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Home > Guides > Opt out of prescreened offers
Yes. You can opt out of prescreened offers by mailing a written request to the consumer reporting agencies. The opt-out lasts five years, or permanently with the permanent option. It stops prescreened offers from those lists, but not all junk mail, and not offers from companies you already do business with.
| Choice | What it does | What to know |
|---|---|---|
| Five-year opt-out | Removes your name from prescreened offer lists for five years | The simplest written request; you can renew it later |
| Permanent opt-out | Removes your name until you ask to be put back | Usually needs a signed form returned by mail after an initial request |
| Opt back in | Restores prescreened offers | A written request reverses either opt-out |
A prescreened offer is a credit card or insurance offer sent because a lender or insurer asked a consumer reporting agency for a list of people who meet broad criteria, such as a credit score range. You did not apply for that card or policy. The company screened you in advance, hence the name. That is why the envelopes keep arriving even when you have never contacted the sender.
The opt-out works at the list level. When you opt out, the agencies stop including your name on those prescreened lists. The offers that were already printed and posted before your request may still arrive for a while, since mail already in the pipeline does not turn around. Give it a few mailing cycles before judging whether the flow has slowed.
Keep it short and plain. State that you are opting out of prescreened offers, give your full legal name, your current mailing address, and your date of birth. Some guides also suggest including the last digits of your Social Security number to help the agency match your file, but think twice before putting that in a letter. A full Social Security number should never go in an opt-out letter, and many people leave the number out entirely and still get processed. If the agency cannot match you, it will write back and ask for more identifying detail.
Say clearly whether you want the five-year opt-out or the permanent one. If you want the permanent version, expect a two-step process: your first request triggers a form that you sign and return. The signed form is what makes the permanent opt-out stick, so do not assume the first letter alone finished the job. Send the letter with tracking or proof of mailing, and keep a copy plus the mailing receipt with your household records.
Plenty of mail survives an opt-out, and knowing this in advance prevents disappointment. Offers from banks, insurers, and retailers you already have accounts with are not prescreened offers from agency lists, so they continue. So do local business flyers, catalogs, charity appeals, political mail, and offers sent to "current resident" rather than to you by name. An opt-out is a narrow tool, not a general junk-mail off switch.
It also does not affect your credit reports, your credit score, or your ability to apply for credit. You can still apply for any card or loan you want. Lenders simply cannot pull your name from a prescreened list and mail you an unsolicited offer. If you later want those offers back, a written opt-in request reverses the choice.
Canada does not have the same prescreened-offer system, so there is no direct Canadian equivalent of this opt-out. Canadian credit bureaus do not sell prescreened lists in the same way, and most of the credit offers landing in a Canadian mailbox come from companies with an existing relationship or from general marketing. Canadians who want less mail deal with it sender by sender, or through the Canadian Marketing Association's do-not-contact service for member companies. If you live in Canada and receive US prescreened offers at a US address, the US opt-out route described here is the one that applies.
All three routes reach the same opt-out system, so the choice is about proof and preference. Mail gives you a paper trail: a copy of your letter and a mailing receipt. That trail matters if offers keep arriving months later and you need to show when you asked. The phone and online routes are faster and confirm the request at once, but they leave you with less to show for it. One practical approach is to opt out by phone or online for speed, then follow up with a mailed letter for the permanent option and the paper record.
Watch out for lookalike opt-out sites that charge a fee or ask for full account details. The official opt-out process is free. Any site asking for payment or for your full Social Security number up front deserves a second look before you type anything.
If you want a paper trail without a trip to the post office, you can mail this kind of letter through LetterAgent by describing it to your AI assistant, approving the exact quoted price, and having it printed and mailed. For an opt-out letter, the tracked option is worth considering: US Certified Mail or Canada Registered Mail adds tracking and proof of delivery, which is exactly the evidence you want if a dispute about timing ever comes up. Keep your own copy regardless of how you send it.
Ready to mail it? Send your letter with LetterAgent: describe it to your AI assistant, approve the exact quoted price, and it is printed and mailed.
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