Active Duty Alerts

For Members of the Military

When you’re called to active duty or deployed away from your normal duty station, you can place an active duty alert on your credit report to reduce the risk that you’ll become a victim of identity theft.

When a business sees an active duty alert on your credit report, it must verify your identity before issuing credit. The law allows you to designate a personal representative (a spouse, or another trusted person) who can act on your behalf to verify your identity or remove your active duty alert if needed.

Your active duty alert will remain in place for one year, although you can request to have it removed sooner. When the year is up, you can place another active duty alert on your credit report if your deployment is continuing. Placing an active duty alert also reduces the number of pre-approved credit card and insurance offers you receive for two years.

To place an active duty alert, contact at least one of the three credit bureaus. Update your contact information if it changes before your alert expires.

How to Request an Active Duty Alert

• Equifax
  Online Form for Active Duty Alert
  1-800-525-6285
• Experian
  Online Form for Active Duty Alert
  (No telephone number for Active Duty Alerts.)
• TransUnion
  (No Online Form)
  1-800-680-7289 (After entering your zip code select option 1 then select option 3.)

Note: The links above will take you to websites for the credit bureaus. These sites are separate from www.ncdoj.gov.

When you contact a credit bureau be prepared to provide detailed information about yourself, including:

• Your Full Name
• Your Address
• Your Date of Birth
• Your Social Security Number
• Your Military ID Number

The credit bureaus already have some of this information in their files. You will be providing it to verify your identity.