New Law Leads To Revised Fair Credit Reporting Act Disclosure

By Kamer Zucker Abbott

September 24, 2018

A new “Summary of Consumer Rights” disclosure has been issued by the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection. Employers and their background check vendors who issue this notice to employees and applicants in compliance with the Fair Credit Reporting Act should begin using the updated version of this form now.

The disclosure was updated to provide information regarding “national security freezes.” This new requirement stems from the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act, passed earlier this year, which requires nationwide consumer reporting agencies to provide “national security freezes” free of charge to consumers. A “national security freeze” restricts prospective lenders from obtaining access to a consumer’s credit report, which makes it harder for identity thieves to open accounts in the consumer’s name. This Act mandates that whenever the Fair Credit Reporting Act requires a consumer to receive either the “Summary of Consumer Rights” or the “Summary of Consumer Identity Theft Rights,” a notice regarding the new security freeze right also must be included.  

The revised form can be found here.