How to Monitor Your Spouse's Credit Score

You already know that monitoring your credit score is an important way to shield yourself from identity theft. However, given the fast pace of everyday life, it can be hard to remember to check your credit regularly.

If you want to set your family up for solid credit in the future, it can help to look out for one another. In this article, we’ll take a look at how to monitor spouse credit scores.

How to monitor spouse credit scores

First and foremost, it’s important to note that you can’t legally monitor your spouse’s credit score without their permission.

Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), a person or business may only view a consumer’s credit report if they have a valid reason for doing so. Common reasons include:

• Deciding whether to offer credit
• Setting insurance premiums
• Reviewing rental applications
• Reviewing employment applications

Simply being married to someone isn’t a valid reason to check their credit report.

For many couples, sharing credit reports can be a great way to establish financial goals together. Just make sure you have your spouse’s permission to view their report. If you use their information to get a credit report without their knowledge or consent, your actions could be considered a form of identity theft.

Is your credit score connected to your spouse’s credit score?

Many people believe that when they get married, they share a credit file with their spouse. This is incorrect. Even when you’re married, you’ll each have a separate file. If you have any joint accounts, they’ll appear on both of your credit reports. 

While joint credit card accounts are far less common than they once were, spouses often share mortgages or car loans. If you miss a payment on a joint loan, both of your credit scores will be negatively impacted.

What to do if you find errors in your spouse’s credit report

You and your spouse should regularly review your credit reports for any unusual activity and take prompt action if you notice any errors or signs of fraud. If identity thieves have used your information to create fraudulent accounts, they’ll probably continue to do so until they’re stopped.

You should notify the following parties after spotting an error on your spouse’s credit report:

• The company that reported the information to the credit bureaus
• All three credit bureaus 

To increase your likelihood of getting the error removed, you should also file a dispute with the three credit bureaus, Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion.

All three bureaus now allow consumers to file disputes online. Their contact forms may differ slightly, but they usually ask for the following information:

• The specific item on the report that you’re disputing
• Your reason for disputing the item
• Copies of any documents that support your case
• A copy of your credit report with the error circled

Credit bureaus must investigate disputes promptly. They usually have 30 days to do so.

If you have reason to believe that the errors on your spouse’s credit report (or your own) are the result of identity theft, it’s a good idea to also take the following steps:

• File a report with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) at IdentityTheft.gov
• Place a temporary freeze on your credit

When you freeze your credit, you prevent any new credit accounts from being opened in your name. If someone has already opened one fraudulent account and gotten away with it, they might try to open another. Freezing your credit will likely cause would-be identity thieves to give up and move on to the next target.

Conclusion

When you know how to monitor spouse credit scores as well as your own, you’ll be better equipped to reach your mutual financial goals. Kikoff can help. It may have started as a credit-builder app, but it also makes tracking your credit score refreshingly simple.

When you create an account, you’ll gain access to credit monitoring across all three credit bureaus. You can check your score anytime, and you’ll also receive alerts if there are any significant changes.

Are you and your spouse on a journey to improve your credit? If so, get started with Kikoff today.