You do not need to buy anything in order to get your free consumer credit reports, whether you are eligible because you live in free consumer credit report state, under the FCRA, or you can get your free annual report under the FACT Act.
You may see advertisements or receive offers to purchase additional products or services when you make your request for your free consumer credit reports. Examples include offers to obtain your credit score or to sign up for a credit monitoring service. You are under no obligation to purchase any of these products or services you may see in order to get your free report, though we recommend that you purchase your credit score from one of the consumer credit reporting agencies in order to have a complete picture of your credit situation.
Under the FACT Act, the centralized source is prohibited from advertising to you in such a way that interferes with, detracts from or undermines your ability to get your free annual consumer credit reports. The centralized source’s website may not contain pop-up advertisements or other offers that interfere with your ability to complete your online request for your free annual consumer credit report. The centralized source may not tell you that you must purchase a paid product in order to receive your free annual consumer credit report. It may not say that your consumer credit report is not free, nor may it say that requesting your consumer credit report may damage your credit. The centralized source may not falsely say that a product or service that you may purchase along with your free consumer credit report is actually free if it is not. Additionally, the centralized source must clearly and prominently tell you that you must cancel a service advertised as free for an initial period of time to avoid being charged.