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There are three requirements, including a creator, content, and a purpose requirement that must be met before a report can be considered a consumer report.
- Consumer reports must be done by a Consumer Reporting Agency.
- A consumer report is 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.
- A consumer report is a report expected to be used or collected in whole or part for the purpose of serving as a factor used in establishing the consumers eligibility for credit or insurance used primarily for personal, family, household, or employment purposes.
Examples of consumer reporting agencies include Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian (known as the National Credit Reporting Agencies), background screeners, and tenant/background screeners. Information must pertain to a consumer/individual and not entities, corporations, or partnerships. Information also applies to both private and public data. Consumer reporting agencies do not have direct transactions or experiences with applicants and information is not on a firsthand basis. CRAs get their information from third-parties and thus are not the originating source of information.
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Reports including personal knowledge or firsthand interaction, reports made among persons under common control, and reports other than credit (including skip tracing, law enforcement, dating, and laboratory reports) are not consumer reports. Information collected from internet providers, which collect “header data” consisting purely of identifying information from sources like public records, mailing lists, surveys, public social media profiles, etc., are also not considered consumer reports.
Information excluded from consumer reports further include:
- Arrest records more than 7 years old.
- Items of adverse information, except criminal convictions older than 7 years.
- Negative credit data, civil judgments, paid tax liens, and/or collections accounts older than 7 years. Time limits apply only to “negative” information about consumers as favorable information never goes stale. Time limits apply only to CRAs.
- End-users can use “stale data” (older than 7 years) if information is obtained from a source other than a CRA.
Continue to A summary of consumer rights under FCRA, or jump to a different article.
- Fundamentals of The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)
- Industry Players Under FCRA
- Accuracy and Reasonable Procedures
- FCRA Permissible Purpose
- Adverse Action Notification
- Reinvestigation, Disclosures, Disposal of Consumer Information
- What is a Consumer Report?
- A summary of consumer rights under FCRA
- FCRA Litigation
- State Versions of FCRA and FCRA California
FAQs
A consumer report can contain a wide variety of information including credit history, past bankruptcy, judicial records, employment records, and even online activity. This information can only be accessed with approval from the individual and is highly regulated by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).
What is the difference between a credit report and a consumer report? ›
A credit report will document which accounts are in good standing, if any debts are past due, and other information about your financial history. A credit report, however, is a type of consumer report. A consumer report is a broader report that contains personal identifying information beyond credit.
Should I get a consumer report? ›
You should fact-check your specialty consumer reports during important life events and situations, such as when applying for a job, rental home, or at other times like when applying for a new bank account or insurance policy.
What does a consumer credit report do? ›
A credit report is a detailed record of how you've managed your credit over time. Credit reports are used most often by lenders to determine whether to provide you with credit and how much you will pay for it. Credit reports are also used by insurance companies, employers, and landlords.
Can you refuse a consumer report? ›
The applicant or employee must agree in writing to the release of the report to the employer. This written permission may be given on the notice itself.
What cannot be included in a consumer report? ›
Consumer reports may not contain adverse information (including arrests that did not lead to conviction) more than seven years old with the following exceptions: bankruptcies may be reported for ten years; convictions may be reported without any time limitation; and.
Can I see my own consumer report? ›
Federal law gives you the right to get a free copy of your credit report every 12 months from each of the three nationwide credit bureaus.
What does consumer report cost? ›
No fake reviews. No advertising. We buy everything we test. 100% unbiased for over 80 years.
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| $10 / mo | $39 / yr | $59 / yr |
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4 more rowsConsumer Reports (CR) is the world's largest nonprofit product-testing organization and has been helping subscribers find better, safer products for 80+ years. Consumer Reports accepts no outside advertising and no free test samples, and employs shoppers and experts to buy and test the products reviewed.
How long does a consumer report take? ›
How long do consumer credit checks take? After the candidate provides consent, the results of a credit check are typically available the same day. If you perform a credit check as part of a comprehensive background screening package, the final report may take anywhere from 1-5 days.
While the general public can't see your credit report, some groups have legal access to that personal information. Those groups include lenders, creditors, landlords, employers, insurance companies, government agencies and utility providers.
What is the highest credit score? ›
Highlights:
- While older models of credit scores used to go as high as 900, you can no longer achieve a 900 credit score.
- The highest score you can receive today is 850.
- Anything above 800 is considered an excellent credit score.
Our investigative journalism, advocacy, and digital testing empower consumers, inform people's purchasing decisions, influence businesses to improve the products and services they deliver, and strengthen norms, laws, and regulations through science, evidence, and data.
How long does a consumer report affect your credit score? ›
A credit report provides a history of your dealings with creditors, and your open accounts will remain on your reports as long as they're active. But when it comes to certain types of information related to individual accounts—both positive and negative—a credit report's memory may last anywhere from two to 10 years.
What are the key elements of a consumer report? ›
Consumer reports typically include an individual's credit history and payment patterns, demographic and identifying information, and public records information, such as arrests, judgments, and bankruptcies.
