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Reviewed By:
Ashley Davison
Ashley Davison
Editor
Ashley is currently the Chief Compliance Officer for Credit Saint, previously the Chief Operating Officer. Ashley got into the Financial world by working as a Logistics Coordinator at Ernst & Young. Coming from a previous career in education, she is eager to teach the world every...
Florida’s average FICO Score is 704, about 1.3% below the U.S. average of 713 and lower than 36 other states, according to Experian’s 2025 data (published March 2026). In 2024, Florida also ranked first in the nation for identity theft reports per person and had the highest per capita rate of reported fraud of any state, according to the FTC. You can dispute errors and fraud on your credit reports yourself for free, or, if that’s more work than you have time for, hire a reputable credit repair company that serves Florida. This guide covers both options and how to fix fraud on your report.
Key Takeaways
Florida’s average FICO Score was 704 in 2025, about 1.3% below the U.S. average, according to Experian.
Florida ranked first in 2024 for identity theft reports per person, and the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach area ranked first among metro areas, according to the FTC.
You can dispute credit report errors yourself for free. The FTC says anything a credit repair company can do legally, you can do yourself for little or no cost.
If that’s more work than you have time for, a reputable credit repair company that serves Florida can handle the disputes for you.
Before you hire a company, get a written contract and pay nothing until the work is done.
How Does Credit Repair Work in Florida?
Credit repair in Florida works as it does in every state: you dispute the items you believe are inaccurate, outdated or unverifiable with Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. Information that is inaccurate or can’t be verified must be corrected or deleted. Accurate, verified items stay for the period the law allows.
The bureau checks your dispute with the business that reported the item and sends you the results in writing. You can do every step yourself, or a credit repair company can send the disputes and letters for you under a written contract. See how credit repair works, step by step.
If an account on your report isn’t yours at all, that’s identity theft, and federal law gives you a separate way to block it. That’s covered in the fraud section below.
Can You Fix Your Credit for Free in Florida?
Yes. You can review your reports and dispute incorrect or outdated information yourself, at no cost, according to the Florida Bar. Here’s how:
Get all three reports. Free weekly reports from Equifax, Experian and TransUnion are at AnnualCreditReport.com, as of October 2026. Each may differ. See how to get all three credit reports for free.
List the items you believe are inaccurate. Look for accounts you don’t recognize, wrong balances, on-time payments marked late and duplicate debts. Most negative items can stay about seven years from the account’s first delinquency.
Gather your proof. Collect statements, payment confirmations or letters that show what’s wrong.
Dispute with the bureau and the business that reported the item. Explain what’s wrong, attach copies of your proof and keep copies of everything you send.
Watch for the results. A credit bureau investigation can take up to 45 days, and you should get the results in writing.
Is It Worth Hiring a Credit Repair Company in Florida?
It can be, if you don’t have the time to do the work yourself. Disputing errors on your own is free, and the FTC says, “Anything a credit repair company can do legally, you’ll be able to do for yourself for little or no cost.” No one, including a credit repair company, can have accurate, current information removed from your report.
What a company gives you is time and follow-through. Errors often show up on more than one report, each bureau and each creditor responds on its own timeline, and keeping track of letters, documents and deadlines across all three bureaus takes steady work. That’s even more true when you’re cleaning up fraud on several reports at once.
If you want that help, Credit Saint is available in 45 states, including Florida, and has been in business since 2007. Our team reviews your credit history, and we challenge the items you believe are inaccurate, incomplete or unverifiable with your creditors and all three credit bureaus on your behalf. Every package includes score analysis and educational content, and Credit Saint offers a 90-day money-back guarantee.
If nothing is removed from your credit history in the first 90 days, you’re entitled to a refund. Credit service companies cannot promise a result or credit score increase. To see where your credit stands, start a free credit review.
What Is the Best Credit Repair Company in Florida?
The best credit repair company in Florida is the one that does the work you’d otherwise do yourself, honestly and on a clear contract. Compare a few companies that serve Florida and look for one that:
Disputes only the items you believe are inaccurate, incomplete or unverifiable
Puts the services, total cost and expected time frame in a written contract before you pay
Charges nothing until the work is done
Never promises to remove accurate items or raise your score by a set number of points
Explains how to cancel, and any fees to stop, before you sign
How Do You Fix Fraud on Your Credit Report in Florida?
You fix fraud on your credit report by reporting the identity theft, protecting your file with a fraud alert or credit freeze, and asking each credit bureau to block the accounts that aren’t yours. No state reported more identity theft per person in 2024. According to the FTC’s Consumer Sentinel Network Data Book 2024 (published March 2025):
Florida ranked first in the nation for identity theft reports in 2024, with 528 reports per 100,000 people and 115,840 reports in all.
Florida also had the highest per capita rate of reported fraud of any state in 2024, and Floridians reported $866.1 million in fraud losses, with a median loss of $520.
Credit card fraud was the most common type, in 50% of Florida identity theft reports, and loan or lease fraud was in 16%.
Among metro areas, Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach ranked first for identity theft reports per person (903 per 100,000, or 55,457 reports). Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford ranked fifth, Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater 17th and Jacksonville 31st.
If you find accounts or charges you don’t recognize, take these federal steps:
Report it to the FTC. File at IdentityTheft.gov to get an identity theft report and a recovery plan. Only report real identity theft: IdentityTheft.gov warns that knowingly filing a false report is illegal.
Protect your file. An initial fraud alert lasts at least one year, and the bureau you contact must notify the other two. With an identity theft report, you can place an extended alert for seven years. A credit freeze is free by law, but you must place it with each bureau separately.
Ask each bureau to block the fraudulent items. Send your identity theft report, proof of your identity and a letter that identifies the fraudulent information and says it isn’t from a transaction you made. A bureau generally must block that information within 4 business days of receiving your request, and it must tell the business that reported it.
Contact the companies where the fraud happened. Close any affected accounts and ask the fraud department to remove charges you didn’t make.
The CFPB notes that once a creditor is notified, it can’t turn identity theft debts over to debt collectors. For the full walkthrough, including rebuilding afterward, see our guide to repairing credit after identity theft. If fraud shows up on all three reports and you don’t have time to track every dispute and letter, a reputable credit repair company can handle that work for you.
Disputing on your own is free, and a company’s price varies, so get the total cost in writing. A reputable company won’t charge you until the work is done, and its contract lists the total cost and expected time frame. Before you sign, ask:
Is there a setup or first-work fee, and when is it charged?
What is the monthly fee, and what does each month include?
Yes, when a company follows Florida’s credit repair law and the federal CROA. Florida’s credit repair law doesn’t require a separate state registration or license, but breaking the Florida law is a third-degree felony.
No, not when a company follows the law. But no one can legally remove accurate, current information. The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and the Florida Bar warn about companies that want payment up front, don’t explain your legal rights, promise results, advise you to dispute everything on your report or offer a new credit identity. See credit repair scam red flags.
Bottom Line on Credit Repair in Florida
Florida ranked first in the nation for identity theft reports per person in 2024, so start by checking all three of your credit reports for accounts you don’t recognize. Then you have two choices. You can do it yourself for free: dispute what’s wrong, and if you find fraud, report it at IdentityTheft.gov, add a fraud alert or credit freeze and ask each bureau to block the accounts that aren’t yours. Or, if that’s more work than you have time for, the best credit repair company in Florida for you is one that serves the state, disputes only what you believe is wrong, puts the cost in a written contract and charges nothing until the work is done.
Reviewed By:
Ashley Davison
Editor
Ashley is currently the Chief Compliance Officer for Credit Saint, previously the Chief Operating Officer. Ashley got into the Financial world by working as a Logistics Coordinator at Ernst & Young. Coming from a previous career in education, she is eager to teach the world everything she knows and learn everything that she doesn’t! Ashley is a FICO® certified professional, a Board Certified Credit Consultant, a Certified Credit Score Consultant with the Credit Consultants Association of America, UDAAP certified, and holds a Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) Compliance Certificate.
