Raw Credit Reports

Connect discovers liabilities using the user’s credit report. Teams with raw credit report access enabled can also receive that underlying bureau report itself, as a downloadable raw credit report JSON and/or credit report PDF returned as Files. Files give you a durable copy of the report (e.g. for compliance archives or underwriting reviews) that can be re-downloaded at any time.

Prerequisites

Raw credit report features are enabled on a case-by-case basis. Contact Method to enable these.
The Entity must be verified and must not have withdrawn consent.

Requesting the raw report

Create a Connect with artifacts

Pass bureau and artifacts when creating a Connect:

curl https://production.methodfi.com/entities/ent_au22b1fbFJbp8/connect \
  -X POST \
  -H "Method-Version: 2026-03-30" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer sk_WyZEWVfTcH7GqmPzUPk65Vjc" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "bureau": "transunion",
    "artifacts": ["raw_credit_report", "credit_report_pdf"]
  }'

Field	Type	Notes
`bureau`	enum	`transunion` or `equifax`. Required whenever `artifacts` is set. Method will work with your team to set which bureaus are allowed.
`artifacts`	enum[]	Any of `raw_credit_report`, `credit_report_pdf`. Each becomes a downloadable File on the Connect.

Each Connect pulls from a single bureau. To receive credit reports from both bureaus, you will need to make 2 separate Connect calls.

Read the response

The Connect response includes the requested artifacts in files:

{
  "id": "cxn_4ewMmBbjYDMR4",
  "entity_id": "ent_au22b1fbFJbp8",
  "status": "completed",
  "accounts": ["acc_eKKmrXDpJBKgw", "acc_GV8WbmJW7KGRy"],
  "requested_products": [],
  "requested_subscriptions": [],
  "files": [
    {
      "id": "file_jZWkPMhXPeYAn",
      "type": "raw_credit_report",
      "bureau": "transunion",
      "mime_type": "application/json"
    },
    {
      "id": "file_qTnUv7DdKcRW2",
      "type": "credit_report_pdf",
      "bureau": "transunion",
      "mime_type": "application/pdf"
    }
  ],
  "error": null,
  "created_at": "2026-07-06T18:00:00.000Z",
  "updated_at": "2026-07-06T18:00:12.000Z"
}

Download the file artifacts

Note the file_ids in the above response and use Retrieve a File to get the File’s metadata, including a temporary download_url to its contents:

curl https://production.methodfi.com/files/file_jZWkPMhXPeYAn \
  -H "Method-Version: 2026-03-30" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer sk_WyZEWVfTcH7GqmPzUPk65Vjc"

Fetch the download_url. A new URL is generated on every retrieve and expires at download_expires_at.Additionally, you can stream a File’s contents directly with Download a File:

curl https://production.methodfi.com/files/file_jZWkPMhXPeYAn/download \
  -H "Method-Version: 2026-03-30" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer sk_WyZEWVfTcH7GqmPzUPk65Vjc" \
  -o raw_credit_report.json

Retrieving the raw report later

Files persist after the Connect completes. Retrieve the Connect at any time to read its files array, then download the contents via the Files API.

Webhooks

Connects with products or subscriptions (or the Prefer: respond-async header) process asynchronously. Listen for connect.available to know when an async Connect (including its artifacts) is ready, and connect.create for synchronous completions. See Connect webhooks.

Errors

`sub_type`	Cause
`CONNECT_BUREAU_REQUIRED_FOR_ARTIFACTS`	`artifacts` sent without `bureau`
`CONNECT_BUREAU_NOT_CONFIGURED`	No bureaus have been configured for your team
`CONNECT_BUREAU_NOT_ENABLED`	The requested bureau is not in your team’s allowed bureaus
`CONNECT_RAW_REPORT_NOT_ENABLED`	The `raw_credit_report` artifact is not enabled for your team
`CONNECT_CREDIT_REPORT_PDF_NOT_ENABLED`	The `credit_report_pdf` artifact is not enabled for your team

See Connect errors and File errors for the full list.

Handling sensitive data. The raw credit report contains the consumer’s full bureau file. Treat it as highly sensitive: store it encrypted, restrict access, and only retain it as long as your compliance obligations require.

For the full API surface, see the Connect reference and the Files reference.

Getting Started

Entities

Identity Verification

Connect

Accounts

Updates

Payments

Additional Products

Use Cases: Commerce

Use Cases: Lending

Use Cases: PFM

Prerequisites

Requesting the raw report

Retrieving the raw report later

Webhooks

Errors

​Prerequisites

​Requesting the raw report

​Retrieving the raw report later

​Webhooks

​Errors

Prerequisites

Requesting the raw report

Retrieving the raw report later

Webhooks

Errors