What should I do 3 months after sending a credit dispute?

Pull fresh reports from all three bureaus, verify what was actually deleted or updated vs. what is still present, and send a second round of disputes for anything verified-as-accurate that now has better evidence. If a bureau ignored you, file a CFPB complaint.

How often should I check my credit report after cleanup?

Pull your free reports at the 6-month mark to compare score movement per bureau, flag any regressions, and check for new collections or hard inquiries. Use AnnualCreditReport.com to stagger one pull every four months across the year.

What is a 12-month post-dispute maintenance cadence?

A quarterly-pace maintenance routine: month 3 re-disputes, month 6 score snapshot, month 9 credit-utilization and credit-mix inhibitor review, and month 12 annual maintenance where you pull full reports, refresh stale employer or address fields, and rotate dispute cadence for remaining negative items.

Post-Dispute Maintenance

What's next after cleanup?

Disputes are only the first mile. After the bureaus respond, the next 12 months are where credit is actually built — four quarterly checkpoints where you re-dispute, snapshot your score, audit what's still holding it back, and rotate any remaining negatives. Walk the cadence and print this page as a checklist.

Month 3

Re-disputes

Bureaus have replied. Verify what actually changed — and escalate anything they ignored.

Pull fresh reports from all three bureaus (~12 weeks after first round sent).
Compare against your pre-dispute copy: note items removed, updated, or still present.
Send a second round with new evidence for anything verified-as-accurate last time.
For ignored disputes, file a CFPB complaint at consumerfinance.gov/complaint.

Month 6

Score Snapshot

Halfway through the year. Quantify what moved — and flag anything that regressed.

Pull free reports again from all three bureaus.
Compare scores month-0 vs month-6 per bureau.
Flag any regressions and look for the cause (new collections, hard inquiries).
Capture the cleanest copy of every report for your files.

Month 9

Inhibitor Review

Disputes can only remove what shouldn't be there. The score still needs the right shape.

Audit utilization per-card and overall — anything reported above 30% is a drag.
Pay down any card over 30% before its next statement closes.
Check credit-mix (revolving + installment) and average-age drags.
Avoid opening new accounts in this window — each inquiry costs 2–5 points.

Month 12

Annual Maintenance

The cycle restarts. Pull clean annual reports and refresh the dispute cadence.

Pull full annual reports from AnnualCreditReport.com for every bureau.
Refresh stale employer, address, and name fields — disputes here can surface fraud.
Rotate dispute cadence for any remaining negatives that still need work.
Re-run a 12-month ScoreSentry pass; re-send reminders at months 15, 18, 21, 24.

12-Month Post-Dispute Checklist

Print this page (Ctrl/Cmd + P) for a one-page checklist. Only this section and the page title appear on the printout.

Month 3 — Pull reports from all three bureaus and compare to pre-dispute copy.
Month 3 — Note items removed, updated, or still present; build the second-round list.
Month 3 — Send second-round disputes with new evidence for any item still present.
Month 3 — File CFPB complaints for any bureau that ignored your first round.
Month 6 — Pull free reports again; capture clean copies for your files.
Month 6 — Compare month-0 vs month-6 scores per bureau; flag regressions.
Month 6 — Investigate any new collections or hard inquiries that appeared.
Month 9 — Audit per-card and overall utilization ratios.
Month 9 — Pay down any card reported above 30% before its next statement closes.
Month 9 — Review credit-mix and average-age drags; avoid opening new accounts.
Month 12 — Pull full annual reports from AnnualCreditReport.com.
Month 12 — Refresh stale employer, address, and name fields; check for fraud.
Month 12 — Rotate dispute cadence for any remaining negative items.
Month 12 — Re-run a full ScoreSentry pass; queue reminders at months 15, 18, 21, 24.