What are you looking to do?
No SSN required. No credit pull. Takes about 2 minutes.
Military credit protections are free, they are federal law, and most service members use the wrong one at the wrong time. An active duty alert, a credit freeze, free credit monitoring, and free weekly credit reports each do a different job. One of them will stop a mortgage application cold if you forget it is on. This page explains all four the way the FTC and the CFPB describe them, and which one we want in place before you apply.
Why This Matters More for You Than for a Civilian
Two reasons. First, you are gone for months at a time, and identity thieves know it. Second, your credit record is tied to your security clearance. A fraud account you never saw can become a clearance problem before it becomes a money problem. The tools below exist because Congress wrote them for exactly this.
The Four Tools, Side by Side
| Tool | What it does | How long | Effect on a mortgage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Active duty alert | Tells lenders to verify it is really you before opening credit. Pulls you off prescreened offers for 2 years. | 1 year, renewable for the deployment | Lender must verify identity. Slows nothing if you answer the phone. |
| Credit freeze | Nobody can open a new account in your name. Including you. | Until you lift it | Blocks the credit pull. Must be lifted at all three bureaus first. |
| Free credit monitoring | Each bureau alerts you to material changes in your file. | While you qualify | None. Keep it on. |
| Free weekly reports | Full report from each bureau, every week, at AnnualCreditReport.com. | Permanent | None. Pull them before you apply. |
Active Duty Alert
This is the one built for deployment. You place it with one bureau, and that bureau has to tell the other two. It lasts one year. When the year is up, you can renew it for as long as you are deployed. While it is on, a lender has to take steps to confirm it is you before opening credit in your name. It also pulls you off prescreened credit and insurance offers for two years, which cuts down on mail piling up while you are gone.
It does not block credit. It slows it down for anyone who is not you. For a home loan, that means we may call you to verify before we pull. If your spouse is running the purchase by power of attorney, tell us the alert is on so we plan the contact window.
Credit Freeze
A freeze is the strongest tool. While it is on, nobody can open a new account in your name. It is free to place and free to lift, and it does not touch your score. The catch is that it blocks everyone, including a lender you asked to pull your credit.
The mistake we see every month
Buyer froze all three bureaus before a deployment two years ago. Forgot. Applies for a VA loan on PCS orders with a closing date already set. The pull comes back frozen at one bureau. A mortgage pull needs all three. By law, the bureau must lift a freeze within one hour when you ask online or by phone. By mail it can take up to three business days. If the freeze was placed with a PIN you no longer have, it takes longer. Lift all three before you apply, and put the freezes back on after closing.
A freeze is the right tool between purchases. Not during one.
Free Credit Monitoring You Already Earned
Since 2019, each of the three bureaus must give free electronic credit monitoring to active duty members stationed away from their usual duty station and to National Guard members. It is federal law from 2018. The service has to alert you to material changes in your file. You sign up at each bureau and verify you qualify.
The CFPB found in 2023 that bureaus were steering service members into paid monitoring without telling them about the free version. If you are asked for a card number, you are on the wrong page. Look for the military or active duty monitoring enrollment, not the retail product.
Free Weekly Credit Reports
The old rule was one free report a year from each bureau. That changed. As of October 2023, you can pull a full report from each bureau every week at AnnualCreditReport.com, permanently. Reports, not scores. The report is what a lender reads, so it is the one that matters.
Pull all three 60 days before you apply
Look for accounts you do not recognize, a late payment you know you made on time, an old collection that should have dropped off, and a wrong address. Dispute anything wrong directly with the bureau. Disputes take up to 30 days to resolve, which is why 60 days is the number.
On a VA loan there is no minimum score, so this is not about chasing points. It is about making sure a real underwriter reads a clean file and not a fraud account from a deployment three years ago.
The Order That Works
Deploying, not buying
Freeze all three. Turn on free monitoring. Place an active duty alert as a backstop. Write the PINs down somewhere your spouse can find them.
Buying in the next 90 days
Pull weekly reports and fix errors. Lift all three freezes. Leave the active duty alert on. Tell us it is there. Re-freeze after closing.
Deployed and buying by POA
Lift the freezes before you leave, or give your spouse the PINs. Keep the alert on. Expect one verification call from us.
Buying in the next 90 days?
Start the pre-approval and we tell you exactly what to lift and when.
Military Credit Protections: Common Questions
What is an active duty alert on a credit report?
A free alert for deployed service members. Lenders must verify your identity before opening credit in your name. It lasts one year, can be renewed for the length of the deployment, and removes you from prescreened offers for two years.
Active duty alert or credit freeze: which is better?
A freeze is stronger. It blocks all new accounts. An alert only requires identity checks. Use a freeze when you are not planning to borrow. Use the alert when you might apply for credit, like a mortgage, while deployed.
Do I have to lift a credit freeze to apply for a mortgage?
Yes, at all three bureaus. A mortgage credit pull uses all three. By law, a lift requested online or by phone happens within one hour. By mail, up to three business days. Re-freeze after closing.
Do service members get free credit monitoring?
Yes. Under a 2018 federal law, each of the three bureaus must provide free electronic credit monitoring to active duty members stationed away from their usual duty station and to National Guard members. Enroll at each bureau and verify eligibility.
How often can I get a free credit report?
Every week, from each of the three bureaus, at AnnualCreditReport.com. The weekly access became permanent in October 2023.
Does a credit freeze hurt my credit score?
No. Placing or lifting a freeze is free and has no effect on your score.
Related Resources
VA Loan Power of Attorney
Closing by POA while deployed.
SCRA Mortgage Protections
The 6% cap and the foreclosure rule.
VA Loan With Late Payments
What VA actually says about credit history.
VA Loan at 541
No minimum score. A real file.
Consumer protections described here are as published by the Federal Trade Commission and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Enrollment steps are set by each credit bureau and can change.
Written by J.D. Peck, Area Manager and Mortgage Loan Originator, NMLS #314883, The JD.Mortgage Team at Paramount Residential Mortgage Group, Inc. (NMLS #75243). Lending in 49 states. New York excluded. Last updated September 20, 2026.