hold different information, most people need to request a file from each one.

In Canada, credit reporting is handled by private companies rather than a government agency, and two of them dominate the market: Equifax Canada and TransUnion Canada. Provincial consumer reporting legislation in most provinces requires each bureau to give you a free copy of your own credit report when you ask, and both now offer an online request route alongside the traditional mailed form. Because lenders do not all report to the same bureau, ordering one report only gives you half the picture.

Request channel	What you need	What to expect
Bureau website or app	An account, your personal details, and answers to identity-verification questions	Usually the fastest route; the report is viewable right away
Mail	A completed request form plus photocopies of two pieces of identification	Slower, but useful if online verification fails; the report arrives by post
Automated phone line	Touch-tone answers to identifying questions	The report is mailed to the address already on file

Whichever route you choose, you are dealing with the bureau directly. Any site that asks for a credit card number before showing you a report you are entitled to receive free is selling something else.

Why Canada has two credit bureaus

Credit bureaus are private businesses. They collect information from lenders, credit unions, telecom providers, utilities and other subscribers, then sell access to that information to organizations deciding whether to lend to you. No law forces a lender to report to both bureaus, and many report to only one. Some lenders pull a file from only one as well.

The practical result is that your Equifax file and your TransUnion file can say different things. A store card opened years ago, a mobile phone account, a collection placed by a former landlord — any of these might appear at one bureau and be missing from the other. A lender could check either one, so the only way to know what a lender might see is to order both. The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada explains how reports and scores are built and used, and it is a sensible starting point before you request your files.

How to request a free report from each bureau

Both bureaus publish their own request instructions, and the free-copy entitlement is also set out in provincial consumer reporting legislation. Read the current terms on the bureau's own site rather than relying on an old article, because the online process changes from time to time.

1. Start with one bureau. Create an account on its website and follow the identity-verification steps. No payment should be required for the report itself.
2. Answer the verification questions honestly. They are generated from your credit history — a previous address, an old loan, a monthly payment amount. If you cannot pass them, the mailed route is the fallback.
3. If you request by mail, download the bureau's form, complete it, and enclose photocopies of two pieces of identification, typically one government-issued photo ID and one secondary document. Send it to the address printed on the form.
4. Repeat the process with the second bureau. Equifax and TransUnion do not share logins or files, so a separate request is needed for each one.
5. Save a copy and note the date. A dated copy is useful when you compare your file next time or challenge an entry later.

If you are gathering information before borrowing, the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada's loans section sets out the rights and responsibilities that come with consumer credit in Canada.

What appears in a free credit report

Your report is a history, not a grade. It typically contains:

• Identifying information such as your name, current and former addresses, date of birth and employer details that have been reported.
• Credit accounts, including the type of account, when it was opened, the limit or original loan amount, the current balance, and your payment history month by month.
• Banking information that has been reported, such as a chequing account closed for cause.
• Inquiries, split between soft checks — your own requests and pre-approved offers — and hard checks made when you apply for credit.
• Public record and registered information where the bureau has recorded it, such as a bankruptcy or a judgment.
• A consumer statement, which is a short note you can ask the bureau to add to explain a dispute or a special circumstance.

How long negative information stays on file is set by provincial rules and varies by type of entry, so check with the bureau if a specific item matters to you. If something on the report is wrong, you have the right to dispute it — the last section below covers how.

Free report versus free credit score

The report and the score are two different products. The report is the underlying file; the score is a number calculated from it by a scoring model. A bureau may hand you the report free while charging for a score, although both bureaus and many banks and credit unions now provide a score at no cost through their own portals or apps. The score you see may come from an educational model rather than the exact model a lender uses, so treat it as a guide rather than a verdict.

Read the terms of any free score offer. Some are genuinely free and funded by advertising; others are short trials that convert into a paid subscription. Cancelling a subscription you did not mean to start is more hassle than checking the free report in the first place.

If your file needs work before you apply, our guide to bad credit loans in Canada explains how lenders look at a damaged file and what alternatives exist.

Co-signing, joint credit and your own file

Co-signing is not an invisible favour. When you co-sign a loan, the account is normally reported on your credit report as well as the borrower's, and a missed payment can affect both files. Lenders in Canada also have disclosure obligations to joint borrowers, which the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada summarises for consumers. Before you sign, check both of your own reports, and check them again afterwards — you can read more about the role in our guide to what a co-signer is and what they take on. If you want to see how the payments would land in your monthly budget, run the numbers through our loan payment calculator first.

Correcting errors and common mistakes

If you spot an account that is not yours, a payment marked late that you made on time, or a balance that is wrong, contact the bureau in writing. Identify the item, explain why it is inaccurate, and attach supporting documents such as statements or a confirmation letter from the lender. The bureau investigates and either corrects the entry or explains why it stands. If the information came from a lender, it usually helps to raise it with that lender as well. Where a dispute cannot be resolved, a consumer statement can be added to your file, and provincial regulators such as Consumer Protection BC oversee credit reporting legislation in their province.

• Ordering one bureau's report and assuming the other matches. They often do not.
• Paying a subscription for a report you are entitled to receive free.
• Entering card details on a site that promises a “free” report before showing you anything.
• Assuming the free report includes a credit score. They are separate products.
• Mailing a request without photocopies of the required identification, which delays the file.
• Ignoring a co-signed account because “it is not really my loan”. It usually is on your report.
• Disputing an accurate but unflattering entry instead of fixing the payment pattern behind it.