The Fair Credit Reporting Act

What the FCRA covers

The FCRA applies to "consumer reports" — information about you that is used to make decisions about credit, insurance, employment, rentals, and a few other categories. It covers the big three credit bureaus but also many other specialty reporting agencies (tenant screening, employment background checks, medical information).

Your main rights under the FCRA

• Free annual credit report. You can get one free report from each of the three major credit bureaus every 12 months at annualcreditreport.com. This is the only federally authorized source for your free report — other sites that offer "free" reports often require a paid subscription.
• Dispute errors. If you find information on your report that is inaccurate or incomplete, you have the right to dispute it with the credit bureau. The bureau generally has 30 days to investigate.
• Adverse action notices. If someone uses your credit report to deny you credit, insurance, or employment, they must tell you — and they must tell you which bureau supplied the report.
• Limits on who can see your report. Your report can only be pulled for specific "permissible purposes" defined by the statute.
• Right to a security freeze. You can place (and lift) a freeze on your credit report for free. A freeze prevents new credit from being opened in your name.

What to do if you find an error

1. Download your report from annualcreditreport.com.
2. Identify the specific item that is wrong. Be precise — "the account from XYZ Bank opened 2023-06-15 for $5,000" is better than "a wrong account."
3. Dispute the item in writing with the credit bureau. Certified mail with return receipt is the durable record. Most bureaus also accept online disputes.
4. Include supporting documents (but send copies, not originals).
5. Keep a copy of everything you send.
6. The bureau has 30 days to investigate (sometimes extended to 45). If they cannot verify the information, they must remove it.

If the dispute doesn't work

If the bureau confirms the information but you still believe it is wrong, you have additional options: disputing directly with the furnisher (the creditor or other party that reported the information), filing a complaint with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, or — for serious or recurring problems — consulting a consumer-protection attorney. Some attorneys take FCRA cases on a contingency basis because the statute includes attorney's fees for successful plaintiffs.

Specialty reports (tenant screening, employment, medical)

Your credit report is not the only consumer report. Tenant-screening reports, employment background checks, check-verification reports, and medical-information reports are also covered by the FCRA and have their own dispute procedures. If you've been denied a rental, a job, or a check, ask which company supplied the report — you have a right to know.

What this guide does not cover

• Specific rules for debt collectors (see the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act — separate guide).
• Bankruptcy effects on your credit report.
• Student loan reporting rules.
• Medical debt rules that have changed substantially since 2022 and continue to change.
• Identity theft recovery procedures (see IdentityTheft.gov for the federal guidance).