No, we do not recommend separately including any part of a consumer report with an adverse action notice. If the adverse action was based on information from a consumer report, you must provide certain information about the consumer report in the adverse action notice, and if the consumer’s credit score was a factor in the adverse action, you must include the score and additional information about the score in the adverse action notice. However, you are not required to provide the consumer report itself or any portion of the report to the consumer, other than the consumer’s numerical credit score when required.
Nothing in the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) requires that you include a consumer report or any part of the report with your adverse action notices. If you take adverse action based on information contained in a consumer report, you must provide the consumer with (1) the name, address, and telephone number of the consumer reporting agency that furnished the report, (2) a statement that the consumer reporting agency did not make the adverse action decision and is unable to provide the consumer with the specific reasons why the adverse action was taken, (3) a notice of the consumer’s right to a free copy of a consumer report from the consumer reporting agency, and (4) notice of the consumer’s right to dispute with the consumer reporting agency the accuracy or completeness of any information in their consumer report.
If the consumer’s credit score was a factor in the adverse action decision, your adverse action notice must also include: (1) the numerical credit score, (2) the range of possible credit scores under the model used, (3) the key factors that adversely affected the credit score, (4) the date on which the credit score was created, and (5) the name of the person or entity that provided the credit score or credit file upon which the credit score was created.
Additionally, when the Federal Reserve amended Regulation B’s model adverse action notices, it noted in the supplementary information to the rule that “[p]roviding a form with credit score information separately from an adverse action notice does not appear to be consistent with the legislation.” Consequently, we do not recommend attaching additional documentation containing credit score information to any of your adverse action notices. Instead, you should be integrating certain information about the consumer report or the credit score, when required, into the adverse action notice itself.
For resources related to our guidance, please see:
- Fair Credit Reporting Act, 15 USC 1681m (“(a) If any person takes any adverse action with respect to any consumer that is based in whole or in part on any information contained in a consumer report, the person shall—
(1) provide oral, written, or electronic notice of the adverse action to the consumer;
(2) provide to the consumer written or electronic disclosure—
(A) of a numerical credit score as defined in section 1681g(f)(2)(A) of this title
used by such person in taking any adverse action based in whole or in part
on any information in a consumer report; and(B) of the information set forth in subparagraphs (B) through (E) of section
1681g(f)(1) of this title;(3) provide to the consumer orally, in writing, or electronically—
(A) the name, address, and telephone number of the consumer reporting
agency including a toll-free telephone number established by the agency
if the agency compiles and maintains files on consumers on a nationwide
basis) that furnished the report to the person; and(B) a statement that the consumer reporting agency did not make the decision
to take the adverse action and is unable to provide the consumer the specific
reasons why the adverse action was taken; and(4) provide to the consumer an oral, written, or electronic notice of the consumer’s right—
(A) to obtain, under section 1681j of this title, a free copy of a consumer report
on the consumer from the consumer reporting agency referred to in paragraph
(3), which notice shall include an indication of the 60-day period under that
section for obtaining such a copy; and(B) to dispute, under section 1681i of this title, with a consumer reporting
agency the accuracy or completeness of any information in a consumer
report furnished by the agency.”)
- Fair Credit Reporting Act, 15 USC 1681g(f)(1) (“(B) the range of possible credit scores under the model used; (C) all of the key factors that adversely affected the credit score of the consumer in the model used, the total number of which shall not exceed 4, subject to paragraph (9); (D) the date on which the credit score was created; and (E) the name of the person or entity that provided the credit score or credit file upon which the credit score was created.”)
- Federal Reserve, Final Rule, Equal Credit Opportunity, 76 Fed. Reg. 41590, 41595 (July 15, 2011) (“Several industry commenters requested a model form that consumer reporting agencies could use to provide creditors the credit score information needed for adverse action notices under section 1100F of the Dodd-Frank Act. These commenters asked that creditors be permitted to attach the consumer reporting agency’s form to their adverse action notices, and provide both documents to the consumer. These commenters did not believe that the creditor should be required to integrate the credit score information into its adverse action notice. Section 615(a)(1) of the FCRA requires a creditor to provide notice of adverse action to consumers against whom it takes adverse action based in whole or in part on information contained in a consumer report. Section 1100F of the Dodd-Frank Act amended Section 615(a) to require a creditor to provide such consumers credit score information. Providing a form with credit score information separately from an adverse action notice does not appear to be consistent with the legislation.”)