NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — Are you monitoring your credit report on a yearly basis? If the answer is no, what are you waiting for? Thanks to the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act, which took effect nationwide in September 2005, you are entitled to a free copy of your credit report from each of the three credit-reporting agencies (Equifax, Experian, Trans Union) every year.

Your credit report includes information on where you live, how you pay your bills and whether you’ve had any problems with bankruptcy. Since it’s used to evaluate your applications for credit, insurance, employment or renting a home, it’s smart to check it out each year to make sure nothing is inaccurate or if there’s activity you aren’t aware of (which could be a sign of identity theft). Most importantly, your credit report contains information that affects whether you can get a loan — and at what rate.

Because of the change in law, there are dozens of advertisements on the Web and on TV urging you to user their services to get your free report. But according to the Federal Trade Commission, there is only one Web site authorized by the federal government to handle credit report requests: www.annualcreditreport.com.

The FTC warns that other unauthorized sites may require users to pay money after a free trial period or are used to collect personal information. Other sites that claim to offer free credit reports, scores or monitoring are not part of the legally mandated free annual credit report program.

If you don’t want to request your report over the Web, you can also call 1-877-322-8228 or complete and mail in the “Annual Credit Report Request Form” available at www.ftc.gov. 

Marshall Loeb, former editor of Fortune, Money, and The Columbia Journalism Review, writes “Your Dollars” exclusively for MarketWatch.