A key factor keeping many American's from realizing their dreams is a poor credit history. With bad credit, repair is the often the only option available to raise your credit score, and begin re-establishing credit for the future. In order to fix your credit, you must first be aware of everything listed in your credit report in order to identify the best approach for your situation. In all cases, the first step to bad credit repair is to know exactly how bad your credit is by requesting your credit report from the three main credit bureaus – Experian, Trans Union, and Equifax.