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THE FAIR
CREDIT REPORTING ACT
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As a public service, the staff
of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has prepared the
following complete text of the
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), 15 U.S.C. § 1681 et seq.
Although staff generally
followed the format of the U.S. Code as published by the
Government
Printing Office, the format of
this text does differ in minor ways from the Code (and from
West’s
U.S. Code Annotated). For
example, this version uses FCRA section numbers (§§ 601-625)
in
the headings. (The relevant
U.S. Code citation is included with each section heading and
each
reference to the FCRA in the
text.) Although the staff has made every effort to transcribe
the
statutory material accurately,
this compendium is intended only as a convenience for the
public
and not a subtitute for the
text in the U. S. Code. This document was posted on July 30,
2004.
This version of the FCRA
includes the amendments to the FCRA set forth in the Consumer
Credit Reporting Reform Act of
1996 (Public Law 104-208, the Omnibus Consolidated
Appropriations
Act for Fiscal Year 1997, Title
II, Subtitle D, Chapter 1), Section 311 of the
Intelligence Authorization for
Fiscal Year 1998 (Public Law 105-107), the Consumer Reporting
Employment Clarification Act of
1998 (Public Law 105-347), Section 506 of the Gramm-Leach-
Bliley Act (Public Law
106-102), Sections 358(g) and 505(c) of the Uniting and
Strengthening
America by Providing
Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism
Act of
2001 (USA PATRIOT Act) (Public
Law 107-56), and the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions
Act of 2003 (FACT Act) (Public
Law 108-159).
The provisions added to the
FCRA by the FACT Act will become effective at different times.
In some cases, the provision
includes its own effective date. In other cases, the FACT Act
provides
that the effective dates be
prescribed by the FTC and Federal Reserve Board. See 16 CFR
Part 602.
(69 Fed. Reg. 6526; February
11, 2004) (69 Fed. Reg. 29061; May 20, 2004).
July 30,
2004 2
TABLE OF CONTENTS
§ 601 Short title
§ 602 Congressional findings
and statement of purpose
§ 603 Definitions; rules of
construction
§ 604 Permissible purposes of
consumer reports
§ 605A Identity theft
prevention; fraud alerts and active duty alerts
§ 605B Block of information
resulting from identity theft
§ 605 Requirements relating to
information contained in consumer reports
§ 606 Disclosure of
investigative consumer reports
§ 607 Compliance procedures
§ 608 Disclosures to
governmental agencies
§ 609 Disclosures to consumers
§ 610 Conditions and form of
disclosure to consumers
§ 611 Procedure in case of
disputed accuracy
§ 612 Charges for certain
disclosures
§ 613 Public record
information for employment purposes
§ 614 Restrictions on
investigative consumer reports
§ 615 Requirements on users of
consumer reports
§ 616 Civil liability for
willful noncompliance
§ 617 Civil liability for
negligent noncompliance
§ 618 Jurisdiction of courts;
limitation of actions
§ 619 Obtaining information
under false pretenses
§ 620 Unauthorized disclosures
by officers or employees
§ 621 Administrative
enforcement
§ 622 Information on overdue
child support obligations
§ 623 Responsibilities of
furnishers of information to consumer reporting agencies
§ 624 Affiliate sharing
§ 625 Relation to state laws
§ 626 Disclosures to FBI for
counterintelligence purposes
§ 627 Disclosures to
governmental agencies for counterterrorism purposes
§ 628 Disposal of records
§ 629 Corporate and
technological circumvention prohibited
July 30,
2004 3
§ 601. Short title
This title may be cited as the
“Fair Credit Reporting Act”.
§ 602 .
Congressional findings
and statement of purpose [15
U.S.C. § 1681]
(a) Accuracy
and fairness of credit reporting. The
Congress makes the following findings:
(1) The banking system is
dependent upon fair and accurate credit reporting.
Inaccurate credit reports
directly impair the efficiency of the banking system, and
unfair credit reporting methods
undermine the public confidence which is
essential to the continued
functioning of the banking system.
(2) An elaborate mechanism has
been developed for investigating and evaluating the
credit worthiness, credit
standing, credit capacity, character, and general
reputation of consumers.
(3) Consumer reporting agencies
have assumed a vital role in assembling and
evaluating consumer credit and
other information on consumers.
(4) There is a need to insure
that consumer reporting agencies exercise their grave
responsibilities with fairness,
impartiality, and a respect for the consumer's right
to privacy.
(b) Reasonable
procedures. It
is the purpose of this title to require that consumer
reporting agencies adopt
reasonable procedures for meeting the needs of commerce
for consumer credit, personnel,
insurance, and other information in a manner which is
fair and equitable to the
consumer, with regard to the confidentiality, accuracy,
relevancy, and proper
utilization of such information in accordance with the
requirements of this title.
§ 603. Definitions; rules of
construction [15
U.S.C. § 1681a]
(a) Definitions and rules of
construction set forth in this section are applicable for the
purposes of this title.
(b) The term “person” means
any individual, partnership, corporation, trust, estate,
cooperative, association,
government or governmental subdivision or agency, or
other entity.
(c) The term “consumer”
means an individual.
(d) Consumer Report
(1) In
general. The
term "consumer report" means any written, oral, or
other
communication of any
information by a consumer reporting agency bearing on a
consumer's credit worthiness,
credit standing, credit capacity, character, general
reputation, personal
characteristics, or mode of living which is used or expected
July 30,
2004 4
to be used or collected in
whole or in part for the purpose of serving as a factor in
establishing the consumer's
eligibility for
(A) credit or insurance to be
used primarily for personal, family, or household
purposes;
(B) employment purposes; or
(C) any other purpose
authorized under section 604 [§ 1681b].
(2) Exclusions.
Except
as provided in paragraph (3), the term "consumer
report" does
not include
(A) subject to section 624, any
(i) report containing
information solely as to transactions or experiences
between the consumer and the
person making the report;
(ii) communication of that
information among persons related by common
ownership or affiliated by
corporate control; or
(iii) communication of other
information among persons related by
common ownership or affiliated
by corporate control, if it is clearly
and conspicuously disclosed to
the consumer that the information may
be communicated among such
persons and the consumer is given the
opportunity, before the time
that the information is initially
communicated, to direct that
such information not be communicated
among such persons;
(B) any authorization or
approval of a specific extension of credit directly or
indirectly by the issuer of a
credit card or similar device;
(C) any report in which a
person who has been requested by a third party to
make a specific extension of
credit directly or indirectly to a consumer
conveys his or her decision
with respect to such request, if the third party
advises the consumer of the
name and address of the person to whom the
request was made, and such
person makes the disclosures to the consumer
required under section 615 [§
1681m]; or
(D) a communication described
in subsection (o) or (x).
(3) Restriction
on sharing of medical information. Except
for information or any
communication of information
disclosed as provided in section 604(g)(3), the
exclusions in paragraph (2)
shall not apply with respect to information disclosed
July 30,
2004 5
to any person related by common
ownership or affiliated by corporate control, if
the information is--
(A) medical information;
(B) an individualized list or
description based on the payment transactions of the
consumer for medical products
or services; or
(C) an aggregate list of
identified consumers based on payment transactions for
medical products or services.
(e) The term “investigative
consumer report” means a consumer report or portion
thereof in which information on
a consumer's character, general reputation, personal
characteristics, or mode of
living is obtained through personal interviews with
neighbors, friends, or
associates of the consumer reported on or with others with
whom he is acquainted or who
may have knowledge concerning any such items of
information. However, such
information shall not include specific factual information
on a consumer's credit record
obtained directly from a creditor of the consumer or
from a consumer reporting
agency when such information was obtained directly from
a creditor of the consumer or
from the consumer.
(f) The term “consumer
reporting agency” means any person which, for monetary fees,
dues, or on a cooperative
nonprofit basis, regularly engages in whole or in part in the
practice of assembling or
evaluating consumer credit information or other
information on consumers for
the purpose of furnishing consumer reports to third
parties, and which uses any
means or facility of interstate commerce for the purpose
of preparing or furnishing
consumer reports.
(g) The term “file,” when
used in connection with information on any consumer, means
all of the information on that
consumer recorded and retained by a consumer
reporting agency regardless of
how the information is stored.
(h) The term “employment
purposes” when used in connection with a consumer report
means a report used for the
purpose of evaluating a consumer for employment,
promotion, reassignment or
retention as an employee.
(i) The term “medical
information” --
(1) means information or data,
whether oral or recorded, in any form or medium,
created by or derived from a
health care provider or the consumer, that relates to--
(A) the past, present, or
future physical, mental, or behavioral health or
condition of an individual;
(B) the provision of health
care to an individual; or
(C) the payment for the
provision of health care to an individual.
July 30,
2004 6
(2) does not include the age or
gender of a consumer, demographic information about
the consumer, including a
consumer's residence address or e-mail address, or any
other information about a
consumer that does not relate to the physical, mental, or
behavioral health or condition
of a consumer, including the existence or value of
any insurance policy.
(j) Definitions Relating to
Child Support Obligations
(1) The “overdue support”
has the meaning given to such term in section 666(e) of
title 42 [Social Security Act,
42 U.S.C. § 666(e)].
(2) The term “State or local
child support enforcement agency” means a State or local
agency which administers a
State or local program for establishing and enforcing
child support obligations.
(k) Adverse Action
(1) Actions
included. The
term “adverse action”
(A) has the same meaning as in
section 701(d)(6) of the Equal Credit
Opportunity Act; and
(B) means
(i) a denial or cancellation
of, an increase in any charge for, or a reduction
or other adverse or unfavorable
change in the terms of coverage or
amount of, any insurance,
existing or applied for, in connection with
the underwriting of insurance;
(ii) a denial of employment or
any other decision for employment purposes
that adversely affects any
current or prospective employee;
(iii) a denial or cancellation
of, an increase in any charge for, or any other
adverse or unfavorable change
in the terms of, any license or benefit
described in section
604(a)(3)(D) [§ 1681b]; and
(iv) an action taken or
determination that is
(I) made in connection with an
application that was made by, or a
transaction that was initiated
by, any consumer, or in connection
with a review of an account
under section
604(a)(3)(F)(ii)[§ 1681b]; and
(II) adverse to the interests
of the consumer.
(2) Applicable
findings, decisions, commentary, and orders. For
purposes of any
determination of whether an
action is an adverse action under paragraph (1)(A),
all appropriate final findings,
decisions, commentary, and orders issued under
July 30,
2004 7
section 701(d)(6) of the Equal
Credit Opportunity Act by the Board of Governors
of the Federal Reserve System
or any court shall apply.
(l) The term “firm offer of
credit or insurance” means any offer of credit or insurance
to
a consumer that will be honored
if the consumer is determined, based on information
in a consumer report on the
consumer, to meet the specific criteria used to select the
consumer for the offer, except
that the offer may be further conditioned on one or
more of the following:
(1) The consumer being
determined, based on information in the consumer's
application for the credit or
insurance, to meet specific criteria bearing on credit
worthiness or insurability, as
applicable, that are established
(A) before selection of the
consumer for the offer; and
(B) for the purpose of
determining whether to extend credit or insurance
pursuant to the offer.
(2) Verification
(A) that the consumer continues
to meet the specific criteria used to select the
consumer for the offer, by
using information in a consumer report on the
consumer, information in the
consumer's application for the credit or
insurance, or other information
bearing on the credit worthiness or
insurability of the consumer;
or
(B) of the information in the
consumer's application for the credit or insurance,
to determine that the consumer
meets the specific criteria bearing on credit
worthiness or insurability.
(3) The consumer furnishing any
collateral that is a requirement for the extension of
the credit or insurance that
was
(A) established before
selection of the consumer for the offer of credit or
insurance; and
(B) disclosed to the consumer
in the offer of credit or insurance.
(m) The term “credit or
insurance transaction that is not initiated by the consumer”
does
not include the use of a
consumer report by a person with which the consumer has an
account or insurance policy,
for purposes of
(1) reviewing the account or
insurance policy; or
(2) collecting the account.
(n) The term “State” means
any State, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the District of
Columbia, and any territory or
possession of the United States.
July 30,
2004 8
(o) Excluded
communications. A
communication is described in this subsection if it is a
communication
(1) that, but for subsection
(d)(2)(D), would be an investigative consumer report;
(2) that is made to a
prospective employer for the purpose of
(A) procuring an employee for
the employer; or
(B) procuring an opportunity
for a natural person to work for the employer;
(3) that is made by a person
who regularly performs such procurement;
(4) that is not used by any
person for any purpose other than a purpose described in
subparagraph (A) or (B) of
paragraph (2); and
(5) with respect to which
(A) the consumer who is the
subject of the communication
(i) consents orally or in
writing to the nature and scope of the
communication, before the
collection of any information for the
purpose of making the
communication;
(ii) consents orally or in
writing to the making of the communication to a
prospective employer, before
the making of the communication; and
(iii) in the case of consent
under clause (i) or (ii) given orally, is provided
written confirmation of that
consent by the person making the
communication, not later than 3
business days after the receipt of the
consent by that person;
(B) the person who makes the
communication does not, for the purpose of
making the communication, make
any inquiry that if made by a
prospective employer of the
consumer who is the subject of the
communication would violate any
applicable Federal or State equal
employment opportunity law or
regulation; and
(C) the person who makes the
communication
(i) discloses in writing to the
consumer who is the subject of the
communication, not later than 5
business days after receiving any
request from the consumer for
such disclosure, the nature and substance
of all information in the
consumer's file at the time of the request, except
that the sources of any
information that is acquired solely for use in
making the communication and is
actually used for no other purpose,
need not be disclosed other
than under appropriate discovery procedures
in any court of competent
jurisdiction in which an action is brought; and
July 30,
2004 9
(ii) notifies the consumer who
is the subject of the communication, in
writing, of the consumer's
right to request the information described in
clause (i).
(p) The term “consumer
reporting agency that compiles and maintains files on
consumers on a nationwide basis”
means a consumer reporting agency that regularly
engages in the practice of
assembling or evaluating, and maintaining, for the purpose
of furnishing consumer reports
to third parties bearing on a consumer's credit
worthiness, credit standing, or
credit capacity, each of the following regarding
consumers residing nationwide:
(1) Public record information.
(2) Credit account information
from persons who furnish that information regularly
and in the ordinary course of
business.
(q) Definitions relating to
fraud alerts.
(1) The term “active duty
military consumer” means a consumer in military service
who--
(A) is on active duty (as
defined in section 101(d)(1) of title 10, United States
Code) or is a reservist
performing duty under a call or order to active duty
under a provision of law
referred to in section 101(a)(13) of title 10,
United States Code; and
(B) is assigned to service away
from the usual duty station of the consumer.
(2) The terms “fraud alert”
and “active duty alert” mean a statement in the file of a
consumer that--
(A) notifies all prospective
users of a consumer report relating to the consumer
that the consumer may be a
victim of fraud, including identity theft, or is
an active duty military
consumer, as applicable; and
(B) is presented in a manner
that facilitates a clear and conspicuous view of
the statement described in
subparagraph (A) by any person requesting such
consumer report.
(3) The term “identity theft”
means a fraud committed using the identifying
information of another person,
subject to such further definition as the
Commission may prescribe, by
regulation.
(4) The term “identity theft
report” has the meaning given that term by rule of the
Commission, and means, at a
minimum, a report--
(A) that alleges an identity
theft;
July 30,
2004 10
(B) that is a copy of an
official, valid report filed by a consumer with an
appropriate Federal, State, or
local law enforcement agency, including the
United States Postal Inspection
Service, or such other government agency
deemed appropriate by the
Commission; and
(C) the filing of which
subjects the person filing the report to criminal
penalties relating to the
filing of false information if, in fact, the
information in the report is
false.
(5) The term “new credit plan”
means a new account under an open end credit plan
(as defined in section 103(i)
of the Truth in Lending Act) or a new credit
transaction not under an open
end credit plan.
(r) Credit and Debit Related
Terms
(1) The term “card issuer”
means--
(A) a credit card issuer, in
the case of a credit card; and
(B) a debit card issuer, in the
case of a debit card.
(2) The term “credit card”
has the same meaning as in section 103 of the Truth in
Lending Act.
(3) The term “debit card”
means any card issued by a financial institution to a
consumer for use in initiating
an electronic fund transfer from the account of the
consumer at such financial
institution, for the purpose of transferring money
between accounts or obtaining
money, property, labor, or services.
(4) The terms “account” and
“electronic fund transfer” have the same meanings as in
section 903 of the Electronic
Fund Transfer Act.
(5) The terms “credit” and
“creditor” have the same meanings as in section 702 of the
Equal Credit Opportunity Act.
(s) The term “Federal banking
agency” has the same meaning as in section 3 of the
Federal Deposit Insurance Act.
(t) The term “financial
institution” means a State or National bank, a State or
Federal
savings and loan association, a
mutual savings bank, a State or Federal credit union,
or any other person that,
directly or indirectly, holds a transaction account (as
defined
in section 19(b) of the Federal
Reserve Act) belonging to a consumer.
(u) The term “reseller”
means a consumer reporting agency that--
(1) assembles and merges
information contained in the database of another consumer
reporting agency or multiple
consumer reporting agencies concerning any
July 30,
2004 11
consumer for purposes of
furnishing such information to any third party, to the
extent of such activities; and
(2) does not maintain a
database of the assembled or merged information from which
new consumer reports are
produced.
(v) The term “Commission”
means the Federal Trade Commission.
(w) The term “nationwide
specialty consumer reporting agency” means a consumer
reporting agency that compiles
and maintains files on consumers on a nationwide
basis relating to--
(1) medical records or
payments;
(2) residential or tenant
history;
(3) check writing history;
(4) employment history; or
(5) insurance claims.
(x) Exclusion of Certain
Communications for Employee Investigations
(1) A communication is
described in this subsection if--
(A) but for subsection
(d)(2)(D), the communication would be a consumer
report;
(B) the communication is made
to an employer in connection with an
investigation of–
(i) suspected misconduct
relating to employment; or
(ii) compliance with Federal,
State, or local laws and regulations, the rules
of a self-regulatory
organization, or any preexisting written policies of
the employer;
(C) the communication is not
made for the purpose of investigating a
consumer's credit worthiness,
credit standing, or credit capacity; and
(D) the communication is not
provided to any person except--
(i) to the employer or an agent
of the employer;
(ii) to any Federal or State
officer, agency, or department, or any officer,
agency, or department of a unit
of general local government;
July 30,
2004 12
(iii) to any self-regulatory
organization with regulatory authority over the
activities of the employer or
employee;
(iv) as otherwise required by
law; or
(v) pursuant to section 608.
(2) Subsequent
disclosure.
After taking any adverse action based in whole or in part on a
communication described in
paragraph (1), the employer shall disclose to the
consumer a summary containing
the nature and substance of the communication
upon which the adverse action
is based, except that the sources of information
acquired solely for use in
preparing what would be but for subsection (d)(2)(D) an
investigative consumer report
need not be disclosed.
(3) For purposes of this
subsection, the term “self-regulatory organization”
includes any
self-regulatory organization
(as defined in section 3(a)(26) of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934), any
entity established under title I of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act
of 2002, any board of trade
designated by the Commodity Futures Trading
Commission, and any futures
association registered with such Commission.
§ 604. Permissible purposes of
consumer reports [15
U.S.C. § 1681b]
(a) In
general. Subject
to subsection (c), any consumer reporting agency may furnish a
consumer report under the
following circumstances and no other:
(1) In response to the order of
a court having jurisdiction to issue such an order, or a
subpoena issued in connection
with proceedings before a Federal grand jury.
(2) In accordance with the
written instructions of the consumer to whom it relates.
(3) To a person which it has
reason to believe
(A) intends to use the
information in connection with a credit transaction
involving the consumer on whom
the information is to be furnished and
involving the extension of
credit to, or review or collection of an account
of, the consumer; or
(B) intends to use the
information for employment purposes; or
(C) intends to use the
information in connection with the underwriting of
insurance involving the
consumer; or
(D) intends to use the
information in connection with a determination of the
consumer's eligibility for a
license or other benefit granted by a
governmental instrumentality
required by law to consider an applicant's
financial responsibility or
status; or
July 30,
2004 13
(E) intends to use the
information, as a potential investor or servicer, or
current insurer, in connection
with a valuation of, or an assessment of the
credit or prepayment risks
associated with, an existing credit obligation; or
(F) otherwise has a legitimate
business need for the information
(i) in connection with a
business transaction that is initiated by the
consumer; or
(ii) to review an account to
determine whether the consumer continues to
meet the terms of the account.
(4) In response to a request by
the head of a State or local child support enforcement
agency (or a State or local
government official authorized by the head of such an
agency), if the person making
the request certifies to the consumer reporting
agency that
(A) the consumer report is
needed for the purpose of establishing an
individual’s capacity to make
child support payments or determining the
appropriate level of such
payments;
(B) the paternity of the
consumer for the child to which the obligation relates
has been established or
acknowledged by the consumer in accordance with
State laws under which the
obligation arises (if required by those laws);
(C) the person has provided at
least 10 days’ prior notice to the consumer
whose report is requested, by
certified or registered mail to the last known
address of the consumer, that
the report will be requested; and
(D) the consumer report will be
kept confidential, will be used solely for a
purpose described in
subparagraph (A), and will not be used in connection
with any other civil,
administrative, or criminal proceeding, or for any
other purpose.
(5) To an agency administering
a State plan under Section 454 of the Social Security
Act (42 U.S.C. § 654) for use
to set an initial or modified child support award.
(b) Conditions for Furnishing
and Using Consumer Reports for Employment Purposes.
(1) Certification
from user.
A consumer reporting agency may furnish a consumer
report for employment purposes
only if
(A) the person who obtains such
report from the agency certifies to the agency
that
(i) the person has complied
with paragraph (2) with respect to the consumer
report, and the person will
comply with paragraph (3) with respect to the
consumer report if paragraph
(3) becomes applicable; and
July 30,
2004 14
(ii) information from the
consumer report will not be used in violation of
any applicable Federal or State
equal employment opportunity law or
regulation; and
(B) the consumer reporting
agency provides with the report, or has previously
provided, a summary of the
consumer's rights under this title, as prescribed
by the Federal Trade Commission
under section 609(c)(3) [§ 1681g].
(2) Disclosure to Consumer.
(A) In
general. Except
as provided in subparagraph (B), a person may not
procure a consumer report, or
cause a consumer report to be procured, for
employment purposes with
respect to any consumer, unless--
(i) a clear and conspicuous
disclosure has been made in writing to the
consumer at any time before the
report is procured or caused to be
procured, in a document that
consists solely of the disclosure, that a
consumer report may be obtained
for employment purposes; and
(ii) the consumer has
authorized in writing (which authorization may be
made on the document referred
to in clause (i)) the procurement of the
report by that person.
(B) Application
by mail, telephone, computer, or other similar means. If
a
consumer described in
subparagraph (C) applies for employment by mail,
telephone, computer, or other
similar means, at any time before a
consumer report is procured or
caused to be procured in connection with
that application--
(i) the person who procures the
consumer report on the consumer for
employment purposes shall
provide to the consumer, by oral, written,
or electronic means, notice
that a consumer report may be obtained for
employment purposes, and a
summary of the consumer's rights under
section 615(a)(3); and
(ii) the consumer shall have
consented, orally, in writing, or electronically
to the procurement of the
report by that person.
(C) Scope.
Subparagraph
(B) shall apply to a person procuring a consumer
report on a consumer in
connection with the consumer's application for
employment only if--
(i) the consumer is applying
for a position over which the Secretary of
Transportation has the power to
establish qualifications and maximum
hours of service pursuant to
the provisions of section 31502 of title 49,
or a position subject to safety
regulation by a State transportation
agency; and
1The
references in Sections 604(b)(3)(A) and 604(b)(3)(B) should be
to Section 609(c)(1),
not (c)(3) that no
longer
exists as the result of Congress’ re-organization of Section
609(c) in 2003 (FACT Act).
July 30,
2004 15
(ii) as of the time at which
the person procures the report or causes the
report to be procured the only
interaction between the consumer and
the person in connection with
that employment application has been by
mail, telephone, computer, or
other similar means.
(3) Conditions on use for
adverse actions.
(A) In
general. Except
as provided in subparagraph (B), in using a consumer
report for employment purposes,
before taking any adverse action based in
whole or in part on the report,
the person intending to take such adverse
action shall provide to the
consumer to whom the report relates--
(i) a copy of the report; and
(ii) a description in writing
of the rights of the consumer under this title, as
prescribed by the Federal Trade
Commission under section 609(c)(3). 1
(B) Application by mail,
telephone, computer, or other similar means.
(i) If a consumer described in
subparagraph (C) applies for employment
by mail, telephone, computer,
or other similar means, and if a person
who has procured a consumer
report on the consumer for employment
purposes takes adverse action
on the employment application based in
whole or in part on the report,
then the person must provide to the
consumer to whom the report
relates, in lieu of the notices required
under subparagraph (A) of this
section and under section 615(a),
within 3 business days of
taking such action, an oral, written or
electronic notification--
(I) that adverse action has
been taken based in whole or in part on a
consumer report received from a
consumer reporting agency;
(II) of the name, address and
telephone number of the consumer
reporting agency that furnished
the consumer report (including
a toll-free telephone number
established by the agency if the
agency compiles and maintains
files on consumers on a
nationwide basis);
(III) that the consumer
reporting agency did not make the decision to
take the adverse action and is
unable to provide to the consumer
the specific reasons why the
adverse action was taken; and
(IV) that the consumer may,
upon providing proper identification, request
a free copy of a report and may
dispute with the consumer reporting
agency the accuracy or
completeness of any information in a report.
July 30,
2004 16
(ii) If, under clause (B)(i)(IV),
the consumer requests a copy of a consumer
report from the person who
procured the report, then, within 3 business
days of receiving the
consumer's request, together with proper identification,
the person must send or provide
to the consumer a copy of a
report and a copy of the
consumer's rights as prescribed by the Federal
Trade Commission under section
609(c)(3).
(C) Scope.
Subparagraph
(B) shall apply to a person procuring a consumer report
on a consumer in connection
with the consumer's application for employment
only if--
(i) the consumer is applying
for a position over which the Secretary of Transportation
has the power to establish
qualifications and maximum hours of
service pursuant to the
provisions of section 31502 of title 49, or a position
subject to safety regulation by
a State transportation agency; and
(ii) as of the time at which
the person procures the report or causes the
report to be procured the only
interaction between the consumer and
the person in connection with
that employment application has been by
mail, telephone, computer, or
other similar means.
(4) Exception for national
security investigations.
(A) In
general. In
the case of an agency or department of the United States
Government which seeks to
obtain and use a consumer report for employment
purposes, paragraph (3) shall
not apply to any adverse action by such
agency or department which is
based in part on such consumer report, if
the head of such agency or
department makes a written finding that–
(i) the consumer report is
relevant to a national security investigation of
such agency or department;
(ii) the investigation is
within the jurisdiction of such agency or department;
(iii) there is reason to
believe that compliance with paragraph (3) will--
(I) endanger the life or
physical safety of any person;
(II) result in flight from
prosecution;
(III) result in the destruction
of, or tampering with, evidence relevant
to the investigation;
(IV) result in the intimidation
of a potential witness relevant to the
investigation;
(V) result in the compromise of
classified information; or
July 30,
2004 17
(VI) otherwise seriously
jeopardize or unduly delay the investigation
or another official proceeding.
(B) Notification
of consumer upon conclusion of investigation. Upon
the
conclusion of a national
security investigation described in subparagraph
(A), or upon the determination
that the exception under subparagraph (A)
is no longer required for the
reasons set forth in such subparagraph, the
official exercising the
authority in such subparagraph shall provide to the
consumer who is the subject of
the consumer report with regard to which
such finding was made--
(i) a copy of such consumer
report with any classified information
redacted as necessary;
(ii) notice of any adverse
action which is based, in part, on the consumer
report; and
(iii) the identification with
reasonable specificity of the nature of the
investigation for which the
consumer report was sought.
(C) Delegation
by head of agency or department. For
purposes of
subparagraphs (A) and (B), the
head of any agency or department of the
United States Government may
delegate his or her authorities under this
paragraph to an official of
such agency or department who has personnel
security responsibilities and
is a member of the Senior Executive Service
or equivalent civilian or
military rank.
(D) Report
to the Congress. Not
later than January 31 of each year, the head of
each agency and department of
the United States Government that
exercised authority under this
paragraph during the preceding year shall
submit a report to the Congress
on the number of times the department or
agency exercised such authority
during the year.
(E) Definitions.
For
purposes of this paragraph, the following definitions shall
apply:
(i) The term “classified
information” means information that is protected
from unauthorized disclosure
under Executive Order No. 12958 or
successor orders.
(ii) The term “national
security investigation” means any official inquiry
by an agency or department of
the United States Government to
determine the eligibility of a
consumer to receive access or continued
access to classified
information or to determine whether classified
information has been lost or
compromised.
(c) Furnishing reports in
connection with credit or insurance transactions that are not
initiated by the consumer.
July 30,
2004 18
(1) In
general. A
consumer reporting agency may furnish a consumer report
relating
to any consumer pursuant to
subparagraph (A) or (C) of subsection (a)(3) in
connection with any credit or
insurance transaction that is not initiated by the
consumer only if
(A) the consumer authorizes the
agency to provide such report to such person; or
(B)(i) the transaction consists
of a firm offer of credit or insurance;
(ii) the consumer reporting
agency has complied with subsection (e); and
(iii) there is not in effect an
election by the consumer, made in accordance
with subsection (e), to have
the consumer's name and address excluded
from lists of names provided by
the agency pursuant to this paragraph.
(2) Limits
on information received under paragraph (1)(B). A
person may receive
pursuant to paragraph (1)(B)
only
(A) the name and address of a
consumer;
(B) an identifier that is not
unique to the consumer and that is used by the
person solely for the purpose
of verifying the identity of the consumer; and
(C) other information
pertaining to a consumer that does not identify the
relationship or experience of
the consumer with respect to a particular
creditor or other entity.
(3) Information
regarding inquiries. Except
as provided in section 609(a)(5)
[§1681g], a consumer reporting
agency shall not furnish to any person a record of
inquiries in connection with a
credit or insurance transaction that is not initiated
by a consumer.
(d) Reserved.
(e) Election of consumer to be
excluded from lists.
(1) In
general. A
consumer may elect to have the consumer's name and address
excluded from any list provided
by a consumer reporting agency under subsection
(c)(1)(B) in connection with a
credit or insurance transaction that is not initiated
by the consumer, by notifying
the agency in accordance with paragraph (2) that
the consumer does not consent
to any use of a consumer report relating to the
consumer in connection with any
credit or insurance transaction that is not
initiated by the consumer.
(2) Manner
of notification. A
consumer shall notify a consumer reporting agency
under paragraph (1)
(A) through the notification
system maintained by the agency under paragraph
(5); or
July 30,
2004 19
(B) by submitting to the agency
a signed notice of election form issued by the
agency for purposes of this
subparagraph.
(3) Response
of agency after notification through system. Upon
receipt of notification
of the election of a consumer
under paragraph (1) through the notification system
maintained by the agency under
paragraph (5), a consumer reporting agency shall
(A) inform the consumer that
the election is effective only for the 5-year
period following the election
if the consumer does not submit to the
agency a signed notice of
election form issued by the agency for purposes
of paragraph (2)(B); and
(B) provide to the consumer a
notice of election form, if requested by the
consumer, not later than 5
business days after receipt of the notification of
the election through the system
established under paragraph (5), in the
case of a request made at the
time the consumer provides notification
through the system.
(4) Effectiveness
of election. An
election of a consumer under paragraph (1)
(A) shall be effective with
respect to a consumer reporting agency beginning 5
business days after the date on
which the consumer notifies the agency in
accordance with paragraph (2);
(B) shall be effective with
respect to a consumer reporting agency
(i) subject to subparagraph
(C), during the 5-year period beginning 5
business days after the date on
which the consumer notifies the agency
of the election, in the case of
an election for which a consumer notifies
the agency only in accordance
with paragraph (2)(A); or
(ii) until the consumer
notifies the agency under subparagraph (C), in the
case of an election for which a
consumer notifies the agency in
accordance with paragraph
(2)(B);
(C) shall not be effective
after the date on which the consumer notifies the
agency, through the
notification system established by the agency under
paragraph (5), that the
election is no longer effective; and
(D) shall be effective with
respect to each affiliate of the agency.
(5) Notification System
(A) In
general. Each
consumer reporting agency that, under subsection
(c)(1)(B), furnishes a consumer
report in connection with a credit or
insurance transaction that is
not initiated by a consumer, shall
(i) establish and maintain a
notification system, including a toll-free
telephone number, which permits
any consumer whose consumer
July 30,
2004 20
report is maintained by the
agency to notify the agency, with
appropriate identification, of
the consumer's election to have the
consumer's name and address
excluded from any such list of names
and addresses provided by the
agency for such a transaction; and
(ii) publish by not later than
365 days after the date of enactment of the
Consumer Credit Reporting
Reform Act of 1996, and not less than
annually thereafter, in a
publication of general circulation in the area
served by the agency
(I) a notification that
information in consumer files maintained by the
agency may be used in
connection with such transactions; and
(II) the address and toll-free
telephone number for consumers to use to
notify the agency of the
consumer's election under clause (I).
(B) Establishment
and maintenance as compliance. Establishment
and
maintenance of a notification
system (including a toll-free telephone
number) and publication by a
consumer reporting agency on the agency's
own behalf and on behalf of any
of its affiliates in accordance with this
paragraph is deemed to be
compliance with this paragraph by each of
those affiliates.
(6) Notification
system by agencies that operate nationwide. Each
consumer reporting
agency that compiles and
maintains files on consumers on a nationwide basis
shall establish and maintain a
notification system for purposes of paragraph (5)
jointly with other such
consumer reporting agencies.
(f) Certain
use or obtaining of information prohibited.
A person shall not use or obtain a
consumer report for any purpose
unless
(1) the consumer report is
obtained for a purpose for which the consumer report is
authorized to be furnished
under this section; and
(2) the purpose is certified in
accordance with section 607 [§ 1681e] by a prospective
user of the report through a
general or specific certification.
(g) Protection of Medical
Information
(1) Limitation
on consumer reporting agencies.
A consumer reporting agency shall not
furnish for employment
purposes, or in connection with a credit or insurance
transaction, a consumer report
that contains medical information (other than
medical contact information
treated in the manner required under section
605(a)(6)) about a consumer,
unless--
(A) if furnished in connection
with an insurance transaction, the consumer
affirmatively consents to the
furnishing of the report;
July 30,
2004 21
(B) if furnished for employment
purposes or in connection with a credit
transaction--
(i) the information to be
furnished is relevant to process or effect the
employment or credit
transaction; and
(ii) the consumer provides
specific written consent for the furnishing of the
report that describes in clear
and conspicuous language the use for
which the information will be
furnished; or
(C) the information to be
furnished pertains solely to transactions, accounts, or
balances relating to debts
arising from the receipt of medical services,
products, or devises, where
such information, other than account status or
amounts, is restricted or
reported using codes that do not identify, or do
not provide information
sufficient to infer, the specific provider or the
nature of such services,
products, or devices, as provided in section
605(a)(6).
(2) Limitation
on creditors.
Except as permitted pursuant to paragraph (3)(C) or
regulations
prescribed under paragraph
(5)(A), a creditor shall not obtain or use medical
information (other than medical
contact information treated in the manner
required under section
605(a)(6)) pertaining to a consumer in connection with any
determination of the consumer's
eligibility, or continued eligibility, for credit.
(3) Actions
authorized by federal law, insurance activities and regulatory
determinations.
Section 603(d)(3) shall not be
construed so as to treat information or any
communication of information as
a consumer report if the information or
communication is disclosed--
(A) in connection with the
business of insurance or annuities, including the
activities described in section
18B of the model Privacy of Consumer
Financial and Health
Information Regulation issued by the National
Association of Insurance
Commissioners (as in effect on January 1, 2003);
(B) for any purpose permitted
without authorization under the Standards for
Individually Identifiable
Health Information promulgated by the
Department of Health and Human
Services pursuant to the Health
Insurance Portability and
Accountability Act of 1996, or referred to under
section 1179 of such Act, or
described in section 502(e) of Public Law
106-102; or
(C) as otherwise determined to
be necessary and appropriate, by regulation or
order and subject to paragraph
(6), by the Commission, any Federal
banking agency or the National
Credit Union Administration (with respect
to any financial institution
subject to the jurisdiction of such agency or
Administration under paragraph
(1), (2), or (3) of section 621(b), or the
applicable State insurance
authority (with respect to any person engaged in
providing insurance or
annuities).
2 The
reporting periods have been lengthened for certain adverse
information pertaining to U.S. Government
insured
or guaranteed student loans, or pertaining to national direct
student loans. See sections 430A(f) and
463(c)(3)
of the Higher Education Act of 1965, 20 U.S.C. 1080a(f) and 20
U.S.C. 1087cc(c)(3), respectively.
July 30,
2004 22
(4) Limitation
on redisclosure of medical information.
Any person that receives
medical information pursuant to
paragraph (1) or (3) shall not disclose such
information to any other
person, except as necessary to carry out the purpose
for which the information was
initially disclosed, or as otherwise permitted by
statute, regulation, or order.
(5) Regulations and Effective
Date for Paragraph (2)
(A) Regulations
required.
Each Federal banking agency and the National Credit
Union Administration shall,
subject to paragraph (6) and after notice and
opportunity for comment,
prescribe regulations that permit transactions
under paragraph (2) that are
determined to be necessary and appropriate to
protect legitimate operational,
transactional, risk, consumer, and other needs
(and which shall include
permitting actions necessary for administrative
verification purposes),
consistent with the intent of paragraph (2) to restrict
the use of medical information
for inappropriate purposes.
(B) Final
regulations required.
The Federal banking agencies and the National
Credit Union Administration
shall issue the regulations required under
subparagraph (A) in final form
before the end of the 6-month period
beginning on the date of
enactment of the Fair and Accurate Credit
Transactions Act of 2003.
(6) Coordination
with other laws.
No provision of this subsection shall be construed
as altering, affecting, or
superseding the applicability of any other provision of
Federal law relating to medical
confidentiality.
§ 605. Requirements relating
to information contained in consumer reports [15
U.S.C. §1681c]
(a) Information
excluded from consumer reports. Except
as authorized under subsection
(b) of this section, no
consumer reporting agency may make any consumer report
containing any of the following
items of information:
(1) Cases under title 11
[United States Code] or under the Bankruptcy Act that, from
the date of entry of the order
for relief or the date of adjudication, as the case may
be, antedate the report by more
than 10 years.
(2) Civil suits, civil
judgments, and records of arrest that from date of entry,
antedate
the report by more than seven
years or until the governing statute of limitations
has expired, whichever is the
longer period.
(3) Paid tax liens which, from
date of payment, antedate the report by more than
seven years.
(4) Accounts placed for
collection or charged to profit and loss which antedate the
report by more than seven
years. 2
3This
provision, added in September 1996, should read “paragraphs
(4) and (5)....”
Prior Section 605(a)(6)
was
amended and re-designated as Section 605(a)(5) in November
1998. The current Section 605(a)(6), added in
December
2003 and now containing no reference to any 7-year period, is
obviously inapplicable.
July 30,
2004 23
(5) Any other adverse item of
information, other than records of convictions of
crimes which antedates the
report by more than seven years. 2
(6) The name, address, and
telephone number of any medical information furnisher
that has notified the agency of
its status, unless--
(A) such name, address, and
telephone number are restricted or reported using
codes that do not identify, or
provide information sufficient to infer, the
specific provider or the nature
of such services, products, or devices to a
person other than the consumer;
or
(B) the report is being
provided to an insurance company for a purpose
relating to engaging in the
business of insurance other than property and
casualty insurance.
(b) Exempted
cases. The
provisions of paragraphs (1) through (5) of subsection (a) of
this section are not applicable
in the case of any consumer credit report to be used in
connection with
(1) a credit transaction
involving, or which may reasonably be expected to involve, a
principal amount of $150,000 or
more;
(2) the underwriting of life
insurance involving, or which may reasonably be
expected to involve, a face
amount of $150,000 or more; or
(3) the employment of any
individual at an annual salary w |