The staff of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) prepared the 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 Publishing 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 (§§ 601-629) 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 substitute for the text in the U.S. Code.
This version of the FCRA includes the amendments to the FCRA set forth in the Consumer Credit Reporting Reform Act of 1996.
§ 601. Short title 1
§ 602. Congressional findings and statement of purpose [15 U.S.C. § 1681] 11
§ 605. Requirements relating to information contained in consumer reports [15 U.S.C. § 1681c]22
§ 605A. Identity theft prevention; fraud alerts and active duty alerts [15 U.S.C. § 1681c-1] 26
§ 605B. Block of information resulting from identity theft [15 U.S.C. § 1681c-2] 39
§ 606. Disclosure of investigative consumer reports [15 U.S.C. § 1681d] 41
§ 607. Compliance procedures [15 U.S.C. § 1681e] 43
§ 608. Disclosures to governmental agencies [15 U.S.C. § 1681f] 45
§ 609. Disclosures to consumers [15 U.S.C. § 1681g] 45
§ 610. Conditions and form of disclosure to consumers [15 U.S.C. § 1681h] 57
§ 611. Procedure in case of disputed accuracy [15 U.S.C. § 1681i] . . . . . . . . . . . 58
§ 612. Charges for certain disclosures [15 U.S.C. § 1681j] 66
§ 613. Public record information for employment purposes [15 U.S.C. § 1681k] 70 ]
§ 614. Restrictions on investigative consumer reports [15 U.S.C. § 1681l] . . . . . . 70
§ 615. Requirements on users of consumer reports [15 U.S.C. § 1681m] . . . . . . 70
§ 616. Civil liability for willful noncompliance [15 U.S.C. § 1681n] 79
617. Civil liability for negligent noncompliance [15 U.S.C. § 1681o] 80
§ 618. Jurisdiction of courts; limitation of actions [15 U.S.C. § 1681p] 80
§ 619. Obtaining information under false pretenses [15 U.S.C. § 1681q] 81
§ 620. Unauthorized disclosures by officers or employees [15 U.S.C. § 1681r] 81
§ 621. Administrative enforcement [15 U.S.C. § 1681s] 82
1 § 622. Information on overdue child support obligations [15 U.S.C. § 1681s-1] 87
§ 623. Responsibilities of furnishers of information to consumer reporting agencies [15 U.S.C. § 1681s-2] 87
§ 624. Affiliate sharing [15 U.S.C. § 1681s-3] 97
§ 625. Relation to State laws [15 U.S.C. § 1681t]100
§ 626. Disclosures to FBI for counterintelligence purposes [15 U.S.C. § 1681u] 103
§ 627. Disclosures to governmental agencies for counterterrorism purposes [15 U.S.C. § 1681v] 108
§ 628. Disposal of records [15 U.S.C. § 1681w] 109
§ 629. Corporate and technological circumvention prohibited [15 U.S.C. § 1681x] 110
Individuals interested in Federal Trade Commission policies relating to consumer credit and the fair reporting as well as corporate compliance officers, accountants, and attorneys with small businesses to large corporations will be interested in this guide that helps to explain many components of this Act in lay terms.
