CHECKDISPUTE | FREE PRACTICE CHECKLIST
When to Follow Up on a Credit-Report Dispute: The Timeline

1. Record day 0: your best evidence of the agency's receipt — delivery scan or return receipt date.
2. Mark day 5 business: the window for the agency to notify the furnisher.
3. Mark day 30 from receipt as the base completion date.
4. Check for an extension: did you send relevant information during the 30 days? Add up to 15 — and note it does not apply if the item was already found inaccurate or unverifiable.
5. Check the other route: did this dispute follow a free annual report? The period is 45 days instead.
6. Mark completion + 5 business days for written results.
7. If a frivolous determination arrives, note it was due within 5 business days of the decision, with reasons.
8. If you request the procedure description, mark 15 days from your request.
9. Log every actual date next to its statutory target as documents arrive.

Practice: https://checkdispute.com/learn/practice/article-39/
Full guide: https://checkdispute-guides.blogspot.com/2026/09/when-to-follow-up-on-credit-report.html
Sources checked: 2026-09-20

General education, not personalized legal advice. No credit or dispute outcome is promised. Disputing errors directly is free.