What is the Fair Credit Reporting Act?

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) is the federal law governing how consumer credit information is collected, shared and corrected. Every dispute you file rests on it.

Quick takeaways

Bureaus generally have 30 days to investigate a dispute.
Unverifiable information must be deleted.
Furnishers have their own legal duty to investigate.

Your core rights

You may see what is in your file. You may dispute information you believe is inaccurate or incomplete. Bureaus must investigate, generally within 30 days. Inaccurate or unverifiable information must be corrected or deleted. Most negative information must drop off after seven years.

Limits on access

Only parties with a permissible purpose may pull your report — lending, insurance underwriting, certain employment screening with your consent, and a few others. A pull without permissible purpose is a violation.

Furnisher duties

Companies that report data must investigate disputes too, and must stop reporting information they know is wrong. That is why we dispute with the furnisher as well as the bureau.

Want someone to look at your actual reports?

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