The Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 USC 1681) governs how consumer credit reports are collected, used, and disputed. The CFPB and FTC jointly enforce it. FCRA rights — accuracy, access, and dispute — apply to personal credit reports, including those pulled by business lenders when they require a personal guarantee.
Enacted in 1970, FCRA establishes a framework for consumer reporting agencies (Equifax, Experian, TransUnion) — regulating what data they can collect, how long they can report negative items, what 'permissible purposes' allow someone to pull your credit, and how you can dispute inaccurate information. For business owners, FCRA is most relevant when a lender runs a hard inquiry on personal credit as part of a business application — especially when a personal guarantee is required. That hard inquiry appears on your personal report, and the lender must have a permissible purpose (credit application) to pull it. If the lender finds inaccurate personal credit data, your FCRA dispute rights let you contest it with the bureau or directly with the furnisher. FCRA generally covers consumer credit reporting — not commercial credit reporting (Dun & Bradstreet, Experian Business, Equifax Business). Business credit reports are not subject to FCRA's dispute rights or adverse action notice requirements. This is a meaningful distinction: business owners have strong federal rights around personal credit reports but minimal federal rights around business credit reports.
No. FCRA covers consumer credit reports from consumer reporting agencies (Equifax, Experian, TransUnion as personal credit bureaus). Business credit reports from D&B, Experian Business, Equifax Business, and SBFE are not subject to FCRA. You have no federal right to dispute business credit data under FCRA — though the bureaus offer voluntary dispute processes.
FCRA sets maximum reporting periods: most negative items (late payments, collections, charge-offs) — 7 years; Chapter 7 bankruptcy — 10 years; Chapter 13 bankruptcy — 7 years; unpaid tax liens (if reported) — 7 years from payment. Hard inquiries stay 2 years but only impact FICO for about 12 months.
FCRA requires each major consumer bureau to provide you one free credit report per year through AnnualCreditReport.com (the official FCRA-mandated site). During COVID, the bureaus expanded free reports to weekly; check current terms. FICO scores are not required to be free — you're entitled to the report, not the score.
Unauthorized credit pulls violate FCRA Section 604. You can file a complaint with the CFPB or FTC, or sue in federal court. FCRA provides actual damages or statutory damages of $100–$1,000 per willful violation, plus punitive damages and attorney fees for willful violations.