To stop prescreened credit card and insurance offers, use OptOutPrescreen.com or call 1-888-5-OPT-OUT (1-888-567-8688). That is the official opt-out the FTC points to, and it covers the credit bureaus that sell prescreening lists. You can choose a five-year opt-out online or by phone, or a permanent one by also signing and mailing back a form. The FTC says requests are processed within five days but it "may take several weeks" before the offers stop arriving. It only covers prescreened offers — other junk mail keeps coming unless you deal with it separately.
What a prescreened offer is
"Prescreened" or "prequalified" offers are the credit card, loan and insurance mailers that arrive because a company asked a credit bureau for a list of people whose credit reports meet its criteria. The FTC names the bureaus that supply these lists: Equifax, Experian, TransUnion and Innovis.
The Fair Credit Reporting Act allows this. Under 15 U.S.C. §1681b(c), a bureau may supply your information for a "firm offer of credit or insurance" you did not ask for — unless you have opted out. The FTC notes that these list requests do not harm your credit score.
Your right to opt out
The same section of the FCRA, §1681b(e), gives you the right to be excluded from these lists. The bureaus must run a notification system so you can make that election, and the law sets out two durations:
- Five years. If you opt out through the notification system (online or by phone) without a signed form, the exclusion lasts five years. Under the statute, it starts five business days after you notify the bureau.
- Until you revoke it. If you sign and return the bureau's "notice of election" form, the exclusion lasts until you tell the bureau it no longer applies.
How to opt out
- Go to OptOutPrescreen.com or call 1-888-5-OPT-OUT (1-888-567-8688). These are the channels the FTC lists. The site is run by Opt Out Services LLC, per its copyright notice, and it says it is only reachable from US-based internet providers — if it will not load, use the phone number.
- Choose five years or permanent. Both start the same way.
- Give the requested details. The FTC says you will be asked for your name, address, Social Security number and date of birth.
- For permanent: after starting online or by phone, sign and return the Permanent Opt-Out Election form, as the FTC describes.
The FTC directs you to this one service rather than to each bureau separately.
How long it takes
The FTC: "Requests to opt out are processed within five days, but it may take several weeks before you stop getting prescreened offers." Mailings already in production when you opt out can still arrive.
Changing your mind
You can opt back in through the same website or phone number, according to the FTC.
Should you opt out?
The FTC lists reasons some people keep these offers: they make it easier to compare products, a prescreened offer can be rejected only in limited circumstances, and some offers have terms the FTC calls "more favorable" than those available to the general public. Opting out does not affect your ability to apply for credit yourself.
The case for opting out is simpler: fewer financial offers in your mailbox that carry your name and address, and fewer companies receiving your details from a bureau's list. It is a personal choice, and it is easy to reverse.
What it does not stop
- Other promotional mail. The FTC is explicit that opting out only stops prescreened offers. Catalogs and other marketing mail come from other lists. See how to remove yourself from marketing mail lists.
- Phone calls. Telemarketing is a separate system. See the National Do Not Call Registry.
- Your information on people-search sites. Prescreening lists are a credit-bureau product. People-search profiles are a different business, with their own opt-outs. See how to remove yourself from people-search sites and the free kit.
- Credit checks for new accounts. That is what a credit freeze is for. See how to freeze your credit.
Common questions
Does opting out change my credit score? The FTC says the list requests behind prescreened offers do not harm your score, and opting out is a choice about those lists, not about your credit file. Nothing in the FTC's guidance says opting out moves your score either way.
Does it stop me applying for credit? No. Opting out stops companies from getting your name from a prescreening list. You can still apply for any card or loan yourself.
Does it cover all four bureaus? The FTC names Equifax, Experian, TransUnion and Innovis as the bureaus that supply prescreening lists, and points to OptOutPrescreen.com and 1-888-5-OPT-OUT as the single place to opt out.
What if I chose five years and it runs out? The statute sets the five-year period; after that, you can opt out again the same way, or choose the permanent option.
A quick checklist
- Opt out at OptOutPrescreen.com or 1-888-567-8688.
- If you want it permanent, mail back the signed election form.
- Set a reminder five years out if you chose the five-year option.
- Register with DMAchoice for other promotional mail if that matters to you.
- Consider a credit freeze at all three bureaus.
The bureaus' other businesses
The credit bureaus also run marketing and data divisions separate from prescreening. Our guides to Equifax data products, Experian Marketing Services and TransUnion TLOxp describe how to send requests to those. The prescreen opt-out does not reach them.