Use this list to help you take advantage of your right to review the information in your consumer reports, and dispute possible inaccuracies with companies as needed.
The list includes the three nationwide consumer reporting companies—Equifax, TransUnion, andExperian—and several other reporting companies that focus on creating consumer reports for certain industries.
This list is current as of January 2024. It includes entities that have identified themselves as “consumer reporting agencies” (as that term is defined in the Fair Credit Reporting Act ) or have indicated they provide consumers access to information they have collected about them. The list is intended for the personal use of consumers. It incorporates information from the companies’ own self-descriptions that has not been independently verified by the Bureau. This list is not intended to be all-inclusive and does not cover every company in the industry. Nor does it reflect determinations as to whether any particular entity is (or is not) subject to the Fair Credit Reporting Act , or the Bureau’s supervisory or enforcement authority. To provide your suggested corrections or additions to the list, contact the Bureau at CFPB_CCPD2@cfpb.gov and include “Consumer Reporting Company List” in the subject line.
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Market areas included on this list
Nationwide consumer reporting companies
There are three big nationwide providers of consumer reports: Equifax, TransUnion, andExperian. Their reports contain information about your payment history, how much credit you have and use, and other inquiries and information.
Employment screening
Employment screening companies provide information such as credit history, employment, salary, and education and professional license verification to employers and others, including to non-profit volunteer organizations and to government agencies such as to verify employment income to determine eligibility for government assistance. They may also provide residential address history and Social Security Number verification; criminal arrest and conviction information, as well as fingerprint information from state and federal criminal record databases; status on global watchlists, motor vehicle and driver’s record information; drug and alcohol testing and health screening information; and non-profit and volunteer activity verification. Employment screening can include both pre-employment screening and on-going workforce monitoring. Many employment screening companies won’t have information on you unless you authorized an employer or other end-user to obtain a report. If possible, when you give your authorization, ask for the name(s) of the employment screening company being used. Contact those reporting companies to fact-check your reports. If the employer is checking your credit history in separate reports, from one or all three of the nationwide providers of consumer reports listed above, request and review those reports too.
Tenant screening
Tenant screening companies provide information such as credit history, eviction information, rental payment history, identity verification, income and employment verification, and criminal background data to landlords, property management companies, and others. A tenant screening report with negative information in it, such as prior housing evictions, could result in a rejected lease application, or it could result in approval of the application but with tough conditions inserted into the lease agreement such as a requirement that you pay months of additional rent in advance or a higher security deposit. Most tenant screening companies won’t have information on you unless you apply for rental housing or otherwise authorize a landlord or property manager to obtain a report from them. However, you should check in advance for errors in your credit report, since a credit report is a common component of tenant screening reports. Additionally, if you are rejected as a tenant for a residential property, or “conditionally accepted” with certain adverse conditions such as requiring a co-signer or a larger deposit or a higher rent payment than other applicants, the landlord or management company must provide you with an adverse action notice that includes the name(s) of the consumer reporting company it used to screen you. Contact the screener(s) to fact-check your information and dispute suspected inaccuracies as needed. Errors in your tenant screening report shouldn’t keep you from finding a place to call home. If a landlord refuses to rent to you or charges you more because of something in a background check, be sure to know your rights and protections. For more information on the tenant screening market, see our Tenant Background Checks Market Report.
Check and bank account screening
Banks and credit unions use check and bank screening reports to help decide whether to offer you a checking account or to cash your checks. For example, you may have negative information in your report if you had a checking account before and you have an unpaid negative balance on that account, such as from an overdraft that you have not repaid, if the account was closed by the bank, or if you were suspected of fraud related to the account. If you have been a victim of bank account and/or check-writing fraud, or have had prior difficulties opening or closing a bank account (such as being denied an account), review your check and bank screening report(s) and dispute them if inaccurate.
Personal property insurance
Fact-check your specialty insurance report when applying for insurance.
Medical
Fact-check your medical specialty report before or when applying for private life, health, critical illness, long-term care, or disability income insurance. Generally, if you haven’t applied for individual life or health insurance at an insurance company that uses services from the listed company, the company won’t have a consumer report for you to request.
Low-income and subprime
Low-income and subprime reporting companies provide consumer information to companies that market and sell products and services specifically to lower-income consumers and credit applicants with impaired credit records.
Supplementary reports
The companies listed in this section sell data primarily to help entities manage credit and fraud risk. This information frequently supplements other datasets, such as the traditional credit data that the nationwide consumer reporting companies sell about you.
Utilities
These companies collect information associated with telecommunications, pay TV, and utility (electric, gas, water) services to help companies in these industries manage customer relations.
Retail
These companies collect information related to retail product return and suspected exchange fraud and abuse.
Gaming
These companies share consumer data associated with check cashing settlement services to assist gaming establishments such as casinos and racetracks with risk management.
