§1681j · Free reports
You have the right to see your credit report, for free, on a regular basis.
Each of the three major credit bureaus must provide you with a free copy of your credit report once every 12 months under the original FCRA. Through AnnualCreditReport.com, the bureaus currently offer free weekly reports from each of the three. You're also entitled to a free report after any "adverse action" against you (denied credit, denied employment, denied insurance, charged a higher rate).
Example
You apply for an auto loan and are denied. The lender has to tell you which credit bureau they pulled. You have 60 days from the denial notice to request a free copy of that bureau's report on you.
Or
You're not sure if anything has changed on your report in the last two months. You go to AnnualCreditReport.com and pull free reports from all three bureaus the same week. No fee, no purchase required.
§1681i · Dispute and investigation
You can dispute anything inaccurate, and the bureau has to investigate.
If something on your credit report is wrong (wrong account, wrong balance, wrong status, an account that isn't yours), you can dispute it directly with the bureau. The bureau has 30 days (sometimes 45) to investigate, contact the company that reported the information, and either correct it, delete it, or verify it as accurate. If the information can't be verified, it has to come off.
Example
A debt-collection trade line on your report says you owe $4,200; you actually settled the matter for $1,800 a year ago. You file a dispute with the bureau; they contact the furnisher; the trade line either gets updated to "paid in full" or removed entirely.
Or
A collection appears on your report from a debt that isn't yours: same name, different person. You dispute it. The collector can't produce documentation linking the debt to you specifically. Under §1681i, the trade line has to be deleted.
§1681c · Reporting time limits
Most negative information has a 7-year limit.
Most negative items (late payments, charge-offs, collections, civil judgments) can't legally appear on your credit report for more than seven years from the date of the original delinquency. (Bankruptcies can stay for ten years.) After the limit passes, the information has to come off, regardless of whether the underlying debt has been paid.
Example
A charge-off that originated in February 2017 still showing on your March 2026 credit report. It's been more than seven years since the original delinquency. The bureau has to remove it on dispute, and the furnisher can't legally re-report it.
CFPB rules under FCRA · Medical-debt-specific
Medical debt has its own protections.
Recent rules issued by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau under the FCRA give medical debt special treatment: paid medical collections can't appear on your credit report at all, unpaid medical collections under $500 can't appear, and new medical collections can't be reported until at least one year after they go to collection. Compliance with these rules is uneven; disputes are how they get enforced.
Example
A $300 emergency-room bill, sent to collection three months ago, showing on your credit report. Under the new rules, it shouldn't be there yet. A dispute under §1681i should result in removal.
Or
You paid off a $1,200 medical collection last year, but it's still showing as "paid collection" on your report. Under the medical-debt rule, paid medical collections shouldn't appear at all. The dispute should result in deletion of the trade line.
§1681b · Permissible purpose
Only certain people can pull your credit report.
Your credit report can only be pulled for specific "permissible purposes" defined in the law: applying for credit, employment background checks (with your written consent), insurance underwriting, certain government and child-support uses, and a few others. Random people, ex-spouses, curious neighbors, and most personal-curiosity inquiries don't qualify.
Example
An employer pulls your credit as part of a background check without first getting your written consent. That's a violation, and you can sue both the employer and the bureau that produced the report.
Or
An ex-business-partner pulls your credit to "see if you can be trusted." There's no permissible purpose for that pull. You can recover under §1681n if it was willful.
§1681c-1 · Fraud alerts and security freezes
You can put a lock on your credit, free of charge.
If you suspect identity theft or simply want extra protection, you can place a fraud alert (one year, or seven years after confirmed identity theft) requiring lenders to verify your identity before opening new accounts in your name. You can also place a security freeze (completely free since 2018) that blocks new credit accounts from being opened until you lift it.
Example
After a data breach exposes your Social Security number, you place a security freeze on all three bureau reports. A thief later attempts to open a credit card with your information. The credit pull comes back blocked. The application is denied automatically.
§1681m · Adverse-action notice
You're entitled to know when your report is used against you.
If you're denied credit, employment, insurance, or housing (or charged a higher rate) because of something on your credit report, the company has to give you an "adverse-action notice." That notice has to identify the credit bureau they used, your right to a free copy of the report, and your right to dispute anything inaccurate.
Example
A landlord rejects your rental application because of "credit." Under §1681m, they have to send you an adverse-action notice naming the bureau, your score (if a score was used), and how to dispute. If they don't, that's a separate violation.
§1681n / §1681o · The right to sue
You can sue for inaccuracies, damages, and attorneys' fees.
If a bureau or furnisher won't correct an error after you've followed the dispute process, you can sue. Damages include actual damages (a higher mortgage rate caused by a wrong score, lost employment, denied housing), statutory damages in willful cases, sometimes punitive damages, and your attorneys' fees. Like the FDCPA, the fee-shifting provision is what makes these cases viable to bring.
Example
After three rounds of disputes, a credit bureau still hasn't corrected an obvious error, and the furnisher keeps re-reporting the same wrong information. You sue both. Damages include the higher mortgage interest you paid because of the bad score, plus statutory damages and attorneys' fees.