15 U.S.C. § 1681d — Disclosure of investigative consumer re-

Page 1580 TITLE 15—COMMERCE AND TRADE § 1681d (c) Rulemaking (1) In general Not later than 180 days after December 27, 2021, the Director shall issue rules to imple- ment subsection (a). (2) Contents The rules issued pursuant to paragraph (1) shall establish a method by which consumers shall submit trafficking documentation to consumer reporting agencies. (Pub. L. 90–321, title VI, § 605C, as added Pub. L. 117–81, div. F, title LXI, § 6102(a), Dec. 27, 2021, 135 Stat. 2383.) Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE Pub. L. 117–81, div. F, title LXI, § 6102(c), Dec. 27, 2021, 135 Stat. 2384, provided that: ‘‘The amendments made by this section [enacting this section] shall apply on the date that is 30 days after the date on which the Di- rector of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection issues a rule pursuant to section 605C(c) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act [15 U.S.C. 1681c–3(c)], as added by subsection (a) of this section. Any rule issued by the Director to implement such section 605C [15 U.S.C. 1681c–3] shall be limited to preventing a consumer re- porting agency from furnishing a consumer report con- taining any adverse item of information about a con- sumer (as such terms are defined, respectively, in sec- tion 603 the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681a)) that resulted from trafficking.’’ § 1681d. Disclosure of investigative consumer re- ports (a) Disclosure of fact of preparation A person may not procure or cause to be pre- pared an investigative consumer report on any consumer unless— (1) it is clearly and accurately disclosed to the consumer that an investigative consumer report including information as to his char- acter, general reputation, personal character- istics, and mode of living, whichever are appli- cable, may be made, and such disclosure (A) is made in a writing mailed, or otherwise deliv- ered, to the consumer, not later than three days after the date on which the report was first requested, and (B) includes a statement informing the consumer of his right to request the additional disclosures provided for under subsection (b) of this section and the written summary of the rights of the consumer pre- pared pursuant to section 1681g(c) of this title; and (2) the person certifies or has certified to the consumer reporting agency that— (A) the person has made the disclosures to the consumer required by paragraph (1); and (B) the person will comply with subsection (b). (b) Disclosure on request of nature and scope of investigation Any person who procures or causes to be pre- pared an investigative consumer report on any consumer shall, upon written request made by the consumer within a reasonable period of time after the receipt by him of the disclosure re- quired by subsection (a)(1), make a complete and accurate disclosure of the nature and scope of the investigation requested. This disclosure shall be made in a writing mailed, or otherwise delivered, to the consumer not later than five days after the date on which the request for such disclosure was received from the consumer or such report was first requested, whichever is the later. (c) Limitation on liability upon showing of rea- sonable procedures for compliance with pro- visions No person may be held liable for any violation of subsection (a) or (b) of this section if he shows by a preponderance of the evidence that at the time of the violation he maintained reasonable procedures to assure compliance with subsection (a) or (b). (d) Prohibitions (1) Certification A consumer reporting agency shall not pre- pare or furnish an investigative consumer re- port unless the agency has received a certifi- cation under subsection (a)(2) from the person who requested the report. (2) Inquiries A consumer reporting agency shall not make an inquiry for the purpose of preparing an in- vestigative consumer report on a consumer for employment purposes if the making of the in- quiry by an employer or prospective employer of the consumer would violate any applicable Federal or State equal employment oppor- tunity law or regulation. (3) Certain public record information Except as otherwise provided in section 1681k of this title, a consumer reporting agen- cy shall not furnish an investigative consumer report that includes information that is a matter of public record and that relates to an arrest, indictment, conviction, civil judicial action, tax lien, or outstanding judgment, un- less the agency has verified the accuracy of the information during the 30-day period end- ing on the date on which the report is fur- nished. (4) Certain adverse information A consumer reporting agency shall not pre- pare or furnish an investigative consumer re- port on a consumer that contains information that is adverse to the interest of the consumer and that is obtained through a personal inter- view with a neighbor, friend, or associate of the consumer or with another person with whom the consumer is acquainted or who has knowledge of such item of information, un- less— (A) the agency has followed reasonable procedures to obtain confirmation of the in- formation, from an additional source that has independent and direct knowledge of the information; or (B) the person interviewed is the best pos- sible source of the information. (Pub. L. 90–321, title VI, § 606, as added Pub. L. 91–508, title VI, § 601, Oct. 26, 1970, 84 Stat. 1130; amended Pub. L. 104–208, div. A, title II, §§ 2408(d)(2), 2414, Sept. 30, 1996, 110 Stat. 3009–438, 3009–449.) Page 1581 TITLE 15—COMMERCE AND TRADE § 1681e 1 See References in Text note below. Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 1996—Subsec. (a)(1)(B). Pub. L. 104–208, §§ 2408(d)(2), 2414(1), inserted ‘‘and the written summary of the rights of the consumer prepared pursuant to section 1681g(c) of this title’’ before the semicolon and sub- stituted ‘‘and’’ for ‘‘or’’ at end. Subsec. (a)(2). Pub. L. 104–208, § 2414(2), added par. (2) and struck out former par. (2) which read as follows: ‘‘the report is to be used for employment purposes for which the consumer has not specifically applied.’’ Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 104–208, § 2414(3), substituted ‘‘, make a complete’’ for ‘‘, shall make a complete’’. Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 104–208, § 2414(4), added subsec. (d). Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1996 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 104–208 effective 365 days after Sept. 30, 1996, with special rule for early compliance, see section 2420 of Pub. L. 104–208, set out as a note under section 1681a of this title. EFFECTIVE DATE Section effective upon the expiration of one hundred and eighty days following Oct. 26, 1970, see section 504(d) of Pub. L. 90–321, as added by Pub. L. 91–508, set out as a note under section 1681 of this title. § 1681e. Compliance procedures (a) Identity and purposes of credit users Every consumer reporting agency shall main- tain reasonable procedures designed to avoid violations of section 1681c of this title and to limit the furnishing of consumer reports to the purposes listed under section 1681b of this title. These procedures shall require that prospective users of the information identify themselves, certify the purposes for which the information is sought, and certify that the information will be used for no other purpose. Every consumer re- porting agency shall make a reasonable effort to verify the identity of a new prospective user and the uses certified by such prospective user prior to furnishing such user a consumer report. No consumer reporting agency may furnish a con- sumer report to any person if it has reasonable grounds for believing that the consumer report will not be used for a purpose listed in section 1681b of this title. (b) Accuracy of report Whenever a consumer reporting agency pre- pares a consumer report it shall follow reason- able procedures to assure maximum possible ac- curacy of the information concerning the indi- vidual about whom the report relates. (c) Disclosure of consumer reports by users al- lowed A consumer reporting agency may not pro- hibit a user of a consumer report furnished by the agency on a consumer from disclosing the contents of the report to the consumer, if ad- verse action against the consumer has been taken by the user based in whole or in part on the report. (d) Notice to users and furnishers of information (1) Notice requirement A consumer reporting agency shall provide to any person— (A) who regularly and in the ordinary course of business furnishes information to the agency with respect to any consumer; or (B) to whom a consumer report is provided by the agency; a notice of such person’s responsibilities under this subchapter. (2) Content of notice The Bureau shall prescribe the content of notices under paragraph (1), and a consumer reporting agency shall be in compliance with this subsection if it provides a notice under paragraph (1) that is substantially similar to the Bureau prescription under this paragraph. (e) Procurement of consumer report for resale (1) Disclosure A person may not procure a consumer report for purposes of reselling the report (or any in- formation in the report) unless the person dis- closes to the consumer reporting agency that originally furnishes the report— (A) the identity of the end-user of the re- port (or information); and (B) each permissible purpose under section 1681b of this title for which the report is fur- nished to the end-user of the report (or infor- mation). (2) Responsibilities of procurers for resale A person who procures a consumer report for purposes of reselling the report (or any infor- mation in the report) shall— (A) establish and comply with reasonable procedures designed to ensure that the re- port (or information) is resold by the person only for a purpose for which the report may be furnished under section 1681b of this title, including by requiring that each person to which the report (or information) is resold and that resells or provides the report (or in- formation) to any other person— (i) identifies each end user of the resold report (or information); (ii) certifies each purpose for which the report (or information) will be used; and (iii) certifies that the report (or informa- tion) will be used for no other purpose; and (B) before reselling the report, make rea- sonable efforts to verify the identifications and certifications made under subparagraph (A). (3) Resale of consumer report to a Federal agency or department Notwithstanding paragraph (1) or (2), a per- son who procures a consumer report for pur- poses of reselling the report (or any informa- tion in the report) shall not disclose the iden- tity of the end-user of the report under para- graph (1) or (2) if— (A) the end user is an agency or depart- ment of the United States Government which procures the report from the person for purposes of determining the eligibility of the consumer concerned to receive access or continued access to classified information (as defined in section 1681b(b)(4)(E)(i) 1 of this title); and