A Summary of Your Rights Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act
The federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) promotes the accuracy, fairness, and privacy of information in the files of consumer reporting agencies. There are many types of consumer reporting agencies, including credit bureaus and specialty agencies (such as agencies that sell information about check writing histories, medical records, and rental history records).
Here is a summary of your major rights under the FCRA. For more information, including information about additional rights, go to www.ftc.gov/credit or write to:
Consumer Response Center
Room 130-A
Federal Trade Commission
600 Pennsylvania Ave. N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20580
• You must be told if information in your file has been used against you.
Anyone who uses a credit report or another type of consumer report to deny your application for credit, insurance, or employment—or to take another adverse action against you—must tell you and provide the name, address, and telephone number of the agency that supplied the report.
• You have the right to know what is in your file.
You may request and obtain all the information about you in the files of a consumer reporting agency ("file disclosure"). You may be required to provide proper identification, including your Social Security Number. In many cases, this disclosure is free.
• You are entitled to a free file disclosure if:
• A person has taken adverse action against you because of information in your credit report.
• You are the victim of identity theft and place a fraud alert in your file.
• Your file contains inaccurate information because of fraud.
• You are on public assistance.
• You are unemployed but expect to apply for employment within 60 days.
In addition, consumers are entitled to one free disclosure every 12 months from each nationwide credit bureau and nationwide specialty consumer reporting agency. Visit www.ftc.gov/credit for more information.
• You have the right to ask for a credit score.
Credit scores summarize your creditworthiness based on information from credit bureaus. You may request your credit score, although a fee may apply. In some mortgage transactions, you will
receive credit score information for free from the mortgage lender.
• You have the right to dispute incomplete or inaccurate information.
If you identify information in your file that is incomplete or inaccurate, you may dispute it with the consumer reporting agency. The agency must investigate unless your dispute is considered frivolous. Visit www.ftc.gov/credit for dispute procedures.
• Consumer reporting agencies must correct or delete inaccurate, incomplete, or unverifiable information.
Inaccurate, incomplete,
or unverifiable information must be removed or corrected,
usually within 30 days. However, a consumer reporting agency
may continue to report information has verified as accurate.
• Consumer reporting agencies may not report outdated negative information.
In most cases, a consumer reporting agency may
not report negative information that is more than seven years
old, or bankruptcies that are more than 10 years old.
• Access to your file is limited.
Consumer reporting agencies may provide your information only to those with a valid legal need, such as creditors, insurers, employers, landlords, or other authorized businesses.
• You must give your consent for reports to be provided to employers.
A consumer reporting agency may not give out
information about you to your employer, or a potential employer
without your written consent given to the employer. Written
consent generally is not required in the trucking industry. For
more information, go to www.ftc.gov/credit.
• You may limit “prescreened” offers of credit and insurance you
get based on information in your credit report. Unsolicited
“prescreened” offers for credit and insurance must include a tollfree phone number you can call if you choose to remove your name and address from the lists these offers are based on. You may opt-out with the nationwide credit bureaus at 1-888-5- OPTOUT (1-888-567-8688).
• You may seek damages from violators.
If a consumer reporting agency, user of consumer reports, or provider of information violates the FCRA, you may be able to sue in state or federal court.
• Identity theft victims and active-duty military personnel have additional rights.
For more information, visit www.ftc.gov/credit.
States may enforce the FCRA, and many states have their own consumer reporting laws. In some cases, you may have more
rights under state law. For more information, contact your state or
local consumer protection agency or your state Attomey General.