How to Check Your Credit Score in Canada for Free

You can check your credit score in Canada for free. Equifax gives every Canadian a free score and report online, TransUnion gives a free report everywhere but a free score only in Ontario and Quebec, and RBC, TD, CIBC, Scotiabank and BMO show a free TransUnion score in online banking. Checking never lowers your score. Below is where to look, what the numbers mean and how to fix a mistake on your report. Details are as of September 2026.

Where can you check your credit score for free in Canada?

The two credit bureaus and the five largest banks all offer free access, but they do not all show the same score or update it on the same schedule.

If you bank with one of the five big banks, the quickest way to see a score is your bank app. To see what lenders see in detail, get the full report from each bureau as well. You can compare issuers such as TD Canada Trust in our issuer directory.

How do you get your free Equifax and TransUnion credit reports?

Request them online from each bureau's own website. The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC) says both bureaus let you download or print your report for free and see information updated every month.

1. Go to the bureau's own site. Use Equifax Canada's myEquifax account and TransUnion's free Consumer Disclosure. Paid monitoring products are optional.
2. Verify your identity. You will enter personal details and may answer questions about your credit accounts.
3. Download or print the report. Save a copy so you can compare it with next time.
4. Use mail or phone if online verification fails. FCAC says you can mail a request form with photocopies of 2 valid pieces of ID, or call Equifax Canada at 1-800-465-7166 or TransUnion Canada at 1-800-663-9980.
5. Go in person if you prefer. In some provinces you can visit a bureau office with at least 2 pieces of ID; Equifax lists offices in Halifax and Charlottetown.
6. Repeat with the other bureau. Each bureau keeps its own file, so an error at one may not appear at the other.

Why is my Equifax score different from my TransUnion score?

Your scores differ because each bureau keeps its own file and uses its own formula. FCAC says credit bureaus and lenders use different formulas to calculate scores and do not share the exact details. The information in each file can also differ if a lender updated one bureau more recently than the other.

The factors are broadly the same everywhere. FCAC lists how long you have had credit, whether you pay on time, how much you owe, how much of your available credit you use and how often you apply for credit. A lender may also use a different score from the one you see in your app, so treat any single number as a guide rather than an exact prediction.

What is a good credit score in Canada?

A score of 660 or higher is generally considered good. FCAC says Canadian scores usually range from 300 to 900, and Equifax Canada publishes these bands:

Lenders set their own cut-offs, and income and existing debt matter as well. If your score is in the fair or poor range, our guide to secured credit cards covers cards designed for rebuilding.

Does checking your own credit score lower it?

No. FCAC states that checking your credit report or score will not affect your credit rating. Equifax Canada explains that when you check your own file it records a soft inquiry, which does not affect your scores.

What can affect your score is a hard inquiry, which happens when a lender reviews your file because you applied for credit. Equifax says hard inquiries may stay on your report for up to 36 months. FCAC puts it as 3 years at Equifax and 6 years at TransUnion.

If you are shopping for a car loan or mortgage, FCAC says to get quotes from different lenders within a 2-week period, because the bureaus treat those as a single inquiry. Equifax notes this exception does not apply to credit cards, so space card applications out.

What should you look for on your credit report?

Look for anything that is wrong, anything you do not recognize and anything that is dragging your score down. Go through each section:

• Personal information. Check your name, addresses and date of birth for errors.
• Accounts. Make sure every account is yours and the limits and balances are right.
• Payment history. Confirm no payment is marked late when you paid on time.
• Inquiries. An inquiry from a lender you never applied to can be a sign of identity theft.
• Collections and public records. Check dates, because FCAC says late or unpaid accounts can stay for up to 6 years.

Also look at how much of your limits you use. FCAC recommends using less than 30% of your total credit limit. Here is a worked example. Assume you have two cards: one with a $1,500 limit and a $900 balance, and one with a $3,500 limit and a $600 balance. Your total balance is $900 plus $600, or $1,500. Your total limit is $1,500 plus $3,500, or $5,000. $1,500 divided by $5,000 is 30%. Paying $300 before your statements close brings that to $1,200 out of $5,000, or 24%.

How do you fix a mistake on your credit report?

File a dispute with the bureau that shows the error; FCAC says credit bureaus must correct errors for free.

1. Gather receipts, statements and other documents that show the mistake.
2. Use the dispute form from Equifax or TransUnion to report the error.
3. The bureau checks your claim with the lender that reported the information and corrects it if it agrees.
4. To speed things up, you can also ask the lender to verify its records and send corrected information to the bureaus.
5. If you disagree with the result, add a brief consumer statement to your report explaining your side. FCAC says this is free.

If you find accounts or inquiries you do not recognize, contact the lender involved right away as well, because it may be fraud rather than a clerical error.

What affects your credit score the most?

How you handle payments and balances matters most. FCAC calls payment history the most important part of your credit score, and its advice for improving a score comes down to a few habits:

• Pay on time. If you cannot pay the full amount, make at least the minimum payment, and contact the lender early if you are having trouble paying.
• Use less than 30% of your total credit limit. Lower balances compared with your limits help your score.
• Space out applications. FCAC advises against sending several credit applications at once or in quick succession.
• Keep accounts open and active for a long time. FCAC says a long and stable credit history helps.

None of these changes show up instantly. Your score moves as lenders report new balances and payments to the bureaus, so give a change a few statement cycles before you judge whether it worked.

How often should you check your credit?

Check before you apply for any significant credit and a few times a year otherwise. A bank app score is useful for spotting sudden changes, and the full reports are where you catch errors. FCAC says the bureaus update your credit score at least once a month. If you are just starting out, our guides on building credit with a credit card and credit cards for newcomers to Canada explain how to get your first entries on file, and understanding your credit score goes deeper on scoring factors. When your score improves, compare cards in our Canadian credit card listings.