Credit report errors: the federal rules

This area is governed by federal law, and the rules are the same in every state. Your state may add protections on top, but nothing below changes based on where you live.

What the statute says

Statutory damages

Two liability tracks. WILLFUL noncompliance, 15 U.S.C. §1681n(a): 'Any person who willfully fails to comply with any requirement imposed under this subchapter with respect to any consumer is liable to that consumer in an amount equal to the sum of — (1)(A) any actual damages sustained by the consumer as a result of the…

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failure or damages of not less than $100 and not more than $1,000; or (B) in the case of liability of a natural person for obtaining a consumer report under false pretenses or knowingly without a permissible purpose, actual damages sustained by the consumer as a result of the failure or $1,000, whichever is greater; (2) such amount of punitive damages as the court may allow; and (3) in the case of any successful action to enforce any liability under this section, the costs of the action together with reasonable attorney's fees as determined by the court.' So for willful violations the consumer may elect statutory damages of $100-$1,000 without proving actual loss, and punitive damages are available. NEGLIGENT noncompliance, 15 U.S.C. §1681o(a): liability is limited to ACTUAL damages plus, in a successful action, the costs of the action together with reasonable attorney's fees. There is NO statutory-minimum damages figure for negligent violations — a consumer who cannot show actual harm and cannot show willfulness recovers nothing on damages. CAUTION — FEE SHIFTING CAN RUN AGAINST YOU. §1681o(b): "On a finding by the court that an UNSUCCESSFUL pleading, motion, or other paper filed in connection with an action under this section was filed in bad faith or for purposes of harassment, the court SHALL award to the prevailing party attorney's fees reasonable in relation to the work expended in responding to the pleading, motion, or other paper." §1681n(c) is the identical rule for actions under §1681n. The award is mandatory once the finding is made, it requires the filing to have been unsuccessful, and it runs against whichever side filed it — including the consumer.

Investigation deadline

30 days

15 U.S.C. §1681i(a)(1)(A), which opens 'Subject to subsection (f) and except as provided in subsection (g)': when you dispute the completeness or accuracy of an item in your file and notify the agency directly, the agency must conduct a reasonable reinvestigation free of charge and record the current status of the disputed information, or delete it, before the end of the 30-day period beginning on the date it receives your notice.

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This is the general consumer-reporting-agency track. §1681i(f) sets a different track for resellers (5 business days to determine whether the error is its own, 20 days to correct or delete, otherwise forward the dispute), and §1681i(g) a separate one for a veteran's medical debt.

30 DAYS IS THE DEFAULT ONLY, under 15 U.S.C. §1681i(a)(1)(A). It is 45 days from day one whenever the dispute is made after receiving a file disclosure under §1681j(a) — i.e. the free annual report from AnnualCreditReport.com, which is the ordinary consumer route.

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§1681j(a)(3): "Notwithstanding the time periods specified in section 1681i(a)(1) of this title, a reinvestigation under that section by a consumer reporting agency upon a request of a consumer that is made after receiving a consumer report under this subsection shall be completed not later than 45 days after the date on which the request is received." Because §1681j(a)(3) overrides ALL of §1681i(a)(1), the 45 days does NOT stack with the (a)(1)(B) 15-day extension: it is 45, not 60. Establish which clock applies before asserting an unlawful delay.

When it can be extended

FORTY-FIVE DAYS IS REACHABLE BY TWO INDEPENDENT ROUTES. (1) 15 U.S.C. §1681i(a)(1)(B): the ordinary 30-day period "may be extended for not more than 15 additional days if the consumer reporting agency receives information from the consumer during that 30-day period that is relevant to the reinvestigation."…

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§1681i(a)(1)(C) then withdraws that extension: "Subparagraph (B) shall not apply to any reinvestigation in which, during the 30-day period described in subparagraph (A), the information that is the subject of the reinvestigation is found to be inaccurate or incomplete or the consumer reporting agency determines that the information cannot be verified." (2) 15 U.S.C. §1681j(a)(3): where the dispute is made after receiving a free annual file disclosure, the bureau has 45 days FROM DAY ONE, "[n]otwithstanding the time periods specified in section 1681i(a)(1)". Route (2) is unconditional and overrides all of §1681i(a)(1), so it does not stack with route (1) — the ceiling is 45 days, never 60. The separate reseller rule is §1681i(f), not (C).

What the bureau must do

15 U.S.C. §1681i — the consumer reporting agency must: conduct a reasonable reinvestigation free of charge and complete it within 30 days of receipt (45 days is reachable two ways: a 15-day extension under §1681i(a)(1)(B) when you supply further information, and a flat 45 days under §1681j(a)(3) whenever the dispute…

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follows a free annual file disclosure — they do not stack to 60) (§1681i(a)(1)(A)); notify the furnisher of the dispute 'before the expiration of the 5-business-day period beginning on the date on which a consumer reporting agency receives notice of a dispute from any consumer or a reseller', and, in accordance with paragraph (1), including all relevant information regarding the dispute that the agency has received from the consumer or reseller (§1681i(a)(2)(A)); delete or modify information found to be inaccurate, incomplete, or unverifiable (§1681i(a)(5), referenced in (a)(1)(A)); and 'provide written notice to a consumer of the results of a reinvestigation under this subsection not later than 5 business days after the completion of the reinvestigation, by mail or, if authorized by the consumer for that purpose, by other means available to the agency' (§1681i(a)(6)(A)).

IMPORTANT LIMIT — the reinvestigation duty is not unconditional. 15 U.S.C. §1681i(a)(3)(A): "Notwithstanding paragraph (1), a consumer reporting agency may terminate a reinvestigation of information disputed by a consumer under that paragraph if the agency reasonably determines that the dispute by the consumer is…

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frivolous or irrelevant, including by reason of a failure by a consumer to provide sufficient information to investigate the disputed information." If the agency does that, §1681i(a)(3)(B) requires it to notify you NOT LATER THAN 5 BUSINESS DAYS AFTER MAKING THE DETERMINATION — notice after the fact, not advance warning — and §1681i(a)(3)(C) requires that notice to state the reasons for the determination and identify any information required to investigate. This is the most common bureau response to a generic form dispute. Providing specific, documented information with your dispute is what keeps it out of this carve-out.

What the furnisher must do

15 U.S.C. §1681s-2(b)(1) — once a furnisher receives notice of a dispute from a consumer reporting agency under §1681i(a)(2), it must (A) conduct an investigation with respect to the disputed information; (B) review all relevant information provided by the agency; (C) report the results of the investigation to the…

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agency; (D) if the investigation finds the information incomplete or inaccurate, "report those results to all other consumer reporting agencies to which the person furnished the information AND THAT COMPILE AND MAINTAIN FILES ON CONSUMERS ON A NATIONWIDE BASIS" — that qualifier is part of the statute and it does NOT reach regional bureaus or single-purpose specialty agencies; and (E) if an item is found inaccurate or incomplete or cannot be verified, then "FOR PURPOSES OF REPORTING TO A CONSUMER REPORTING AGENCY ONLY", promptly modify, delete, or permanently block reporting of that item. (E) governs what is reported to the bureaus; it does not cancel the underlying debt. §1681s-2(b)(2) sets the deadline at the period under §1681i(a)(1). WHY YOU MUST DISPUTE THROUGH THE BUREAU: §1681s-2(c) provides that "Except as provided in section 1681s(c)(1)(B) of this title, sections 1681n and 1681o of this title do not apply to any violation of— (1) subsection (a) of this section, including any regulations issued thereunder; (2) subsection (e) of this section, except that nothing in this paragraph shall limit, expand, or otherwise affect liability under section 1681n or 1681o of this title, as applicable, for violations of subsection (b) of this section; or (3) subsection (e) of section 1681m of this title." Paragraph (2) expressly PRESERVES §1681n and §1681o liability for §1681s-2(b) violations. So the private right of action runs on the §1681s-2(b) duty, which is triggered only by a dispute routed through the consumer reporting agency — disputing with the furnisher alone does not preserve it.

Your right to free reports

15 U.S.C. §1681j. (a) ANNUAL FREE FILE DISCLOSURE — one free file disclosure every 12 months from each nationwide consumer reporting agency, requested through the centralized source, provided within 15 days (§1681j(a)(2)).

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(b) FREE DISCLOSURE AFTER ADVERSE NOTICE — free ONLY IF you make the §1681g request "not later than 60 days after receipt by such consumer of a notification pursuant to section 1681m of this title", or of a notification from a debt collection agency affiliated with that bureau stating that your credit rating may be or has been adversely affected. MISS THE 60 DAYS AND YOU WILL BE CHARGED. (§1681m(a)(4)(A) requires the adverse-action notice itself to state that 60-day period — look for it.) (c) FREE DISCLOSURE UNDER CERTAIN OTHER CIRCUMSTANCES — one additional free disclosure per 12-month period on your written certification that you (1) are unemployed and intend to apply for work within 60 days, (2) receive public welfare assistance, or (3) have reason to believe your file contains inaccurate information because of fraud. (d) FREE DISCLOSURES IN CONNECTION WITH FRAUD ALERTS — under §1681c-1(a)(2) and (b)(2). (e) Other charges prohibited. (f) FEE CAP — where a charge is permitted, the ceiling for calendar year 2026 is $16.00. The $8 figure in §1681j(f)(1)(A)(i) is the 1997 statutory BASELINE, not the live cap: §1681j(f)(2) requires the Bureau to increase it every January 1 in proportion to the CPI, and the current amount is published in Appendix O to 12 CFR Part 1022 (2026: $16.00; 2025: $15.50; CFPB final rule 90 FR 57888, FR Doc 2025-22772, effective Jan. 1, 2026). The cap is not uniform: charges under §1681j(f)(1)(B) for furnishing a statement or summary to designated recipients after a reinvestigation are capped instead at "the charge that the agency would impose on each designated recipient for a consumer report". (g) Prevention of deceptive marketing of credit reports — note that §1681j(a)(1)(A) grants ONE free report per 12-month period; the widely advertised free WEEKLY access is a voluntary program of the three nationwide bureaus, not a statutory entitlement, and must not be asserted as a legal right.

www.annualcreditreport.com

Governing law

Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), 15 U.S.C. §1681 et seq. (Title 15, Chapter 41, Subchapter III).

Attorney's fees

Yes, under both tracks — §1681n(a)(3) (willful) and §1681o(a)(2) (negligent) both award 'the costs of the action together with reasonable attorney's fees as determined by the court' in a successful action.

Time limit to sue

2 years

15 U.S.C. §1681p: an action to enforce any FCRA liability may be brought in any appropriate United States district court, without regard to the amount in controversy, or in any other court of competent jurisdiction, 'not later than the earlier of — (1) 2 years after the date of discovery by the plaintiff of the…

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violation that is the basis for such liability; or (2) 5 years after the date on which the violation that is the basis for such liability occurs.' It is a two-part limit and the EARLIER date controls: 2 years from the plaintiff's discovery, subject to a hard 5-year outer cap from the date of the violation. Reporting '2 years' alone is incomplete; reporting '5 years' alone is wrong.

Outer limit (discovery rule)

5 years

Who handles complaints

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) — supervision, rulemaking, and enforcement; Federal Trade Commission (FTC) — concurrent enforcement; state attorneys general and other federal regulators under 15 U.S.C. §1681s.

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A private right of action exists under §1681n and §1681o (subject to the §1681s-2(c)/(d) carve-out for furnisher violations of §1681s-2(a)).

Read it yourself

Official sources. If a number below matters to your case, open the statute and read it — laws get amended, and cities often stack stricter local rules on top.

• 15 U.S.C. §1681i(a)(1)(A), (a)(1)(B), (a)(1)(C), (a)(2)(A), (a)(3), (a)(5), (a)(6)(A), (f) — 15 U.S.C. §1681i — Procedure in case of disputed accuracy (30-day reinvestigation; 15-day extension to 45 days and its condition; 5-business-day notice to furnisher; 5-business-day notice of results)
• 15 U.S.C. §1681s-2(b)(1)(A)-(E), (b)(2), (c), (d) — 15 U.S.C. §1681s-2 — Responsibilities of furnishers of information to consumer reporting agencies (duties after CRA notice of dispute (b)(1)(A)-(E); (b)(1)(D) reaches only agencies that compile and maintain files on consumers on a nationwide basis; (b)(1)(E) applies "for purposes of reporting to a consumer reporting agency only"; (b)(2) same deadline as §1681i(a)(1); no private action for §1681s-2(a) violations, but §1681s-2(c)(2) expressly preserves §1681n/§1681o liability for §1681s-2(b) violations)
• 15 U.S.C. §1681n(a)(1)(A), (a)(1)(B), (a)(2), (a)(3) — 15 U.S.C. §1681n — Civil liability for willful noncompliance ($100-$1,000 statutory damages, punitive damages, costs and reasonable attorney's fees)
• 15 U.S.C. §1681o(a), (b) — 15 U.S.C. §1681o — Civil liability for negligent noncompliance (actual damages only; no statutory minimum; costs and attorney's fees)
• 15 U.S.C. §1681p — 15 U.S.C. §1681p — Jurisdiction of courts; limitation of actions (earlier of 2 years from discovery or 5 years from violation)
• 15 U.S.C. §1681j(a), (b), (c), (d), (f) — 15 U.S.C. §1681j — Charges for certain disclosures (annual free file disclosure through the centralized source within 15 days; free report after adverse action within 60 days; fraud-alert free reports; additional free report on certification of unemployment/public assistance/fraud; $16.00 fee ceiling for calendar 2026 where a charge is permitted — the $8 in §1681j(f)(1)(A)(i) is the 1997 statutory base, CPI-adjusted annually by the Bureau under §1681j(f)(2) and published in Appendix O to 12 CFR Part 1022 (2025: $15.50; 2026: $16.00, 90 FR 57888))
• CFPB Ask CFPB consumer guidance implementing 15 U.S.C. §1681j(a) — CFPB, "How do I get a free copy of my credit reports?" — confirms the right to one free report per year from each of the three nationwide companies; page states "last reviewed: AUG 28, 2023" and "Page last modified Sept. 8, 2025"

Last checked: 2026-08-20