Last reviewed: 2 October 2026
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Credit repair: doing it yourself vs. hiring a company
The law treats the two paths very differently. On your own, the FTC says the credit bureaus and the businesses that report to them must correct wrong or incomplete information for free,[2] and the CFPB says no one has the right to remove negative information from a report if it is accurate, while errors can be fixed on your own at no cost.[4] A company that sells credit repair services is covered by the Credit Repair Organizations Act, which bars it from demanding advance payment and requires a written contract and cancellation rights.[1] This page lays the two side by side. It does not tell you which to choose, and the sources it uses give no statistics on how often either path works.
The two paths side by side
| Question | Doing it yourself | Hiring a credit repair company |
|---|---|---|
| What can be changed | Information that is wrong or incomplete. The CFPB says that "no one has the right to remove negative information, such as late payments, from a credit report if it is accurate."[4] | Our reading: a company works under the same credit reporting rules, so what it can correct is the same kind of item. |
| Who does the work | You contact both the credit bureau and the business that reported the information.[2][3] | A company may do some or all of this for you; what it will actually file is something to ask for in writing (Standard point 7). |
| Cost | The FTC says correction is free,[2] and the CFPB says you can fix errors on your own at no cost.[4] Postage and certified mail are optional costs you choose. | Set by the company's contract. This page has no price survey; see what credit repair costs and how fees may be structured. |
| Fee timing | Not applicable. | The Act bars companies offering credit repair services from demanding advance payment.[1] |
| Written terms | Not applicable. | The Act requires credit repair contracts to be in writing and gives consumers certain contract cancellation rights.[1] |
| Statements the company may make | Not applicable. | The Act prohibits untrue or misleading representations and requires certain affirmative disclosures in offering or selling credit repair services.[1] |
| Timing of the process | The credit bureau has 30 days to investigate a dispute, and a furnisher generally must investigate and respond within 30 days of receiving it.[2][3] | Our reading: the same legal timelines apply to any dispute filed, whoever files it. |
| Likely results | The FTC and CFPB pages we used give no success rates for either path. Results depend on whether your report actually contains errors. | |
What doing it yourself involves, according to the FTC and CFPB
- Get your reports. You have the right to free copies of your credit report from each of the three major bureaus once every 12 months at AnnualCreditReport.com, and the FTC says the bureaus have permanently extended a program letting you check each one weekly for free there.[2]
- Dispute with each bureau that has the mistake. The FTC says to explain in writing what you think is wrong, include the bureau's dispute form if it has one and copies of supporting documents, and keep records of everything you send.[2]
- Dispute with the business that supplied the information. Credit reporting companies get information from companies called furnishers, such as your bank, landlord or credit card company.[3]
- If the dispute is not resolved, you can ask that a statement of the dispute be included in your file and in future reports.[2]
Our guides cover the next steps in more detail: furnisher disputes, frivolous-dispute notices, and what to do when a dispute comes back verified.
What hiring a company involves, according to the law
The FTC describes the Credit Repair Organizations Act (15 U.S.C. §§ 1679-1679j) as Title IV of the Consumer Credit Protection Act.[1] A company that offers credit repair is subject to the requirements in the table above. Whether a given company is covered, and whether it is following them, depends on its contract and its conduct, which this page does not judge. Our explainer on credit repair and warning-signs checklist cover what to look for before signing.
What the Standard checks
Our Standard turns these legal points into checks. Three of them bear directly on this comparison: no fees before results (point 1), no guarantees of results (point 2), and a published, flat fee schedule (point 5). These are the three questions the Standard asks of a company. The Register reports dated checks of credit repair companies against the Standard; it explains how we check and is not a recommendation of any company or of paying for help at all.
How to verify this yourself
- Read the FTC's page on the Credit Repair Organizations Act.[1]
- Read the FTC's and the CFPB's instructions on disputing errors.[2][3]
- Read the CFPB's answer on how long information stays on a report.[4]
- Get your own reports and compare them with what any company says it will fix.
What this page does not cover
It does not tell you which path to take, predict results, or compare any company's price or performance. It is general information, not legal or financial advice. The CFPB's page says its content is general consumer information, not legal advice.[3]
When we will update this page
We revisit it if the Act or the agencies' guidance changes. Sources last read 2 October 2026.
What you can do next
- Find a company — see which specific US companies we checked and what we could verify.
- How we check — the rules and sources behind each result.
- More credit help guides
- Report an error on this page or in a result.