Skip nav to main content.
Mobile App
Find it for free on the App Store.
Get The App
Mobile App
Find it for free on the App Store.
Get The App
Credit Union of Georgia logo Credit Union of Georgia - Homepage

Georgia’s Credit Freeze Law Takes Effect August 1, 2008

On May 13, 2008, Governor Sonny Perdue signed into law a credit freeze bill that will provide Georgia consumers with the ability to place a freeze on their credit file for only $3 per credit-reporting agency, a total of $9 to report to all three major credit-reporting agencies: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. The freeze will be free for senior citizens 65 and older and for victims of identity theft. Each temporary lift, commonly called a “thaw”, to allow access to the consumer’s credit file would also cost $3 and access would be available electronically within 15 minutes of request submission, keeping on-the-spot credit an option for shoppers. The legislation will become effective August 1, 2008.

With the signing of this bill, Georgians have gained a new weapon in the fight against identity theft. When a freeze is in place, credit reporting agencies may not release the consumer’s credit file unless the consumer first removes the freeze by providing their password.* Most lenders and creditors rely on access to a consumer’s credit file to determine their credit worthiness. By denying such access, a credit freeze makes it very difficult for a would be identity thief to open an account in a victim’s name.

To place a credit freeze on your file, consumers must contact the credit reporting agencies at the addresses below:

Experian Security Freeze
P.O. Box 9554
Allen, TX 75013
www.experian.com/freeze

Equifax Security Freeze
P.O. Box 105788
Atlanta, GA 30348

TransUnion Security Freeze
P.O. Box 6790
Fullerton, CA 92834-6790

Requests should include the following identifying information:

  • Full Name (and former name if applicable)
  • Current Address and former address if it changed in the last 5 years
  • Social Security Number
  • Date of Birth
  • Photocopy of a Driver’s License, State ID card, or other Government-Issued Identification
  • Proof of current residence, such as a copy of a phone or utility bill
  • If you are a victim of identity theft, include a copy of either the police report; investigative report, or complaint to a law enforcement agency concerning identity theft
  • If you are not a victim of identity theft, include payment by check, money order or credit card (Visa, MasterCard, American Express, or Discover cards only.) Do not send cash in the mail.

*The law does give some companies access to reports despite a freeze such as insurance companies, existing creditors, and law enforcement agencies.