How to Opt Out of Prescreened Credit Card, Loan, and Insurance Offers

Prescreened credit card promotional offers in a mailbox.A (preapproved / prescreened) offer is an insurance, credit card, home mortgage loan or another firm credit offer that arrives on paper by postal mail. It usually congratulates the receiver and implies the offer has already been approved for them. This can be of great benefit to someone interested in applying for new credit; however, unsolicited offers can be a major nuisance too.

For people who have enough credit cards, don’t want a loan, need insurance, dislike the temptation, or simply wish to receive less post mail overall, the United States government has established a method of temporarily and permanently opting out of prescreened promotional offers.

Opting Out of Prescreened Credit & Insurance Mailings

You have three different methods of removing your name from lists leading to mail offers, some of which are more limited than others. The quickest method is opting-out of firm credit and insurance promotions over the internet, but the longest-lasting method is also opting out via snail mail.

Here’s what to know about each opt-out solution.

a. How to Opt Out of Prescreened Credit Offers Online

Go to OptOutPrescreen.com and scroll down to click on “Click Here to Opt-In or Opt-Out” button. To opt out electronically, you must click on the temporary option of opting out of firm offers for five years or select the radial button to opt out permanently, then click continue.

On the next page you’ll be asked to provide your name, address, social security number, and date of birth. Submit the form, then print out your confirmation information to complete the process to remove yourself and enjoy five years or more of less “junk mail!”

Permanently Opting Out of Prescreened Credit Offers

To opt-out of mail offers permanently, navigate to the same opt-out website, and click on the permanent option. Provide the personal information asked for, then print and mail the Election form to this address:

Opt-Out Department
P.O. Box 530200
Atlanta, GA 30353
RE: Permanent Opt-Out Election Form

Once you’ve finished the session, a message is sent to the national credit reporting companies to inform them of your temporary opt-out request. This temporary opt-out turns into a permanent removal once your letter is received and processed.

Remember to sign and date the letter before mailing it. It won’t be processed without a handwritten signature.

The OptOutPrescreen website is a service provided by the three major credit reporting agencies, Equifax, Experian, and Transunion, as well as the fourth largest, Innovis. Processing time can take up to 5 business days.

b. How to Opt Out of Prescreened Credit Offers by Telephone

Like online opt-outs, you should be able to opt-out temporarily and permanently over the telephone. To opt-out for five years over the phone rather than a mobile electronic device or computer, call 1-888-567-8688 or 1-888-5-OPTOUT and follow the prompts of the fully automated touchtone service.

c. How to Opt Out of Prescreened Credit Offers by Mail

You can also send a written request to opt-out for yourself or someone else, such as a minor child or deceased person, by mail. The FTC provides guidance for this along with the proper credit bureau addresses on its website.

Credit and Insurance Prescreen Misconceptions

The financial world is plagued with misconceptions, but prescreening is mostly harmless for people who understand how little some of the prescreened words actually mean.

#1 Opting-Out Stops All Mail Offers

Opting out using these methods won’t stop all prescreened credit card and insurance offers from entering your mailbox. An opt-out prevents these national consumer credit reporting agencies from including your name in marketing lists provided to other businesses.

Unfortunately, some offers are sent directly to you from a list already owned by the offeror or another party. In addition, it can take weeks or even months for the affected offers to trickle to a stop.

#2 Credit Card Offers Hurt My Credit

Contrary to popular belief, prescreening doesn’t negatively impact your credit. The biggest drawback is receiving regular or even frequent credit card offers. If you respond to an offer with an application, however, your credit may be affected.

#3 Prescreened Means Preapproved

Terms like “prequalified” can be misleading; it means you might be eligible to receive the offer. You must first submit an application, which oftentimes shows up on a credit report in a semi-negative light because it requires a hard inquiry into your credit history.

Even preapproved might not mean what’s implied. Most offers say something along the lines of, “You could be pre-approved!”, which doesn’t promise anything either. Be sure to read the fine print or contact the offeror directly if you are concerned about your likelihood of approval and the effect on your credit history report and score.

Different Types of Credit Card Mail Offers:

According to WalletHub, here are the different types of mail offers you could receive.

  • Invitation to apply: These offers are based on your demographics (e.g., zip code and housing status) rather than your credit history. The approval rate is between 10% and 40%.
  • Preselected: Preselected offers are based on your credit history, but indicate the issuer needs more information. The approval rate is 70%.
  • Preapproved: Preapproved offers come when an issuer does a basic review of your credit and thinks you are a good fit for the card. The approval rate is 90%.

#4 You Have to “Opt In” to Receive Credit Offers

If you’re seeking out new credit and are interested in receiving promotional offers by mail, you do not need to opt-in to receive those in your mailbox. As long as the credit bureaus know that you’re an of-age consumer, and have your address on file, you will begin to receive offers from creditors and insurance companies based on your profile information.

You only need to opt-in if you have previously opted out. You can do that using the same resources and following similar steps for opting out above.

Other Opt-Out Programs: E-Mail; Magazines, Catalogs

Opting out of prescreened credit and insurance offers is a great way to reduce mailbox clutter; however, that doesn’t stop all advertisers and spammers from contacting you. Here are a couple of other ways to reduce the number of contacts you receive.

  1. National Do Not Call Registry – Helps you stop unwanted sales calls. Visit the website or call 1-888-382-1222 (TTY: 1-866-290-4236) from the home or cellular phone you want to register for. It can take up to 31 days for sales calls to slow down.
  2. Direct Marketing Association’s (DMA) – Allows you to decide what types of mail you do and don’t want from marketers. Choose magazines, catalogs, and other types of mail offers you want to get from DMA companies. There is a $2 processing fee, and your registration will last for 10 years.

You can also use the DMA web site to sign up for other do-not-contact lists to help reduce email SPAM and other unsolicited commercial advertising messages.

Final Thoughts on Opting Out of Prescreened Insurance and Credit Offers

The U.S. government has made opting out of prescreened credit and insurance offers quick and easy. While opting out won’t stop all offers, you can take other steps to eliminate junk mail altogether.

For example, most pieces of mail have fine print that details how to opt out, which usually involves a two-minute phone call with them. If junk mail doesn’t bother you, though, just shred the mail as it arrives until you receive something helpful to you.

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Posted on November 15, 2022 by in Credit Cards

Comments & Discussion



2 Responses to “How to Opt Out of Prescreened Credit Card, Loan, and Insurance Offers”


  • On January 13, 2018, Wes wrote:

    Hi Cheryl, I’m sorry to hear about the confusion. This is an informational article and not an ad so we can’t do anything with the personal information you included in this comment (removed). However, you should be fine if you don’t send in the letters to make the opt-out permanent. If you went through the website mentioned in this article you could always opt back in here to be certain.

  • On January 11, 2018, Cheryl Coup wrote:

    I have been receiving a lot of credit card offers and insurance offers and so has my husband. It gets old and my own personal credit is being affected because everybody and his uncle so to speak check my credit! They do not have my permissioin and I don’t know how to stop it. A few days ago, I saw your OPT-OUT ad. It was so misleading that I opted out for both my husband and myself and had no idea that we would be removed from the 3 credit bureaus for 5 years. We just got some froms today from the credit bureaus telling us what we have done and that was never my intention. I just DO NOT WANT EVERY TOM, DICK AND HARRY to have access to my personal information.l Nobody but the credit bureaus and people from whom we might wish to take a loan, buy a car or any number of things need to check my credit or my husbands. It’s no wonder that people from every where in the world have access to peoples personal accounts and information. Now we do not wish to be on this opt out list and want to be removed from them. I just don’t think it should be legal for anyone and everyone to be able to access any persons personal records for their own personal and that’s all it is about! Please reverse this for us and we will not be sending in this paperwork that makes it permanent. I had no idea that it would lead to this and you certainly never made it clear! Please acknowledge this so I know you received it and that my error has been corrected .

    Thank you,
    Cheryl Coup




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