Federal law says:

You are entitled to a FREE credit report from each of the three credit reporting agencies (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion) once every 12 months. You can request all three reports at once, or space them out throughout the year.

https://www.usa.gov/credit-reports

The official site to request your free credit reports is:

https://www.annualcreditreport.com/

Just tell them you are looking into getting a loan and you would like to know your score. You might have to fill out a credit application, but most lending institutions have those online.

I did that--with our bank (of 15 years)-- and when it turned out that they wouldn't approve the loan for the purpose we wanted
(even though I'd been told by a loan broker it could be done) I was dinged for withdrawing the application!
A$$holes.

I always try to figure that out before I go for anything allegedly "free".

I've been wondering about credit karma because they seem to be hanging around. (I avoid "flash in the pan" stuff too.)

Might be worth a try. Although I think one of my card companies is now giving me an option for my score, too. (I'm not particularly concerned about my score, but always curious about these things.)

my credit union emails me my credit score every month via their secure email system. Well, as secure as any email is.

You can get a free report from any credit bureau once a year. Those sites that charge are ripoffs, and they do something so that they popup at the top of google results.

Free credit score with every monthly bill.

Every month...

A circular scam.

It's free. They make their money by advertising different credit card offers. They give you your credit scores from Equifax and Transunion. You can run simulators to see how much your score would go up if you paid down your balance. You can also see if you gave any accounts in collectors or dings on your record for late payments.

https://www.creditkarma.com

I get too much junk mail as it is.

If it's just screen ads while you're in their tool, that's great, but it would surprise me if they make enough money doing that.

The credit card "ads" are recommendations based on your credit score, but you have to click on them. They also have referral links for different kinds of loans, insurance etc.

It is automatically given every month on my credit statement. I average the two scores. I don't know what my fico score is from the third credit reporting firm but this gives me a general idea about what my fico score is.

Costs you nothing. Zero.

http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0155-free-credit-reports

People have outlined above how you can get your score for free, but if you just want to run a check on yourself, you have to pay.