To report a death to the credit bureaus, you notify all three of them, Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion, in writing and ask each one to place a deceased flag on the person's credit file. Notifying one bureau does not notify the other two, so a partial notice leaves the file open. Once all three files are flagged as deceased, the credit report is locked and no new accounts can be opened in the person's name.

This is one of the first things to do after a death, and it is also one of the easiest to skip because it feels less urgent than the funeral or the bank. It is not. A deceased person's credit file is a quiet target, and the window when it still reads "alive and in good standing" is exactly when fraud happens. This guide walks through who to contact, what you need, and a free way to send all three notices at once.

Why you have to notify the credit bureaus after a death

Criminals use obituaries and leaked data to open credit cards, loans, and accounts in the names of people who have recently died. The practice has a name: "ghosting." It works because the deceased cannot check their own credit, and the family usually does not think to look for months.

There is also a structural gap that makes this worse. After a 2011 policy change, the Social Security Administration's Death Master File stopped receiving roughly a million death records a year that it used to collect. Lenders and bureaus lean on that file to know someone has died. When a death is missing from it, the credit file keeps reading "alive and in good standing" during the most vulnerable weeks. Reporting the death directly to the bureaus closes that gap yourself instead of waiting for a system that may never catch up.

Flagging the file does two things at once:

• It stops new accounts from being opened, which is how ghosting fraud starts.
• It gives you a paper trail. If a lender later comes after the estate for a fraudulent debt, a dated death notice on file is your proof.

Which credit bureaus to contact

There are three, and you have to reach each one separately:

• Equifax: P.O. Box 105139, Atlanta, GA 30348-5139
• Experian: P.O. Box 4500, Allen, TX 75013
• TransUnion: P.O. Box 2000, Chester, PA 19016

The bureaus do not share death notices with each other. A file flagged at Equifax stays wide open at Experian and TransUnion until you notify them too. This is the single most common mistake families make, so treat it as three tasks, not one.

What information you need

Each bureau wants enough detail to match the notice to the right file and confirm it is legitimate. Have this ready:

• The deceased person's full legal name and last known address
• Their Social Security number
• Their date of death
• A copy of the death certificate
• Your name, your relationship to the person, and a statement that you are authorized to act on their behalf (as a surviving spouse, adult child, executor, or sibling)

A certified death certificate is the key document here. If you have not ordered copies yet, request several at once, because the bank, the life insurer, and the DMV will each want one too. Our guide on how to order death certificates covers how many you should get.

How to report a death to each bureau, step by step

If you want to send the notices yourself, the process for each bureau looks the same:

1. Write a short letter stating the person has died, giving their name, address, Social Security number, and date of death.
2. Ask the bureau to place a deceased indicator on the file and to stop issuing credit in the person's name.
3. Enclose a copy of the death certificate and proof that you are authorized to act.
4. Mail it to the bureau's address above. Send it so you have confirmation it arrived, and keep a copy of everything.

Then repeat it twice more. Most families do this by hand, three envelopes, three trips to the mailbox, at a moment when they are already stretched thin.

The free way: Sunset's credit bureau notification tool

Sunset built a free tool that does all three at once. You fill out one short form with the deceased's name, address, Social Security number, and date of death, upload a copy of the death certificate, and confirm you are authorized to act. Sunset then generates three formal letters, each formatted for Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion, mails them to the official address for each bureau, and emails you confirmation within a few business days.

It is genuinely free. There is no Sunset account required, no subscription, and nothing is deducted from the estate. Any surviving spouse, adult child, executor, or sibling can use it. You can report a death to the credit bureaus here.

That is the whole point of it: one form closes the "alive and in good standing" gap on all three files, and the most common path for ghosting fraud closes with it.

What happens after the file is flagged

Once a bureau records the deceased indicator, the credit report is locked. No new accounts can be opened, and any request for new credit in that name should be declined. If you later pull the person's credit report as part of settling the estate, the flag will show there.

Flagging the credit file is one piece of protecting a deceased person's identity, not the whole job. It is worth pairing with a few related steps: freezing or closing the person's most active accounts, sending the death certificate to any lender the estate owes money to, and watching the mail for signs of accounts you did not know about. Sunset's guides on protecting a deceased loved one's identity from fraud and the three accounts to freeze first cover those.

How Sunset helps with the rest of the estate

Reporting the death is often the first thing families do with Sunset, but it is rarely the last. Sunset is free for families and handles the parts of estate settlement that are easy to underestimate:

• Finding the accounts. Sunset searches for the bank, brokerage, retirement, and insurance accounts a person left behind, so nothing is missed and no fraudulent account slips by unnoticed.
• The probate paperwork. Court forms are generated and filled for the right county, with filing instructions, so you are not guessing at what your state requires.
• A place to hold the money. Sunset opens an FDIC-insured estate account to collect the estate's funds in one place while you settle it.
• Moving assets to the heirs. Sunset handles the transfers so the right people receive what they are owed.

More than 10,000 families have used Sunset to settle an estate. Reporting a death to the credit bureaus is a good place to start, and it costs nothing.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to notify all three credit bureaus separately?

Yes. Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion do not pass death notices to each other. If you only contact one, the person's file stays open at the other two. Sunset's free tool sends all three from a single form.

Is reporting a death to the credit bureaus free?

Yes. You can mail the notices yourself for the cost of postage, or use Sunset's tool, which is free with no account, no subscription, and no charge to the estate.

What do I need to report a death to the credit bureaus?

The deceased person's full name, address, Social Security number, and date of death, a copy of the death certificate, and confirmation that you are authorized to act on their behalf as a spouse, child, executor, or sibling.

How long does it take for the credit file to be flagged?

The notice has to reach each bureau by mail and be processed. With Sunset's tool, the letters go out and you get email confirmation within a few business days. The deceased indicator itself is recorded by each bureau after they receive and process the letter.

Can identity thieves really open accounts in a dead person's name?

Yes, and it is common enough to have a name, "ghosting." Criminals use obituaries and data breaches to apply for credit before anyone is watching the file. A deceased flag on all three credit reports is what stops it.

Report the death today

Protecting a person's credit is a small task with a big downside if you skip it. You can send all three notices yourself using the addresses above, or let Sunset do it for free in a few minutes. Report a death to the credit bureaus and close the gap before anyone else finds it.