15 U.S.C. § 1681e — Compliance procedures

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 Page 1582 TITLE 15—COMMERCE AND TRADE § 1681f 1 See References in Text note below. (B) the agency or department certifies in writing to the person reselling the report that nondisclosure is necessary to protect classified information or the safety of per- sons employed by or contracting with, or un- dergoing investigation for work or con- tracting with the agency or department. (Pub. L. 90–321, title VI, § 607, as added Pub. L. 91–508, title VI, § 601, Oct. 26, 1970, 84 Stat. 1130; amended Pub. L. 104–208, div. A, title II, § 2407, Sept. 30, 1996, 110 Stat. 3009–435; Pub. L. 105–107, title III, § 311(b), Nov. 20, 1997, 111 Stat. 2256; Pub. L. 111–203, title X, § 1088(a)(2)(A), July 21, 2010, 124 Stat. 2087.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT Section 1681b(b)(4) of this title, referred to in subsec. (e)(3)(A), was subsequently amended, and section 1681b(b)(4)(E) no longer defines the term ‘‘classified in- formation’’. However, such term is defined elsewhere in that section. AMENDMENTS 2010—Subsec. (d)(2). Pub. L. 111–203 substituted ‘‘Bu- reau’’ for ‘‘Federal Trade Commission’’ in two places. 1997—Subsec. (e)(3). Pub. L. 105–107 added par. (3). 1996—Subsecs. (c) to (e). Pub. L. 104–208 added subsecs. (c) to (e). Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE OF 2010 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 111–203 effective on the des- ignated transfer date, see section 1100H of Pub. L. 111–203, set out as a note under section 552a of Title 5, Government Organization and Employees. EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1997 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 105–107 effective as if included in chapter 1 of subtitle D of the Economic Growth and Regulatory Paperwork Reduction Act of 1996, Pub. L. 104–208, as of Sept. 30, 1996, see section 311(c) of Pub. L. 105–107, set out as a note under section 1681b of this title. 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. § 1681f. Disclosures to governmental agencies Notwithstanding the provisions of section 1681b of this title, a consumer reporting agency may furnish identifying information respecting any consumer, limited to his name, address, former addresses, places of employment, or former places of employment, to a governmental agency. (Pub. L. 90–321, title VI, § 608, as added Pub. L. 91–508, title VI, § 601, Oct. 26, 1970, 84 Stat. 1131.) Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries 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. § 1681g. Disclosures to consumers (a) Information on file; sources; report recipients Every consumer reporting agency shall, upon request, and subject to section 1681h(a)(1) of this title, clearly and accurately disclose to the con- sumer: (1) All information in the consumer’s file at the time of the request, except that— (A) if the consumer to whom the file relates requests that the first 5 digits of the social se- curity number (or similar identification num- ber) of the consumer not be included in the disclosure and the consumer reporting agency has received appropriate proof of the identity of the requester, the consumer reporting agen- cy shall so truncate such number in such dis- closure; and (B) nothing in this paragraph shall be con- strued to require a consumer reporting agency to disclose to a consumer any information concerning credit scores or any other risk scores or predictors relating to the consumer. (2) The sources of the information; except that the sources of information acquired solely for use in preparing an investigative consumer re- port and actually used for no other purpose need not be disclosed: Provided, That in the event an action is brought under this subchapter, such sources shall be available to the plaintiff under appropriate discovery procedures in the court in which the action is brought. (3)(A) Identification of each person (including each end-user identified under section 1681e(e)(1) of this title) that procured a consumer report— (i) for employment purposes, during the 2- year period preceding the date on which the request is made; or (ii) for any other purpose, during the 1-year period preceding the date on which the request is made. (B) An identification of a person under sub- paragraph (A) shall include— (i) the name of the person or, if applicable, the trade name (written in full) under which such person conducts business; and (ii) upon request of the consumer, the ad- dress and telephone number of the person. (C) Subparagraph (A) does not apply if— (i) the end user is an agency or department of the United States Government that pro- cures the report from the person for purposes of determining the eligibility of the consumer to whom the report relates to receive access or continued access to classified information (as defined in section 1681b(b)(4)(E)(i) 1 of this title); and (ii) the head of the agency or department makes a written finding as prescribed under section 1681b(b)(4)(A) of this title. (4) The dates, original payees, and amounts of any checks upon which is based any adverse characterization of the consumer, included in the file at the time of the disclosure. (5) A record of all inquiries received by the agency during the 1-year period preceding the