How to Freeze Your Child’s Credit (and What Each Bureau Asks For)

Freezing a child’s credit is free, and once it is done it mostly stays done. The awkward part is that you cannot do it online, and each of the three bureaus wants a slightly different pile of paperwork: different ages, different documents, different timelines.

So the useful thing is not another explanation of why this matters. It is knowing exactly what goes in each envelope before you start copying documents. That is the table below.

Written for readers in the United States. The reason this is worth an afternoon: a child’s credit file is not being watched by anyone, so misuse can sit undetected for years, and the FTC notes that a child under 18 generally won’t have a credit report at all.

What each bureau asks for

Four notes on that table, because a few cells will raise questions.

Experian looks like the odd one out, and it is. It is the only bureau that wants proof of your address, and the only one that says it does not knowingly hold credit information on minors, which contradicts what Equifax and TransUnion say about creating a file. If you have read that all three bureaus open a file for your child and freeze it, that is not what Experian says about itself. Send to all three anyway; just expect Experian’s reply to read differently.

The age columns are not a typo. Equifax and Experian both say under 16; TransUnion says 15 and younger. In practice these overlap for almost every child, but if yours has just turned 15 or 16, check the specific bureau rather than assuming.

Experian has a separate rule that is easy to misread. It says credit reports for minors aged 13 and under “cannot be accessed online.” That governs online access, not who can have a freeze: the freeze itself covers children under 16. Either way, the parent request goes by post. On cost: the free entitlement comes from federal law and is stated by the FTC, so it holds regardless of what any one bureau’s page happens to mention.

Before you post anything: check whether there is already a file

Most parents assume there is nothing to find. Usually that is right, and this step takes ten minutes. But if something has been opened in your child’s name, you want to know before you freeze, because you will be dealing with fraud rather than prevention.

You cannot just look this up. The usual annualcreditreport.com route is built for adults with existing files. For a child, the FTC’s instruction is to “ask for a manual search for your child’s Social Security number”: you contact each bureau and request it specifically.

If the search comes back empty, carry on to the freeze. If it turns up an account, stop and read the next section first.

If fraud has already happened

Freezing is the wrong first move here. The FTC’s opening instruction is blunt: “Did someone use your child’s information to commit fraud? Call the company where the fraud occurred.”

Do that, then work through the federal recovery process at IdentityTheft.gov, which will generate a report and a plan covering the disputes you will need to raise. Come back and freeze afterwards: it stops the next account being opened, which is still worth doing, but it does nothing about one that already exists.

One document pack, three envelopes

Copy everything once. Your child’s birth certificate and Social Security card, your government ID, and (for Experian only) a recent bank statement or utility bill showing your address. Add guardianship or court paperwork if you are not named on the birth certificate. One session at the copier covers all three.

Never post an original. TransUnion asks specifically that you “only send copies of documents, not original documents.” Follow that at all three.

Get each bureau’s current form and address from the bureau. Equifax publishes a Minor Freeze Request Form to fill in and enclose; Experian and TransUnion set out what to write and where to send it. Use their pages rather than an address copied from an article, including this one. Forms and PO boxes change, and TransUnion’s protected-consumer address is not the same as its adult freeze address.

Post all three separately. A freeze at one bureau has no effect at the others.

Write down what you sent and when. If nothing comes back inside the stated window (three business days at Equifax, ten to fifteen days at Experian, unstated at TransUnion), you will want that note when you phone.

Then file the confirmations where you will find them in a decade. This is the step everyone skips, and it matters more than it sounds: you are storing paperwork your child will need as an adult, probably in a hurry, probably while applying for something. A password manager’s secure-notes area is the right home for it, and How to Set Up a Family Password Manager covers setting one up for the household.

What happens as your child gets older

The bureaus differ here, and only TransUnion addresses 18 at all.

At 16, the FTC says minors “may request and remove a security freeze themselves.” Equifax accepts a 16- or 17-year-old’s own request by phone or post; TransUnion lets a minor request removal from 16. Experian’s minor page does not address either age.

At 18, TransUnion says a freeze that has not been removed simply remains in place as a protected consumer freeze. Equifax and Experian say nothing, so ask them when the time comes.

Practically, the answer is the same everywhere: when your child is ready to apply for credit, they lift it, exactly as an adult would. Worth mentioning to them in advance: a frozen file means a declined first application, and a car dealership is a bad place to discover that.

What this does not cover

A freeze stops new credit being opened. It does not stop every misuse of a child’s Social Security number, because plenty of misuse never touches a credit file: a number can be used for employment or to file a tax return, and neither shows up in the place a freeze protects.

That is not a reason to skip it. It is the strongest free step a parent can take, and it closes the most common door. It just is not the only door.

Questions parents ask

Can I really not do this online? Not for a young child, at any of the three. The documentation requirement is why: TransUnion says so explicitly. Set aside the evening you would have spent clicking.

Why does Experian want my bank statement? It is the only bureau that asks for proof of your address. A bank statement, utility bill or insurance statement is acceptable. Leave it out and the request may come back.

Will a freeze hurt my child’s credit later? No. It creates no negative record; it blocks access until it is lifted. Your child lifts it when they need it.

My child is 16. Do I do this or do they? They can, and at Equifax and TransUnion they can also remove it. The rules are not identical across the three, so check each rather than assuming.

Related Articles

Fraud Alert vs Credit Freeze: Which One Should You Use?

Best Identity-Theft Protection for Families

Credit Monitoring vs Identity Theft Protection Explained

Related Resources

Equifax Minor Freeze Request Form and minor-freeze FAQ

Equifax’s own answers for a minor freeze, with the request form to enclose.

Experian Child Identity Theft Services page

Experian’s minor request page, listing the documents and where to post them.

TransUnion protected consumer freeze FAQ

TransUnion’s requirements and its separate protected-consumer address.

FTC: How to Protect Your Child From Identity Theft

Federal guidance on checking for a file and freezing a child’s credit.