Fair Credit Reporting; Permissible Purposes for Furnishing, Using, and Obtaining Consumer Reports

Publisher lists this guidance as withdrawn/rescinded: Fair Credit Reporting; Permissible Purposes for Furnishing, Using, and Obtaining Consumer Reports, 87 FR 41243 (July 12, 2022); withdrawn on May 12, 2025 .

This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER
contains regulatory documents having general
applicability and legal effect, most of which
are keyed to and codified in the Code of
Federal Regulations, which is published under
50 titles pursuant to 44 U.S.C. 1510.
The Code of Federal Regulations is sold by
the Superintendent of Documents.
Rules and Regulations
Federal Register
41243
Vol. 87, No. 132
Tuesday, July 12, 2022
1
85 FR 77987 (Dec. 3, 2020).
2
See 15 U.S.C. 1681a(d) (defining ‘‘consumer
report’’).
3
See 15 U.S.C. 1681–1681x.
4
Safeco Ins. Co. of Am. v. Barr, 551 U.S. 47, 52
(2007); see also 15 U.S.C. 1681 (recognizing ‘‘a need
to insure that consumer reporting agencies exercise
their grave responsibilities with fairness,
impartiality, and a respect for the consumer’s right
to privacy’’).
5
S. Rep. No. 91–517, at 4 (1969) (noting, as an
example of this problem, ‘‘a reporter for a major TV
network was able to obtain 10 out of 20 reports
requested at random from 20 credit bureaus by
using the name of a completely fictitious company
under the guise of offering the individuals credit’’).
When introducing the bill that would become the
FCRA, Senator Proxmire observed that ‘‘[w]hat is
disturbing is the lack of any public standards to
ensure that the information [collected by consumer
reporting companies] is kept confidential and used
only for its intended purpose. The growing
accessibility of this information through computer-
and data-transmission techniques makes the
problem of confidentiality even more important.’’
15 Cong. Rec. 2413 (1969).
6
S. Rep. No. 91–517, at 1 (1969).
7
Trans Union Corp. v. FTC, 81 F.3d 228, 234
(D.C. Cir. 1996).
8
15 U.S.C. 1681b(a) (providing that, ‘‘[s]ubject to
subsection (c), any consumer reporting agency may
furnish a consumer report under the following
circumstances and no other’’). FCRA section 604(c)
defines when consumer reporting companies may
furnish consumer reports in connection with credit
and insurance transactions not initiated by the
consumer. 15 U.S.C. 1681b(c). Other sections of the
FCRA identify additional limited circumstances
under which consumer reporting companies are
permitted or required to disclose certain
information to government agencies. See 15 U.S.C.
1681f, 1681u, 1681v. Further, the Debt Collection
Improvement Act of 1996, Public Law 104–134, sec.
31001(m)(1), allows the head of an executive,
judicial, or legislative agency to obtain a consumer
report under certain circumstances relating to debt
collection. See 31 U.S.C. 3711(h).
9
15 U.S.C. 1681b(a)(2), (a)(3)(A), (a)(3)(B),
(a)(3)(C).
10
15 U.S.C. 1681e(a).
11
15 U.S.C. 1681r.
BUREAU OF CONSUMER FINANCIAL
PROTECTION
12 CFR Part 1022
Fair Credit Reporting; Permissible
Purposes for Furnishing, Using, and
Obtaining Consumer Reports
AGENCY: Bureau of Consumer Financial
Protection.
ACTION: Advisory opinion.
SUMMARY: The Consumer Financial
Protection Bureau (Bureau) is issuing
this advisory opinion to outline certain
obligations of consumer reporting
agencies and consumer report users
under section 604 of the Fair Credit
Reporting Act (FCRA). This advisory
opinion explains that the permissible
purposes listed in FCRA section
604(a)(3) are consumer specific, and it
affirms that a consumer reporting
agency may not provide a consumer
report to a user under FCRA section
604(a)(3) unless it has reason to believe
that all of the consumer report
information it includes pertains to the
consumer who is the subject of the
user’s request. The Bureau notes that
disclaimers will not cure a failure to
have a reason to believe that a user has
a permissible purpose for a consumer
report provided pursuant to FCRA
section 604(a)(3). This advisory opinion
also reminds consumer report users that
FCRA section 604(f) strictly prohibits a
person who uses or obtains a consumer
report from doing so without a
permissible purpose.
DATES: This advisory opinion is
effective on July 12, 2022.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Seth
Caffrey, Pavneet Singh, Laura Stack, or
Ruth Van Veldhuizen, Senior Counsels,
Office of Regulations at (202) 435–7700
or https://
reginquiries.consumerfinance.gov/. If
you require this document in an
alternative electronic format, please
contact CFPB_Accessibility@cfpb.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The
Bureau is issuing this advisory opinion
through the procedures for its Advisory
Opinions Policy.
1
Refer to those
procedures for more information.
I. Advisory Opinion
A. Background
Consumer reporting agencies collect
and assemble or evaluate information
about, among other things, the credit,
criminal, employment, and rental
histories of hundreds of millions of
Americans. They package this
information into consumer reports,
2

which are used by creditors, insurers,
landlords, employers, and others to
make eligibility and other decisions
about consumers. This collection,
assembly, evaluation, dissemination,
and use of vast quantities of often highly
sensitive personal and financial
information about consumers poses
significant risks to consumer privacy.
The FCRA regulates consumer
reporting.
3
Congress enacted the statute
‘‘to ensure fair and accurate credit
reporting, promote efficiency in the
banking system, and protect consumer
privacy.’’
4
One of the problems with the
credit reporting industry that Congress
recognized and sought to remedy with
the FCRA was that ‘‘information in a
person’s credit file [was] not always
kept strictly confidential.’’
5
The statute
was enacted to ‘‘prevent an undue
invasion of the individual’s right of
privacy in the collection and
dissemination of credit information.’’
6

As courts have recognized, ‘‘[a] major
purpose of the [FCRA] is the privacy’’ of
consumer data.
7

The FCRA protects consumer privacy
in multiple ways, including by limiting
the circumstances under which
consumer reporting agencies may
disclose consumer information. For
example, FCRA section 604, entitled
‘‘Permissible purposes of consumer
reports,’’ identifies an exclusive list of
‘‘permissible purposes’’ for which
consumer reporting agencies may
provide consumer reports,
8
including in
accordance with the written instructions
of the consumer to whom the report
relates and for purposes relating to
credit, employment, and insurance.
9

The statute states that a consumer
reporting agency may provide consumer
reports under these circumstances ‘‘and
no other.’’ In addition, FCRA section
607(a) requires that ‘‘[e]very consumer
reporting agency shall maintain
reasonable procedures designed to . . .
limit the furnishing of consumer reports
to the purposes listed under section
604.’’
10
And FCRA section 620 imposes
criminal liability on any officer or
employee of a consumer reporting
agency who knowingly and willfully
provides information concerning an
individual from the agency’s files to an
unauthorized person.
11

In addition to imposing permissible
purpose limitations on consumer
reporting agencies, the FCRA limits the
circumstances under which third parties
may obtain and use consumer report
information from consumer reporting
agencies. FCRA section 604(f) provides
that ‘‘a person shall not use or obtain a
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41244 Federal Register/ Vol. 87, No. 132 / Tuesday, July 12, 2022 / Rules and Regulations
12
15 U.S.C. 1681b(f). FCRA section 607(a)
requires that consumer reporting companies, among
other things, must require that prospective users of
consumer reports ‘‘certify the purposes for which
the information is sought, and certify that the
information will be used for no other purpose.’’ 15
U.S.C. 1681e(a).
13
15 U.S.C. 1681q.
14
See, e.g., United States v. Vivint Smart Home,
Inc., No. 2:21-cv-00267 (D. Utah 2021), https://
www.ftc.gov/system/files/documents/cases/de2_
complaint_against_vivint_smart_home.pdf (alleging
that the defendant violated FCRA section 604(f) by
obtaining consumer reports about consumers who
had not applied for credit in order to improve credit
applicants’ ability to satisfy the defendant’s credit
criteria); In re Clarity Servs., Inc., 2015–CFPB–0030
(Dec. 3, 2015), https://files.consumerfinance.gov/f/
201512_cfpb_consent-order_clarity-services-inc-
timothy-ranney.pdf (alleging that the defendant
violated FCRA section 604(f) by obtaining consumer
reports to create presentations to market its
analytical services to lenders and other financial
service providers); United States v. Direct Lending
Source, Inc., No. 3:12-cv-02441 (S.D. Cal. 2012),
https://www.ftc.gov/sites/default/files/documents/
cases/2012/10/121010directlendingcmpt.pdf
(alleging that the defendant violated FCRA section
604(f) by obtaining consumer reports without a
permissible purpose and selling them to entities
that targeted consumers in financial distress for
loan modification, debt relief, and foreclosure relief
services); In re Fajilan & Assocs., No. C–4332 (Aug.
17, 2011), https://www.ftc.gov/sites/default/files/
documents/cases/2011/08/
110819statewidecmpt.pdf (alleging that the
respondents furnished consumer reports to hackers
in violation of FCRA section 604); In re ACRAnet,
Inc., No. C–4331 (Aug. 17, 2011), https://
www.ftc.gov/sites/default/files/documents/cases/
2011/08/110809acranetcmpt.pdf (same); In re
SettlementOne Credit Corp., No. C–4330 (Aug. 17,
2011), https://www.ftc.gov/sites/default/files/
documents/cases/2011/08/
110819settlementonecmpt.pdf (same).
15
United States v. Choicepoint, Inc., No. 1:06-cv-
00198–GET, at ¶ 12 (N.D. Ga. 2006), https://
www.ftc.gov/sites/default/files/documents/cases/
2006/01/0523069complaint.pdf.
16
Bureau of Consumer Fin. Prot. v. Chou Team
Realty, LLC et al., No. 8:20-cv-00043, at ¶¶ 57–59,
69, 77–78, 89–106 (C.D. Cal. 2020), https://
files.consumerfinance.gov/f/documents/cfpb_chou-
team-realty-monster-loans_complaint_2020-01.pdf.
17
United States v. Mortgage Sols. FCS, Inc., No.
4:20-cv-00110–DMR, at ¶¶ 11–14 (N.D. Cal. 2020),
https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/documents/cases/
mortgage_solutions_complaint.pdf. In addition to
continuing to enforce the FCRA’s permissible
purpose provisions and protect the privacy of
consumer reports, the Bureau’s supervisory work
also has focused on ensuring compliance with the
FCRA’s permissible purpose requirements by
consumer reporting companies and consumer
report users. See, e.g., Bureau of Consumer Fin.
Prot., Supervisory Highlights, at 3–4 (Sept. 2020),
https://files.consumerfinance.gov/f/documents/
cfpb_supervisory-highlights_issue-22_2020-09.pdf;
Bureau of Consumer Fin. Prot., Supervisory
Highlights Consumer Reporting Special Edition, at
16–17 (Dec. 2019), https://
files.consumerfinance.gov/f/documents/cfpb_
supervisory-highlights_issue-20_122019.pdf.
18
15 U.S.C. 1681b(a).
consumer report for any purpose
unless’’ the consumer report ‘‘is
obtained for a purpose for which the
consumer report is authorized to be
furnished under [FCRA section 604]’’
and ‘‘the purpose is certified in
accordance with FCRA section 607 by a
prospective user of the report through a
general or specific certification.’’
12

FCRA section 619 imposes criminal
liability on any person who knowingly
and willfully obtains information on a
consumer from a consumer reporting
agency under false pretenses.
13

The FCRA’s permissible purpose
provisions are thus central to the
statute’s protection of consumer
privacy. Consumers suffer harm when
consumer reporting agencies provide
consumer reports to persons who are
not authorized to receive the
information or when recipients of
consumer reports obtain or use such
reports for purposes other than
permissible purposes. These harms
include the invasion of consumers’
privacy, as well as reputational,
emotional, physical, and economic
harms. The Bureau and the Federal
Trade Commission (FTC) have
collectively brought numerous
enforcement actions to address
violations of the FCRA’s permissible
purpose provisions.
14
For example, in a
case that resulted in a 2006 settlement
with a consumer reporting agency, the
FTC alleged that the agency violated the
FCRA’s permissible purpose provisions
by providing consumer reports to
persons without a permissible purpose,
resulting in at least 800 cases of identity
theft.
15
More recently, in 2020, a group
of companies and individuals settled
Bureau allegations that they obtained
consumer reports without a permissible
purpose when they obtained consumer
reports for use in marketing debt relief
services.
16
Also in 2020, a mortgage
broker settled FTC allegations that it
used consumer reports for other than a
permissible purpose when, in response
to negative reviews on a website, it
publicly posted information it had
obtained from a consumer report about
the reviewer.
17

In light of the importance of the
FCRA’s permissible purpose provisions
to the protection of consumer privacy,
the Bureau is issuing this advisory
opinion to affirm that consumer
reporting agencies may not provide a
consumer report pursuant to FCRA
section 604(a) under any circumstance
not expressly permitted by this section.
In particular, the permissible purposes
identified in FCRA section 604(a)(3) are
consumer specific—that is, they apply
only with respect to the consumer who
is the subject of the user’s request—and
a consumer reporting company may not
provide a consumer report to a user
under FCRA section 604(a)(3) unless it
has reason to believe that all of the
consumer report information it includes
pertains to the consumer who is the
subject of the user’s request. For
example, consumer reporting agencies
violate the FCRA’s permissible purpose
provisions if they provide consumer
reports on multiple consumers (e.g.,
consumers with the same name) in
response to a request where the user
only has a permissible purpose to obtain
a report on a single individual because
that would inherently involve providing
at least one consumer report on an
individual with respect to whom the
user did not have a permissible purpose.
The Bureau notes that disclaimers will
not cure a failure to have a reason to
believe that a user has a permissible
purpose for a consumer report provided
pursuant to FCRA section 604(a)(3). The
Bureau also is issuing this advisory
opinion to highlight that FCRA section
604(f) strictly prohibits a person who
uses or obtains a consumer report from
doing so without a permissible purpose.
B. Coverage
Section C.1 of this advisory opinion
applies to all ‘‘consumer reporting
agencies,’’ as that term is defined in
FCRA section 603(f). Section C.2 of this
advisory opinion applies to all persons
that obtain or use, or seek to obtain or
use, ‘‘consumer reports,’’ as that term is
defined in FCRA section 603(d).
C. Legal Analysis
1. FCRA Section 604(a)(3)
Section 604(a) of the FCRA identifies
a limited set of ‘‘permissible purposes’’
for which a consumer reporting
company may provide a consumer
report to a user.
18
The Bureau is aware
that some consumer reporting agencies
use insufficient identifiers in matching
procedures, such as name-only
matching, which can result in the
provision of consumer reports to
persons without a permissible purpose
to receive them. The permissible
purposes for which consumer reports
are most commonly sought are those
identified in FCRA section 604(a)(3),
including for purposes related to credit,
employment, insurance, and rental
housing. Under section 604(a)(3), a
consumer reporting company may
provide a consumer report when it has
‘‘reason to believe’’ that the user
requesting the report has one of the
permissible purposes specified therein
with respect to the consumer who is the
subject of the user’s request. The Bureau
interprets the permissible purposes in
FCRA section 604(a)(3) to apply only
with respect to the consumer who is the
subject of the user’s request.
The Bureau’s interpretation is based
on the plain language of FCRA section
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41245 Federal Register/ Vol. 87, No. 132 / Tuesday, July 12, 2022 / Rules and Regulations
19
15 U.S.C. 1681b(a)(3)(A) (emphasis added).
20
15 U.S.C. 1681b(a)(3)(F) (emphasis added).
21
15 U.S.C. 1681(a)(4).
22
15 U.S.C. 1681b(a) (providing that, in general,
‘‘[s]ubject to subsection (c), any consumer reporting
agency may furnish a consumer report under the
following circumstances and no other’’).
23
The Bureau’s interpretation of FCRA section
604(a)(3) also is consistent with the statute’s
purpose and structure with respect to accuracy. See
15 U.S.C. 1681e(b). As discussed below, a consumer
reporting agency’s use of poor matching procedures
can lead to violations of the FCRA’s permissible
purpose requirements, as well as its accuracy
requirements.
24
Bureau of Consumer Fin. Prot., Fair Credit
Reporting; Name-Only Matching Procedures, 86 FR
62468, 62472 (Nov. 10, 2021).
25
Id. at 62471.
26
See, e.g., Erickson v. First Advantage
Background Screening Corp., 981 F.3d 1246, 1249
(11th Cir. 2020) (defendant furnished a consumer
report about plaintiff that included a record
belonging to plaintiff’s father using name-only
matching; defendant included with the consumer
report the statement: ‘‘[t]his record is matched by
First Name, Last Name ONLY and may not belong
to your subject. Your further review of the State Sex
Offender Registry is required in order to determine
if this is your subject.’’); see also United States v.
Infotrack Info. Servs., 14-cv-02054, at ¶¶ 16–17
(N.D. Ill. 2014), https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/
documents/cases/140409infotrackcmpt.pdf
(defendant consumer reporting agency, using name-
only matching, identified more than one individual
with a record in the National Sex Offender registry
and reported all identified individuals as ‘‘possible
matches’’ to users). Erickson and Infotrack
concerned alleged violations of the FCRA’s
accuracy provisions, 15 U.S.C. 1681e(b), not its
permissible purpose provisions.
27
See, e.g., Erickson, 981 F.3d at 1249 (consumer
report directed the user to a public database ‘‘to
compare the ‘demographic data and available
photographs,’ noting that the user might ‘conclude
that the records do not belong to’’’ the subject of
the user’s request); Dodgson v. First Advantage
Background Screening Corp., 2018 WL 1807014, *1
(N.D. Ga. 2018) (noting that the record belonging to
plaintiff’s father that was included in plaintiff’s
consumer report ‘‘contained at the very least an
address that did not match plaintiff’s address’’);
Infotrack, 14-cv-02054, at ¶ 16 (‘‘Defendants would
forward reports that included names and pictures
of several different people with the same name who
were convicted sex offenders and listed in the
National Sex Offender Registry. Defendants’
practice and procedure resulted in furnishing
consumer reports to employers that included
National Sex Offender Registry records of
individuals who could not have been the subject of
the inquiry.’’).
28
Erickson, 981 F.3d at 1249.
604(a)(3) itself, which makes clear that
whether a user has a permissible
purpose under that section is analyzed
on a consumer-by-consumer basis. For
example, FCRA section 604(a)(3)(A)
permits a consumer reporting company
to provide a consumer report ‘‘to a
person which it has reason to believe
. . . intends to use the information in
connection with a credit transaction
involving the consumer on whom the
information is to be furnished and
involving the extension of credit to, or
review or collection of an account of,
the consumer.’’
19
Similarly, FCRA
section 604(a)(3)(F) permits a consumer
reporting company to provide a
consumer report ‘‘to a person which it
has reason to believe . . . has a
legitimate business need for the
information . . . in connection with a
business transaction that is initiated by
the consumer or to review an account to
determine whether the consumer
continues to meet the terms of the
account.’’
20

The Bureau’s interpretation also is
consistent with the FCRA’s purpose and
structure. As explained in part I.A,
Congress enacted the FCRA in part to
address ‘‘a need to insure that consumer
reporting agencies exercise their grave
responsibilities with . . . a respect for
the consumer’s right to privacy.’’
21
The
FCRA achieves this by, among other
things, narrowly limiting the
circumstances under which a consumer
reporting company may provide
consumer report information to third
parties. The statute is structured so that
the permissible purposes in section
604(a) function as exceptions to the
general rule that a consumer reporting
company may not provide consumer
reports to third parties.
22
Interpreting
FCRA section 604(a)(3) to allow a
consumer reporting company to provide
consumer report information to a third
party about a consumer with respect to
whom the third party does not have a
permissible purpose would undermine
the statutory scheme and threaten
consumer privacy with respect to the
often highly sensitive information
collected by consumer reporting
agencies.
23

A consumer reporting company may
not provide a consumer report under
FCRA section 604(a)(3) unless it has
reason to believe that the user has a
permissible purpose with respect to the
consumer about whom the report is
requested. A user’s request to a
consumer reporting company for a
report about a consumer does not give
the consumer reporting company a
reason to believe that the user has a
permissible purpose to obtain a
consumer report about other consumers.
Accordingly, a consumer reporting
company may not provide a consumer
report under FCRA section 604(a)(3)
unless it has reason to believe that all
of the consumer report information it
includes pertains to the consumer who
is the subject of the user’s request.
The use of poor matching procedures,
such as name-only matching, can lead to
violations of the FCRA’s permissible
purpose provisions. As the Bureau has
observed, some consumer reporting
agencies obtain information from
sources that do not have or use
identifying information other than
consumer names, and they include such
information in consumer reports
without taking additional steps to match
the information to the consumer who is
the subject of the report.
24
The Bureau
has recently affirmed that, ‘‘[i]n
preparing consumer reports, it is not a
reasonable procedure to assure
maximum possible accuracy to use
insufficient identifiers to match
information to the consumer who is the
subject of the report.’’
25
In addition to
running afoul of the FCRA’s accuracy
provisions, a consumer reporting
company that uses insufficient
identifiers in its matching procedures,
such as name-only matching, cannot
rely on these procedures to form a
reason to believe that all of the
information it includes in a consumer
report pertains to the consumer who is
the subject of the user’s request.
For example, when a consumer
reporting company conducts a public
records search using name-only
matching and identifies one or more
individuals with the same name as the
consumer who is the subject of the
user’s request, it sometimes might
provide the user with a report
containing a possible match or list of
possible matches instead of taking
further steps to match the information to
the specific consumer who is the subject
of the request.
26
Under these
circumstances, a consumer reporting
company has not formed a reason to
believe that all of the information it
includes in a consumer report pertains
to the consumer who is the subject of
the user’s request. If the report includes
information that identifies (even if not
by name) consumers who are possible
matches and information that bears on
the credit worthiness, credit standing,
credit capacity, character, general
reputation, personal characteristics, or
mode of living of those consumers, the
consumer reporting company will have
provided consumer reports about those
consumers to a user that does not have
a permissible purpose for them.
27

The Bureau is aware that some
consumer reporting agencies that use
inadequate matching procedures
include disclaimers with their consumer
reports. For example, one consumer
reporting company stated when
providing a consumer report: ‘‘This
record is matched by First Name, Last
Name ONLY and may not belong to
your subject. Your further review of the
State Sex Offender Registry is required
in order to determine if this is your
subject.’’
28
Disclaimers will not cure a
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41246 Federal Register/ Vol. 87, No. 132 / Tuesday, July 12, 2022 / Rules and Regulations
29
15 U.S.C. 1681b(f). As noted above, FCRA
section 607(a) requires that a consumer reporting
agency must, among other things, require that
prospective users of consumer reports ‘‘certify the
purposes for which the information is sought, and
certify that the information will be used for no other
purpose.’’ 15 U.S.C. 1681e(a).
30
Consumer Credit Reporting Reform Act of
1996, Public Law 104–208, Div. A, tit. II, sec. 2404.
31
See, e.g., Blumenfeld v. Regions Bank, No.
4:16–CV–01652–ACA, 2018 WL 4216369, at *5
(N.D. Ala. 2018) (holding that ‘‘[FCRA section
604(f)] does not incorporate the ‘reason to believe’
language from [FCRA section 604(a)],’’ and noting
that the opinion in Korotki v. Att’y Servs. Corp. Inc.,
931 F. Supp. 1269, 1276 (D. Md. 1996) (applying
section 604(a)(3)’s ‘‘reason to believe’’ standard to
users), was decided prior to the 1996 amendments
to the FCRA that added section 604(f)).
32
Pursuant to FCRA sections 616 and 617, a
person is civilly liable to a consumer for violations
of section 604(f) if they have negligently or willfully
failed to comply with the requirement. 15 U.S.C.
1681n, 1681o.
33
In re State Farm Bank, FSB, 2018–CFPB–0009,
at ¶¶ 17–19 (Dec. 6, 2018), https://
files.consumerfinance.gov/f/documents/bcfp_state-
farm-bank_consent-order.pdf.
34
Id.
35
Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer
Protection Act, Public Law 111–203, 124 Stat. 1376
(2010).
36
12 U.S.C. 5512(b)(1).
37
5 U.S.C. 553(b).
38
5 U.S.C. 603(a), 604(a).
39
4 U.S.C. 3501–3521.
40
5 U.S.C. 801 et seq.
failure to have a reason to believe that
a user has a permissible purpose for a
consumer report provided pursuant to
FCRA section 604(a)(3). A disclaimer
does not change the fact that the
consumer reporting company has failed
to satisfy the requirements of 604(a)(3)
and has provided a consumer report
about a consumer to a person lacking a
permissible purpose with respect to that
consumer.
2. FCRA Section 604(f)
FCRA section 604(f) prohibits a
person from using or obtaining a
consumer report ‘‘unless . . . the
consumer report is obtained for a
purpose for which the consumer report
is authorized to be furnished under
[FCRA section 604]’’ and ‘‘the purpose
is certified in accordance with FCRA
section 607 by a prospective user of the
report through a general or specific
certification.’’
29
Congress amended the
FCRA to include section 604(f) in
September 1996.
30
Before the 1996
amendments, FCRA section 604 did not
impose limitations on users of consumer
reports, only on consumer reporting
agencies. The Bureau interprets FCRA
section 604(f) to provide that consumer
report users are strictly prohibited from
using or obtaining consumer reports
without a permissible purpose.
Although some courts have applied a
‘‘reason to believe’’ standard for persons
using or obtaining a consumer report, as
at least one court has noted, the opinion
most commonly cited in support of this
standard was decided before the 1996
amendments.
31
Based on its plain
language, the 1996 addition of FCRA
section 604(f) clearly imposes a strict
prohibition on using or obtaining a
consumer report without a permissible
purpose.
32

Users of consumer reports must
ensure that they do not violate
consumer privacy by obtaining
consumer reports when they lack a
permissible purpose for doing so. For
example, in 2018 a company settled
Bureau allegations that it violated FCRA
section 604(f) when its agents obtained
consumer reports for consumers who
were not seeking an extension of credit
from the company and the company had
no other permissible purpose for the
consumer reports it obtained.
33
In some
instances, for example, the company’s
agents initiated credit applications for
the wrong consumer by incorrectly
inputting consumer information into the
company’s application system or by
selecting the wrong consumer from a list
of possible consumers identified in the
system. When these applications were
initiated in error, the company obtained
a consumer report for a consumer with
respect to which it had no permissible
purpose, violating the FCRA’s
permissible purpose provisions and the
privacy of the consumers that were the
subject of those reports, and also
generating an inquiry on the consumers’
credit reports.
34

II. Regulatory Matters
This advisory opinion is an
interpretive rule issued under the
Bureau’s authority to interpret the
FCRA, including under section
1022(b)(1) of the Dodd-Frank Wall
Street Reform and Consumer Protection
Act,
35
which authorizes guidance as
may be necessary or appropriate to
enable the Bureau to administer and
carry out the purposes and objectives of
Federal consumer financial laws.
36

As an interpretive rule, this advisory
opinion is exempt from the notice-and-
comment rulemaking requirements of
the Administrative Procedure Act.
37

Because no notice of proposed
rulemaking is required, the Regulatory
Flexibility Act does not require an
initial or final regulatory flexibility
analysis.
38
The Bureau has also
determined that this advisory opinion
does not impose any new or revise any
existing recordkeeping, reporting, or
disclosure requirements on covered
entities or members of the public that
would be collections of information
requiring approval by the Office of
Management and Budget under the
Paperwork Reduction Act.
39

Pursuant to the Congressional Review
Act,
40
the Bureau will submit a report
containing this interpretive rule and
other required information to the United
States Senate, the United States House
of Representatives, and the Comptroller
General of the United States prior to the
rule’s published effective date. The
Office of Information and Regulatory
Affairs has designated this interpretive
rule as not a ‘‘major rule’’ as defined by
5 U.S.C. 804(2).
Rohit Chopra,
Director, Consumer Financial Protection
Bureau.
[FR Doc. 2022–14823 Filed 7–11–22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4810–AM–P
COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING
COMMISSION
17 CFR Part 1
Fees for Reviews of the Rule
Enforcement Programs of Designated
Contract Markets and Registered
Futures Associations; Correction
AGENCY: Commodity Futures Trading
Commission.
ACTION: Notification of 2021 schedule of
fees; correction.
SUMMARY: The Commodity Futures
Trading Commission (Commission) is
correcting a document published in the
Federal Register on June 17, 2022. The
document contained incorrect assessed
fee data for four of the entities in Table
2. This document corrects the data
contained in those inaccurate sixteen
cells in Table 2.
DATES: Each self-regulatory organization
is required to remit electronically the
applicable fee on or before August 16,
2022.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joel
Mattingley, Chief Financial Officer,
Commodity Futures Trading
Commission; (202) 418–5310; Three
Lafayette Centre, 1155 21st Street NW,
Washington, DC 20581; jmattingley@
cftc.gov. For information on electronic
payments, contact Jennifer Fleming;
(202) 418–5034; jfleming@cftc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Correction
In FR Rule Doc. 2022–13141,
appearing on page 36409 in the Federal
Register of Friday, June 17, 2022, Table
2—Schedule of Fees is corrected to read
as follows:
VerDate Sep<11>2014 17:31 Jul 11, 2022 Jkt 256001 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 4700 Sfmt 4700 E:\FR\FM\12JYR1.SGM 12JYR1
jspears on DSK121TN23PROD with RULES1