Home > West's Encyclopedia of American Law > Fair Credit Reporting Act

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) is legislation embodied in title VI of the CONSUMER CREDIT PROTECTION ACT (15 U.S.C.A. § 1681 et seq. [1968]), which was enacted by Congress in 1970 to ensure that reporting activities relating to various consumer transactions are conducted in a manner that is fair to the affected individual, and to protect the consumer's right to privacy against the informational demands of a credit reporting company.

FCRA represents the first federal regulation of the consumer reporting industry, covering all credit bureaus, investigative reporting companies, detective and collection agencies, lenders' exchanges, and computerized information reporting companies.

The consumer is guaranteed several rights under the FCRA, including the right to a notice of reporting activities, the right of access to information...