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FCRA basics

The Fair Credit Reporting Act is the federal law that governs what credit bureaus and furnishers (lenders, collectors) can do with consumer credit data. Codified at 15 U.S.C. §1681 et seq.

This is the law that makes disputing possible at all. Five sections matter for almost every dispute.

§609 — Disclosures to consumers

The bureaus are required to tell you what's in your file when you ask. The free annual report at annualcreditreport.com is the practical way most people exercise this right; the underlying right to disclosure is §609.

Why it matters for disputes: you can't dispute what you can't see. Pulling all three reports is step 0.

§611 — Reinvestigation

When you dispute an item, the bureau must investigate within 30 days (45 if you supply additional information during the window). The bureau must either verify the item or remove it.

Subsections that matter often:

• §611(a)(1)(A) — the 30-day investigation window itself.
• §611(a)(2) — the bureau must conduct a "reasonable reinvestigation."
• §611(a)(3) — the bureau can dismiss a dispute as "frivolous or irrelevant," but the threshold is high (substantively duplicative or based on rejected grounds without new information).
• §611(a)(5)(B) — if a previously deleted item is reinserted, the bureau must notify the consumer in writing within 5 business days.
• §611(a)(7) — the consumer can request a "method of verification" — what the bureau actually did to verify.

§623 — Furnisher duties

§611 governs the bureaus. §623 governs the furnishers — the lenders, card issuers, and collectors who report data to the bureaus.

• §623(a)(1)(A) — furnishers must report accurate information.
• §623(a)(2) — when notified of an inaccuracy, the furnisher must investigate and correct within 30 days.
• §623(a)(8) — consumers can dispute directly with the furnisher, bypassing the bureau, and the furnisher has the same reasonable-investigation duty as the bureau under §611(a)(2).

The §623(a)(8) direct-dispute path is one of the most underused tools in consumer credit law.

§605 — Obsolete information

Most negative information drops off your report after 7 years. The clock starts at the date of first delinquency — not the charge-off date, the collection-assignment date, or the date of last payment. See chargeoffs vs collections.

Bankruptcies are the exception: Chapter 7 reports for 10 years, Chapter 13 for 7.

§605B — Identity theft block

If you can document that an item is the result of identity theft — typically through a report filed at identitytheft.gov — the bureau must block the items within 4 business days of receipt.

This is a faster path than a §611 dispute when fraud is at issue, but it requires real documentation. Don't use it for items that are just inaccurate.

Not legal advice

This article is an overview of how the FCRA works in practice, not legal advice. If your situation is complicated, talk to a consumer-protection attorney. The National Association of Consumer Advocates maintains a member directory.

For the FDCPA — the parallel statute that governs collectors — see FDCPA basics. For statute-by-statute and state-level variation, see state law variations.

Last updated 11 days ago.