Your Privacy Rights
How to Stop Prescreened Credit Card Offers
The short version
Credit bureaus are allowed to sell your name and address to lenders who want to mail you "pre-approved" offers. Federal law also gives you a free switch to turn that off. Go to optoutprescreen.com or call 1-888-5-OPT-OUT (1-888-567-8688), the site and line the major credit bureaus run jointly. Doing it online or by phone opts you out for five years; a permanent opt-out means also signing and mailing back a form. Requests are processed within five days, but offers can keep arriving for weeks. It will not stop mail from companies you already do business with, and it does nothing about data brokers.
What a prescreened credit offer actually is
A prescreened offer is a credit card or insurance solicitation you receive because a lender bought a list that had your name on it. You never applied. The lender set criteria, a credit bureau found people whose files matched, and your mailbox got the result.
The Federal Trade Commission describes the mechanics plainly: a creditor or insurer decides what it takes to qualify for its product, then asks a credit bureau such as Equifax, Experian, TransUnion, or Innovis for a list of people in its database whose credit reports meet those requirements. Sometimes the company supplies its own list of prospects and asks the bureau which of them qualify.
One thing worth knowing before you panic about the "inquiries" this creates: the FTC states that prescreening does not hurt your credit score. The inquiries appear on your report so you can see which companies got your information, but they are not scored against you.
Why the credit bureaus are allowed to sell your name
This is legal because the Fair Credit Reporting Act specifically permits it. A credit bureau may release your file for a "firm offer of credit or insurance" that you did not initiate, without asking you first, as long as it follows the opt-out rules and you have not already opted out.
The relevant provision is 15 U.S.C. 1681b(c)(1)(B). Congress paired that permission with a consumer right in the same statute, 1681b(e): you may elect to have your name and address excluded from any list a consumer reporting agency provides for credit or insurance transactions you did not initiate.
The offers themselves are required to tell you this. Under the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's Regulation V, section 1022.54, every written prescreened solicitation must carry a short notice on the front of the main promotional document plus a longer "PRESCREEN & OPT-OUT NOTICE" with a toll-free number. Most people have thrown away that fine print for years without reading it.
The fraud problem with pre-approved mail
A stack of pre-approved offers sitting in an unlocked mailbox is a genuine identity-theft opportunity, not a hypothetical one. Each envelope pairs your full name and address with an invitation from a lender, which is exactly the raw material someone needs to try opening an account as you.
The FTC's own guidance treats mail as an attack surface. It advises taking mail with personal information out of the mailbox as soon as possible, and shredding financial documents before throwing them out rather than dropping them in the recycling intact. Its identity-theft page lists "get new credit cards in your name" among the first things a thief does with stolen name and address details.
Congress made the same connection. As you will see below, the strongest fraud protection in the Fair Credit Reporting Act automatically pulls victims off these marketing lists, because lawmakers understood the mail itself was part of the risk.
The official opt-out: one site, one number, free
There is exactly one official place to do this, and it costs nothing. Per the FTC, you go to optoutprescreen.com or call 1-888-5-OPT-OUT (1-888-567-8688). The FTC states that the major credit bureaus operate that phone number and website jointly.
One request covers all of them. The CFPB describes the service as removing your name from the lists supplied to credit card companies and insurers by the three nationwide credit reporting companies - Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion - plus Innovis.
You will be asked for your name, address, Social Security number, and date of birth. That feels wrong for a privacy action, and it is fair to hesitate. The reason is matching: without the identifiers, the bureaus cannot be sure which file to suppress. The FTC states the information you give is confidential and may be used only to process your opt-out request.
Because the real service is free, treat any page that charges a fee to stop pre-approved offers as a lookalike. Type the address yourself rather than following a link from an email, or start from the FTC's prescreened offers page and use its link.
Five years or permanent: the difference that matters
Almost everyone who opts out gets the five-year version, because it is the one you can finish in a single sitting. The permanent version exists, it is also free, and it requires one extra step that most people never take: putting a signed piece of paper back in the mail.
The FTC lays out both routes. To opt out for five years, use the website or the phone number and you are done. To opt out permanently, start the same way, then sign and return the Permanent Opt-Out Election form, which you get online.
| Five-year opt-out | Permanent opt-out | |
|---|---|---|
| How you file it | Website or phone, done in one sitting | Start online or by phone, then mail a signed form |
| How long it lasts | 5 years | Indefinitely, until you opt back in |
| Cost | Free | Free |
| Statutory basis | Election via the notification system | Signed notice of election form |
Sources: FTC, "What To Know About Prescreened Offers for Credit and Insurance"; Fair Credit Reporting Act, 15 U.S.C. 1681b(e).
The statute is the reason for the split. Under 1681b(e), an election made through the bureaus' notification system runs for five years, while a signed written election runs indefinitely. If you would rather not diary a renewal for 2031, do the paper step now.
How long it takes to work
Expect a gap between filing and quiet. The FTC says requests to opt out are processed within five days, but it may take several weeks before you stop getting prescreened offers, because some companies got your information before the site processed your request. The CFPB gives the same window as five business days.
In practice, that means direct-mail campaigns already printed and in a lender's queue will still arrive. Do not conclude the opt-out failed after ten days. If pre-approved offers are still landing a couple of months later, check whether they are prescreened at all: look for that "PRESCREEN & OPT-OUT NOTICE" block. If it is missing, the mailing was built from a list the bureaus never supplied, and this opt-out was never going to catch it.
What the opt-out does not stop
This is the part that causes the most disappointment, so be clear about the boundary. Calling the opt-out line or using the site stops only prescreened offers based on lists from the major credit bureaus. Anything assembled from another source keeps flowing.
The FTC names the exclusions directly: offers built on lists from other sources, mail from local merchants, religious groups, charities, professional and alumni associations, and companies you already do business with. Anything addressed to "occupant" or "resident" is also untouched. To stop mail from those sources you have to contact each one directly.
It also does nothing about the data-broker industry. People-search sites are governed by a different set of rules and their own opt-out forms, which is a separate afternoon of work covered in our guide to removing yourself from data brokers and our library of free opt-out guides, including Whitepages. It is also separate from the state-law "do not sell" rights explained in what "Do Not Sell My Personal Info" actually does.
If you have been an identity theft victim, you get more
Fraud victims have a stronger version of this right, and it comes bundled with a protection worth more than the mail relief. It is free, and it is the same mechanism people use to make lenders verify their identity before opening new accounts.
Per the FTC, an extended fraud alert requires the credit bureaus to take you off their marketing lists for unsolicited credit and insurance offers for five years, unless you ask them not to. The alert itself lasts seven years. To place one you need a completed FTC identity theft report at IdentityTheft.gov or a police report, and you only have to contact one of the three bureaus, which must tell the other two.
Active-duty servicemembers get a parallel version: an active duty alert lasts one year and takes you off those marketing lists for two years. Both are free, as is a credit freeze, which the FTC describes as the stronger tool for stopping new accounts entirely. If you are working through a breach, our post-breach checklist covers where these fit in the sequence.
The two opt-outs that pair with it
The prescreen opt-out handles one narrow channel. Two other national programs cover the rest of the marketing mail and the sales calls, and doing all three in one sitting is the efficient move. Only one of the three costs money.
DMAchoice, run by the Association of National Advertisers, suppresses promotional mail from companies you have no business relationship with. Its own site lists an $8 fee for a 10-year online registration, or $9 by mail, and says it expects the service to cut prospect promotional mail by about 80 percent. It does not apply to companies you bought from, subscribed to, or donated to in the past two years, to unaddressed mail, to small local retailers, or to political organizations.
The National Do Not Call Registry is the phone equivalent: free, at DoNotCall.gov or 1-888-382-1222 (TTY 1-866-290-4236), and the FTC confirms registrations never expire. It stops sales calls from legitimate companies that follow the law; it does not block scam calls, which need call-blocking tools instead.
| Program | Covers | Cost | Lasts | Time to take effect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| optoutprescreen.com | Prescreened credit and insurance offers from credit-bureau lists | Free | 5 years, or permanent with a signed form | Processed in 5 days; mail can continue for weeks |
| DMAchoice.org | Promotional mail from companies you have no relationship with | $8 online, $9 by mail | 10 years | Not stated by the operator |
| DoNotCall.gov | Sales calls from law-abiding telemarketers | Free | Never expires | Up to 31 days |
Sources: FTC consumer guidance on prescreened offers and the National Do Not Call Registry FAQs; DMAchoice consumer choice tools page, fees verified July 25, 2026.
A 20-minute plan
You can clear all three programs in one sitting, and the only decision that needs any thought is whether you want the permanent version of the credit opt-out. Here is the order that wastes the least time.
- Opt out at optoutprescreen.com or 1-888-567-8688, and choose the permanent route if you are not shopping for credit.
- If you chose permanent, print, sign, and mail the Permanent Opt-Out Election form the same day, or it will not stick.
- Register your mobile and landline numbers at DoNotCall.gov.
- Decide whether DMAchoice's fee is worth it for the remaining catalogs and prospect mail.
- Shred, do not just bin, any pre-approved offers that arrive during the wait.
- If a child's information has been misused, the FTC explains how to submit a written opt-out request for a minor to each bureau, with proof of identity.
If something goes wrong - the opt-out is ignored, or you cannot get a request processed - the Fair Credit Reporting Act is enforced by the FTC and the CFPB, and our guide on where to file a privacy complaint covers which agency actually handles what.
See what else is exposed
The credit-bureau opt-out is one channel. Run a free exposure scan to see which data brokers likely list your name and address, plus any breaches tied to your email - no account, nothing stored.
Frequently asked questions
Is the prescreened opt-out really free?
Yes. Neither the website nor the toll-free line charges anything, and the five-year and permanent options both cost nothing. If a site asks for a payment to stop pre-approved credit offers, you are not on the official service. The FTC points consumers to optoutprescreen.com and 1-888-567-8688 for both options.
Why does the opt-out ask for my Social Security number?
The bureaus use it to match you to the right credit file so they suppress the correct person. The FTC states that when you call or visit optoutprescreen.com they ask for your name, address, Social Security number, and date of birth, and that the information you give is confidential and may be used only to process your opt-out request.
What is the difference between the five-year and permanent opt-out?
The five-year opt-out is finished the moment you submit it online or by phone. The permanent one starts the same way, but you also have to print, sign, and mail back the Permanent Opt-Out Election form you get online. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, an election made through the notification system runs five years, while a signed written election runs indefinitely.
How long before the prescreened offers actually stop?
The FTC says requests to opt out are processed within five days, but it may take several weeks before you stop getting prescreened offers, because some companies got your information before the site processed your request. Mail already in a lender's production queue still lands in your box.
Does opting out of prescreened offers hurt my credit score?
No. The opt-out controls whether the bureaus put you on marketing lists, and the FTC states that prescreening itself does not hurt your credit score. Prescreening inquiries do appear on your credit report to show which companies got your information, but the FTC says those inquiries will not hurt your credit.
Will the opt-out stop all my junk mail?
No. It only stops offers based on lists from the major credit bureaus. The FTC says you may keep getting offers built from other sources, plus mail from local merchants, religious groups, charities, professional and alumni associations, companies you already do business with, and anything addressed to occupant or resident.
Can I opt back in later if I want credit offers?
Yes. The FTC says to use the same website, optoutprescreen.com, or the same toll-free number, 1-888-567-8688, to opt back in. That matters if you are about to shop for a mortgage or insurance, since some card and insurance products are only offered through prescreened mailings.
Does this remove me from data brokers and people-search sites?
No. The prescreen opt-out only governs marketing lists sold by credit bureaus under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. People-search sites such as Spokeo and Whitepages are a separate industry with their own free opt-out forms, and you have to file those yourself or use a removal service.
Sources: Federal Trade Commission, "What To Know About Prescreened Offers for Credit and Insurance" and "Credit Freezes and Fraud Alerts" and "National Do Not Call Registry FAQs"; Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, "Can I make issuers stop sending me credit card offers in the mail?" and Regulation V section 1022.54; Fair Credit Reporting Act, 15 U.S.C. 1681b(c) and 1681b(e); DMAchoice consumer choice tools page (fees checked July 25, 2026).