Checking your credit reports after completion: all three agencies, free
Your IVA is done, and before you apply for anything new there is one job worth an hour of your time: reading your own credit reports. The UK has three credit reference agencies, they hold three separate versions of your file, and after an IVA it is common for at least one of them to be showing something out of date. This guide shows you how to check all three for free, what to look for line by line, and how to get mistakes put right.
Free to use, no obligation. A soft search won't affect your credit score.
Written by the AfterMy team · Reviewed by Ben Miller, Customer Success Manager
Last reviewed: July 2026
Checking your credit reports after completion: all three agencies, free
Your IVA is done, and before you apply for anything new there is one job worth an hour of your time: reading your own credit reports. The UK has three credit reference agencies, they hold three separate versions of your file, and after an IVA it is common for at least one of them to be showing something out of date. This guide shows you how to check all three for free, what to look for line by line, and how to get mistakes put right.
Free to use, no obligation. A soft search won't affect your credit score.
Written by the AfterMy team · Reviewed by Ben Miller, Customer Success Manager
Last reviewed: July 2026
Quick answer
You can check your credit reports with all three UK credit reference agencies, Experian, Equifax and TransUnion, for free. After your IVA completes, check that the IVA is marked as completed with the right dates, that every debt included in it shows a zero balance, and that no default is dated after the day your IVA started. Checking your own report is a soft check that only you can see, so it does not affect your credit score. If something is wrong, your completion certificate is the evidence that puts it right.
On this page
- Why checking your reports is the first job after an IVA
- Who are the three credit reference agencies?
- How to check all three credit reports for free
- What to look for on your reports after an IVA
- How to fix mistakes on your credit reports
- How often should you check your reports?
- How AfterMy fits in
- Frequently asked questions
Why checking your reports is the first job after an IVA
Lenders do not see your paperwork, your certificate or your story. They see your credit reports, and they make decisions on what those reports say. After an IVA completes, it is surprisingly common for a report to be out of date: a debt still showing a balance, a default dated after the IVA began, or the IVA itself not yet marked as completed. Left alone, errors like these can make your file read as if you are still insolvent, and that can mean avoidable declines just as you are starting to rebuild. An hour of checking now can save months of knock-backs later.
Key point
Lenders see your reports, not your paperwork. Make sure all three reports tell the finished story.
Who are the three credit reference agencies?
The UK has three credit reference agencies: Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. Each one holds its own version of your credit file, built from what lenders report to it, and lenders do not all report to, or check, the same agencies. That means your three reports can genuinely differ, and a mistake can sit on one report while the other two are clean. This is why checking one agency is not enough. After an IVA, the only way to know what any given lender might see is to read all three.
How to check all three credit reports for free
You never need to pay to see your own credit file. Every agency must give you a free copy of your statutory credit report, which you can request through its website. For ongoing checking, free routes exist for all three at the time of writing: Experian offers a free account showing your Experian report, ClearScore shows your Equifax report for free, and Credit Karma shows your TransUnion report for free. Each agency also sells paid subscriptions with extra features, but you do not need one simply to read and check your file. Viewing your own report is recorded as a soft check that only you can see: it is not an application for credit and it does not affect your score.
Key point
Free routes exist for all three agencies. Paid subscriptions are optional extras, not the price of seeing your own file.
What to look for on your reports after an IVA
Work through each report with your IVA paperwork beside you. First, the IVA entry itself: it should be marked as completed, with the correct start date and completion date. Second, every debt that was included in your IVA: each one should show a zero balance and a settled or partially settled status, not an active balance being chased. Third, default dates: a default on a debt that went into your IVA should not be dated after the day your IVA started, because a later date keeps that marker on your file for longer than it should be there. Finally, the basics: your name, addresses and electoral roll details should be accurate and consistent across all three reports.
How to fix mistakes on your credit reports
If you find an error, you can dispute it with the credit reference agency, with the lender that reported it, or both. Each agency has a free online dispute process, and they typically respond within about 28 days. Your IVA completion certificate is the key piece of evidence, so have a copy ready to send: it proves the arrangement finished and when. While a dispute is being investigated you can also ask the agency to add a notice of correction, a short statement in your own words that lenders see alongside the entry. Fix the same error at each agency where it appears, because correcting one report does not automatically correct the other two.
Key point
Your completion certificate is your proof. Keep it safe and send copies, never the original.
How often should you check your reports?
Check all three shortly after your completion certificate arrives, then again a month or two later to confirm any corrections have gone through. After that, a check every few months is a good rhythm while you rebuild, because you will want to see your new positive history being reported properly. The IVA marker itself leaves your file six years from the date the arrangement started, or on your completion date if the IVA ran longer than that, and it is worth checking all three reports again once that date passes to confirm the marker has gone from each one.
How AfterMy fits in
AfterMy is a credit broker, not a lender. We work with a panel of lenders and partners rather than the whole market, and we may earn a commission when we introduce you to one of them. Checking your reports is something you can do yourself for free, and we will always say so. Where we help is with what comes next: your Comeback Plan captures your arrangement type, your key dates and your goals, so the options we point you at fit where your file actually is, from the day you complete through to the day the marker leaves your reports.
Frequently asked questions
Does checking my own credit report lower my score?
Is it really free to check all three agencies?
My IVA has finished but it still shows on my report. Is that a mistake?
A debt that was in my IVA still shows a balance. What should I do?
Which credit reference agency do lenders actually use?
Reports checked? Now plan the rebuild.
Your Comeback Plan maps your dates and your goals, then shows you options that fit a file like yours, staged from today through to the day your marker drops off. No pressure, no jargon.