I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3618 

To establish requirements relating to credit scores and educational credit 

scores, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 5, 2019 

Mrs. BEATTY introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Financial Services 

A BILL 

To establish requirements relating to credit scores and 

educational credit scores, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Free Credit Scores 

5 for Consumers Act of 2019’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) While nationwide consumer reporting agen9 cies (‘‘CRAs’’) are required by law to supply con10 sumers with a free copy of their credit report annuVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:32 Jul 10, 2019 Jkt 034408 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3618.IH H3618

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1 ally, they can charge consumers to obtain a credit 

2 score disclosure. 

3 (2) A July 2011 report by the Consumer Fi4 nancial Protection Bureau (‘‘Consumer Bureau’’) ti5 tled ‘‘The Impact of Differences between Consumer6 and Creditor-Purchased Credit Scores’’ found that 

7 the credit scores made available to and purchased by 

8 consumers from CRAs are unlikely to be the same 

9 credit scores used by creditors and lenders to evalu10 ate consumers’ creditworthiness. 

11 (3) That report found that the scarcity of pub12 lic educational tools to inform consumers of the dif13 ferences among credit scores, the large combined 

14 market share and brand recognition of FICO credit 

15 scores, and the marketing practices of some credit 

16 score sellers may perpetuate consumers’ confusion 

17 about credit scores. As a result, some consumers 

18 may be purchasing an educational credit score or 

19 subscribing to a credit monitoring service sold by a 

20 CRA, without realizing the limitations and useful21 ness of these products and services. 

22 (4) Similarly, a September 2012 Consumer Bu23 reau report titled ‘‘Analysis of Differences between 

24 Consumer- and Creditor-Purchased Credit Scores’’ 

25 found that consumers do not know before they purVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:32 Jul 10, 2019 Jkt 034408 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3618.IH H3618

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1 chase a credit score from a CRA whether this credit 

2 score will closely track or vary significantly from the 

3 credit score sold to creditors or lenders. Given the 

4 lack of transparency about the usefulness of credit 

5 scores that are marketed for purchase by consumers 

6 from CRAs and the resulting consumer confusion, 

7 the Consumer Bureau recommended that companies 

8 selling scores to consumers clearly inform consumers 

9 that the scores marketed to consumers for purchase 

10 by CRAs can vary, sometimes substantially, from 

11 the scores that are actually sold to and used by 

12 creditors and lenders. 

13 (5) A February 2011 study by Consumer Fed14 eration of America and VantageScore also found 

15 that half of the consumers surveyed did not know 

16 that a credit score is designed to indicate the risk 

17 of not repaying a credit obligation. Consumers also 

18 did not know who makes credit scores available, 

19 what numerical range constitutes excellent credit 

20 standing, or the financial implications of having a 

21 low credit score. 

22 (6) Many consumers do not realize that they 

23 have more than just ‘‘one’’ credit score. Because the 

24 submission of credit information to CRAs is vol25 untary and not all furnishers submit information to 


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1 every CRA, the information contained in a report 

2 also varies among CRAs. As a result, the credit 

3 score generated by each CRA is also likely to vary, 

4 resulting in potentially different credit decisions 

5 based on an evaluation of different credit reports ob6 tained from different CRAs. 

7 (7) A February 2015 Consumer Bureau report 

8 titled ‘‘Consumer Voices on Credit Reports and 

9 Scores’’ found that consumers had questions about 

10 what actions to take to improve their scores once 

11 they had seen them, suggesting that additional dis12 closures and educational content would be helpful to 

13 consumers. The Consumer Bureau found that con14 sumers were confused by conflicting advice on how 

15 to improve their scores. 

16 (8) That report also noted that consumers 

17 found the process for obtaining consumer reports 

18 and credit scores confusing. Consumers also were 

19 uncertain about whether, and under what cir20 cumstances, they could obtain a consumer report for 

21 free. 


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1 SEC. 3. CREDIT SCORE AND EDUCATIONAL CREDIT SCORE 

2 DEFINITIONS. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 603 of the Fair Credit 

4 Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681a) is amended by adding 

5 at the end the following new subsection: 

6 ‘‘(bb) CREDIT SCORE AND EDUCATIONAL CREDIT

7 SCORE DEFINITIONS.— 

8 ‘‘(1) CREDIT SCORE.—The term ‘credit score’ 

9 means a numerical value or a categorization derived 

10 from a statistical tool or modeling system used by a 

11 person who makes or arranges a loan or extends 

12 credit to predict the likelihood of certain credit be13 haviors, including default, as determined by the Bu14 reau. 

15 ‘‘(2) EDUCATIONAL CREDIT SCORE.—The term 

16 ‘educational credit score’ means a numerical value or 

17 categorization derived from a statistical tool or mod18 eling system based upon information from a con19 sumer report that assists consumers in under20 standing how a lender or creditor may view the con21 sumer’s creditworthiness in deciding whether to 

22 make a loan or extend credit to that consumer. 

23 ‘‘(3) KEY FACTORS.—The term ‘key factors’ 

24 means relevant elements or reasons affecting the 

25 credit score for the particular individual, listed in 

26 the order of importance based on the effect of each 


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1 element or reason on the credit score or educational 

2 credit score. 

3 ‘‘(4) CREDIT SCORING MODEL.—The term 

4 ‘credit scoring model’ means a scoring algorithm, 

5 formula, model, program, or mechanism used to gen6 erate a credit score or an educational credit score.’’. 

7 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—The Fair Credit 

8 Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.) is amended— 

9 (1) in section 605(d)(2), by striking ‘‘(as de10 fined in section 609(f)(2)(B))’’; and 

11 (2) in section 615— 

12 (A) by striking ‘‘as defined in section 

13 609(f)(2)(A)’’ each place that term appears; 

14 and 

15 (B) in subsection (a)(2)(B), by striking 

16 ‘‘set forth in subparagraphs (B) through (E) of 

17 section 609(f)(1)’’ and inserting ‘‘with respect 

18 to a credit score described in section 609(f)(2), 

19 if available’’ each place that term appears. 

20 SEC. 4. EXPANDS EXPLANATORY INFORMATION GIVEN TO 

21 CONSUMERS ABOUT HOW SCORES ARE CAL22 CULATED. 

23 Section 609(f) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 

24 U.S.C. 1681g(f)) is amended to read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘(f) DISCLOSURE OF CREDIT SCORE AND EDU2 CATIONAL CREDIT SCORE BY CONSUMER REPORTING

3 AGENCIES.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Upon the request of a con5 sumer for a credit score or educational credit score, 

6 a consumer reporting agency shall supply to the con7 sumer a statement— 

8 ‘‘(A) containing— 

9 ‘‘(i) a current credit score at the time 

10 of the request generated using a commonly 

11 used credit scoring model to generate cred12 it scores, subject to regulations of the Bu13 reau; 

14 ‘‘(ii) an educational credit score at the 

15 time of the request, if it is not practicable 

16 to generate such a credit score, as deter17 mined by the Bureau; or 

18 ‘‘(iii) an explanation that the con19 sumer’s file does not have sufficient infor20 mation from which to generate such a 

21 credit score or educational credit score; 

22 and 

23 ‘‘(B) with respect to each previous credit 

24 score in the file of the consumer— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the date on which the credit score 

2 was generated; 

3 ‘‘(ii) the name of any entity that the 

4 credit score was provided to; and 

5 ‘‘(iii) the credit score itself. 

6 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—A statement provided 

7 under clause (i) or (ii) of paragraph (1)(A) shall in8 clude— 

9 ‘‘(A) a minimum of 4 key factors, if avail10 able, that adversely affected the credit score or 

11 educational credit score, except that if one of 

12 the key factors consists of the number of 

13 enquiries made with respect to a consumer re14 port, that factor shall be provided to the con15 sumer in addition to the factors required by 

16 this subparagraph; 

17 ‘‘(B) to the extent possible, specific actions 

18 a consumer could take with respect to each key 

19 factor listed in subparagraph (A) to improve 

20 the consumer’s credit score or educational cred21 it score; 

22 ‘‘(C) a minimum of 4 key factors, if avail23 able, that positively affected the credit score or 

24 educational credit score; 


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1 ‘‘(D) the range of possible credit scores or 

2 educational credit scores under the credit scor3 ing model used; 

4 ‘‘(E) the distribution of credit scores or 

5 educational credit scores among consumers who 

6 are scored under the same credit scoring model 

7 by the consumer reporting agency, and using 

8 the same scale as that of the score that is pro9 vided to a creditor or consumers— 

10 ‘‘(i) in the form of a bar graph con11 taining a minimum of 6 bars that illus12 trates the percentage of consumers with 

13 credit scores or educational credit scores 

14 within the range of scores represented by 

15 each bar; or 

16 ‘‘(ii) by another clear and readily un17 derstandable graphical depiction, state18 ment, or illustration comparing the con19 sumer’s credit score or educational credit 

20 score to the scores of other consumers, as 

21 determined by the Bureau; 

22 ‘‘(F) the date on which the credit score or 

23 educational credit score was created; and 

24 ‘‘(G) the name of the person that devel25 oped the credit scoring model on which the 


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1 credit score or educational credit score was 

2 based. 

3 ‘‘(3) APPLICABILITY TO CERTAIN USES.—This 

4 subsection shall not be construed so as to compel a 

5 consumer reporting agency to— 

6 ‘‘(A) develop or disclose a credit score if 

7 the agency does not distribute credit scores 

8 used by a person who makes or arranges a loan 

9 or extends credit to predict the likelihood of 

10 certain credit behaviors; or 

11 ‘‘(B) develop or disclose an educational 

12 credit score if the agency does not develop edu13 cational credit scores that assist in under14 standing the general credit behavior of a con15 sumer and predicting the future credit behavior 

16 of the consumer. 

17 ‘‘(4) MAINTENANCE OF CREDIT SCORES.— 

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—All consumer report19 ing agencies shall maintain in the consumer’s 

20 file credit scores relating to the consumer for a 

21 period of 2 years from the date on which such 

22 information is generated. 

23 ‘‘(B) DISCLOSURE ONLY TO CON24 SUMERS.—A past credit score maintained in a 

25 consumer’s file pursuant to subparagraph (A) 


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1 may only be provided to the consumer to which 

2 the credit score relates and may not be included 

3 in a consumer report or used as a factor in gen4 erating a credit score or educational credit 

5 score. 

6 ‘‘(C) REMOVAL OF PAST CREDIT

7 SCORES.—A past credit score maintained in a 

8 consumer’s file pursuant to subparagraph (A) 

9 shall be removed from the consumer’s file after 

10 the end of the 2-year period described under 

11 subparagraph (A).’’. 

12 SEC. 5. REQUIRES CONSUMER REPORTING AGENCIES TO 

13 DISCLOSE PROMINENTLY THE DIFFERENCES 

14 BETWEEN AND LIMITATIONS OF CREDIT 

15 SCORES AND EDUCATIONAL CREDIT SCORES 

16 REQUIRED PRIOR TO A CONSUMER OBTAIN17 ING SUCH SCORES. 

18 Section 609(f) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 

19 U.S.C. 1681g(f)), as amended by section 3, is further 

20 amended by adding at the end the following new para21 graphs: 

22 ‘‘(5) WEBSITE DISCLAIMER.—A consumer re23 porting agency that generates or provides credit 

24 scores or educational credit scores shall clearly and 

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1 cy’s Internet website, and as part of any application, 

2 solicitation, or marketing material or media pro3 viding information related to a credit score or edu4 cational credit score, the following notice, in boldface 

5 type of 18-point font or larger and in a text box 

6 with boldface outer borders: 

7 ‘‘ ‘CREDIT SCORE DISCLAIMER. 

8 ‘‘ ‘There is no ‘‘one’’ credit score. There are many 

9 scoring formulas derived from a wide variety of models 

10 available to a consumer and used by lenders and creditors. 

11 Different lenders and creditors use different scoring for12 mulas to determine whether to extend credit or make a 

13 loan to you, and the terms of the credit or loan. An edu14 cational credit score is not a credit score that a person 

15 who makes a loan or extends credit to you is likely to use. 

16 Educational credit scores are merely intended to be used 

17 as an educational tool to help consumers understand how 

18 the information contained in a consumer report may affect 

19 the terms and conditions of a loan or extension of credit 

20 that may be available to a consumer. Lenders and credi21 tors may also rely on information not contained in your 

22 consumer report and not reflected in the calculation of 

23 your credit score.’. 

24 ‘‘(6) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR EDU25 CATIONAL CREDIT SCORES.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) DISCLAIMER.—If an educational 

2 credit score is provided pursuant to paragraph 

3 (1), a consumer reporting agency shall clearly 

4 and conspicuously include in a prominent loca5 tion on the statement, in boldface type of 18- 

6 point font or larger, and in a text box with 

7 boldface outer borders, the following notice: 

8 ‘‘ ‘EDUCATIONAL CREDIT SCORE DISCLAIMER. 

9 ‘‘ ‘The educational credit score provided to you is not 

10 a credit score that a lender or creditor is likely to use to 

11 make a loan or extend credit to you. There are many dif12 ferent credit scores derived from a wide variety of models 

13 used by lenders and creditors. An educational credit score 

14 is merely an educational tool. It is intended to provide con15 sumers with a basic understanding of how the information 

16 contained in a consumer report may affect the terms and 

17 conditions of credit that are available. The credit scores 

18 you receive directly from different lenders and creditors 

19 may not be the same as an educational credit score. There 

20 are a number of reasons for this: 

21 ‘‘ ‘(1) Each company may use a different for22 mula for calculating credit scores and the differences 

23 in the formulas may lead to differences in your 

24 scores. 


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1 ‘‘ ‘(2) Companies may produce scores that give 

2 results on different scales. 

3 ‘‘ ‘(3) Not all lenders or creditors report to 

4 every consumer reporting agency, and therefore the 

5 information contained in your consumer report that 

6 the consumer reporting agencies use to calculate 

7 your educational credit score may differ among 

8 agencies.’. 

9 ‘‘(B) PROHIBITION ON MISLEADING REP10 RESENTATIONS.—A consumer reporting agency 

11 may not refer to an educational credit score as 

12 a credit score in any application, solicitation, 

13 marketing, or other informational materials or 

14 media. 

15 ‘‘(7) MODIFICATION OF DISCLAIMERS.—The 

16 Bureau may modify the content, format, and man17 ner of the disclaimers required under paragraphs (5) 

18 and (6), if warranted, after conducting consumer 

19 testing or research.’’. 


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1 SEC. 6. PROVIDES CONSUMERS WITH FREE CREDIT SCORE 

2 DISCLOSURES WITH THEIR FREE ANNUAL 

3 CONSUMER REPORTS UPON REQUEST AND 

4 CREATES INSTANCES WHEN CONSUMERS 

5 AUTOMATICALLY RECEIVE FREE CONSUMER 

6 REPORTS AND CREDIT SCORES. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 612 of the Fair Credit 

8 Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681j) is amended— 

9 (1) in subsection (a)— 

10 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

11 (i) in subparagraph (A), by inserting 

12 after ‘‘section 609’’ the following: ‘‘(includ13 ing the disclosure of a credit score or edu14 cational credit score under subsection (f) 

15 of such section)’’; and 

16 (ii) in subparagraph (C)— 

17 (I) by striking ‘‘Commission’’ 

18 and inserting ‘‘Bureau’’; and 

19 (II) by inserting ‘‘, credit scores, 

20 and educational credit scores (as ap21 plicable)’’ after ‘‘consumer reports’’ 

22 each place that term appears; 

23 (B) in paragraph (2)— 

24 (i) by striking ‘‘15 days’’ and insert25 ing ‘‘3 business days’’; and 


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1 (ii) by inserting ‘‘, credit score, or 

2 educational credit score’’ after ‘‘consumer 

3 report’’; 

4 (C) in paragraph (3), by inserting ‘‘, credit 

5 score, or educational credit score’’ after ‘‘con6 sumer report’’; and 

7 (D) in paragraph (4), by inserting ‘‘, credit 

8 scores, or educational credit scores’’ after ‘‘con9 sumer reports’’; 

10 (2) in subsection (b), by inserting ‘‘(including 

11 the disclosure of a credit score or educational credit 

12 score, as applicable, under subsection (f) of such sec13 tion)’’ after ‘‘section 609’’; 

14 (3) in subsection (c)— 

15 (A) by inserting ‘‘(including the disclosure 

16 of a credit score or educational credit score 

17 under subsection (f) of such section)’’ after 

18 ‘‘pursuant to section 609’’; 

19 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘; or’’ 

20 and inserting a semicolon; 

21 (C) in paragraph (3), by striking the pe22 riod at the end and inserting a semicolon; and 

23 (D) by adding at the end the following new 

24 paragraphs: 


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1 ‘‘(4) has disputed information, or submitted an 

2 appeal of an investigation or reinvestigation of such 

3 information, under section 611 or 623, regardless of 

4 whether the consumer has already received a credit 

5 report, credit score, or educational credit score 

6 under section 611 or 623; or 

7 ‘‘(5) has had information that was previously 

8 deleted under section 611(a)(5) reinserted into the 

9 consumer’s file, regardless of whether the consumer 

10 has already received a credit report, credit score, or 

11 educational credit score under such section.’’; 

12 (4) in subsection (d), by inserting ‘‘(including 

13 the disclosure of a credit score or educational credit 

14 score under subsection (f) of such section)’’ after 

15 ‘‘section 609’’; 

16 (5) in subsection (f)(1)— 

17 (A) by striking ‘‘reasonable charge’’ and 

18 all that follows through ‘‘section 609’’ and in19 serting ‘‘reasonable charge on a consumer for 

20 providing a consumer report to a consumer’’; 

21 (B) by striking subparagraph (B); 

22 (C) by redesignating clauses (i) and (ii) as 

23 subparagraphs (A) and (B), respectively (and 

24 conforming the margins accordingly); and 


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1 (D) in subparagraph (B) (as so redesig2 nated), by striking ‘‘disclosure; and’’ and insert3 ing ‘‘disclosure.’’; and 

4 (6) by adding at the end the following new sub5 sections: 

6 ‘‘(h) CENTRALIZED SOURCE FOR OBTAINING FREE

7 COPY OF CONSUMER REPORT AND SCORES.— 

8 ‘‘(1) NATIONWIDE CONSUMER REPORTING

9 AGENCIES.— 

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 

11 days after the date of enactment of this sub12 section, each consumer reporting agency de13 scribed under subsection (p) of section 603 

14 shall prominently display on the home page of 

15 the agency’s website— 

16 ‘‘(i) a hyperlink labeled ‘Get Your 

17 Free Annual Credit Reports along with ei18 ther your Credit Scores or Educational 

19 Credit Scores provided for under Federal 

20 Law’ or substantially similar text, as deter21 mined by the Bureau; and 

22 ‘‘(ii) a disclosure titled ‘Consumer’s 

23 Right to Free Credit Scores, Educational 

24 Credit Scores, and Reports under Federal 

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1 mined by the Bureau that includes the fol2 lowing statement: 

3 ‘‘ ‘All consumers are entitled to obtain a free copy of 

4 their consumer report and credit score or educational cred5 it score annually from each of the nationwide consumer 

6 reporting agencies. Under Federal law, a consumer is enti7 tled to obtain additional free copies of their consumer re8 ports, along with a copy of either the consumer’s credit 

9 score or educational credit score (under certain cir10 cumstances), including: 

11 ‘‘ ‘(1) When a consumer is unemployed and in12 tends to apply for employment within 60 days. 

13 ‘‘ ‘(2) When a consumer is a recipient of public 

14 welfare assistance. 

15 ‘‘ ‘(3) When a consumer has a reasonable belief 

16 that their report contains inaccuracies as a result of 

17 fraud. 

18 ‘‘ ‘(4) When a consumer asserts in good faith a 

19 suspicion that the consumer has been or is about to 

20 become a victim of identity theft, fraud, or a related 

21 crime, or harmed by the unauthorized disclosure of 

22 the consumer’s financial or personally identifiable in23 formation. 

24 ‘‘ ‘(5) When a consumer files a dispute or an 

25 appeal of the results of a dispute with a consumer 


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1 reporting agency or a person who furnished informa2 tion to the consumer reporting agency regarding the 

3 accuracy or completeness of the information con4 tained on their report. 

5 ‘‘ ‘(6) After a furnisher of information discovers 

6 it has furnished inaccurate or incomplete informa7 tion to a consumer reporting agency, and the fur8 nisher notifies the agency of the error. 

9 ‘‘ ‘(7) After an adverse action is taken against 

10 a consumer or a consumer receives a risk-based pric11 ing notice. 

12 ‘‘ ‘(8) When a mortgage lender, private edu13 cational lender, indirect auto lender, or motor vehicle 

14 lender obtains and uses a consumer’s reports or 

15 scores for underwriting purposes.’. 

16 ‘‘(B) HYPERLINK REQUIREMENTS.—The 

17 hyperlink described in subparagraph (A)(i) shall 

18 be prominently located on the top of the home 

19 page and should link directly to the website of 

20 the centralized source established pursuant to 

21 section 211(d) of the Fair and Accurate Credit 

22 Transactions Act of 2003 (15 U.S.C. 1681j 

23 note). 

24 ‘‘(C) MODIFICATIONS.—The Bureau may 

25 modify the disclosure described in subparagraph 


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1 (A)(ii) as necessary to include other cir2 cumstances under which a consumer has the 

3 right to receive a free consumer report, credit 

4 score, or educational credit score. 

5 ‘‘(2) NATIONWIDE SPECIALTY CONSUMER RE6 PORTING AGENCIES.— 

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 

8 days after the date of enactment of this sub9 section, each nationwide specialty consumer re10 porting agency shall prominently display on the 

11 Internet home webpage of the agency a disclo12 sure titled ‘Consumer’s Right to Free Con13 sumer Reports and Credit Score or Educational 

14 Credit Score (as applicable) under Federal 

15 Law’. Such disclosure shall include the fol16 lowing statement: 

17 ‘‘ ‘Upon request, all consumers are entitled to obtain 

18 a free copy of their consumer report and credit score or 

19 educational credit score (as applicable) during any 12- 

20 month period from each of the nationwide specialty con21 sumer reporting agencies. Federal law also provides fur22 ther circumstances under which a consumer is entitled to 

23 obtain additional free copies of their consumer report and 

24 credit score or educational credit score (as applicable) in25 cluding: 


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1 ‘‘ ‘(1) When a consumer is unemployed and in2 tends to apply for employment within 60 days. 

3 ‘‘ ‘(2) When a consumer is a recipient of public 

4 welfare assistance. 

5 ‘‘ ‘(3) When a consumer has a reasonable belief 

6 that their report contains inaccuracies as a result of 

7 fraud. 

8 ‘‘ ‘(4) When a consumer files a dispute or an 

9 appeal of the results of a dispute with a consumer 

10 reporting agency or a person who furnished informa11 tion to the consumer reporting agency regarding the 

12 accuracy or completeness of the information con13 tained on their report. 

14 ‘‘ ‘(5) After a furnisher of information discovers 

15 it has furnished inaccurate or incomplete informa16 tion to a consumer reporting agency, and the fur17 nisher notifies the agency of the error. 

18 ‘‘ ‘(6) After an adverse action is taken against 

19 a consumer or a consumer receives a risk-based pric20 ing notice. 

21 ‘‘ ‘(7) When a mortgage lender, private edu22 cational lender, indirect auto lender, or motor vehicle 

23 lender obtains and uses a consumer’s reports or 

24 scores for underwriting purposes.’. 


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1 ‘‘(B) MODIFICATIONS.—The Bureau may 

2 modify the disclosure described in subparagraph 

3 (A) as necessary to include other circumstances 

4 under which a consumer has the right to receive 

5 a free consumer report and credit score or edu6 cational credit score (as applicable). 

7 ‘‘(C) TOLL-FREE TELEPHONE ACCESS.— 

8 The information described in this paragraph 

9 shall also be made available via a toll-free tele10 phone number. Such number shall be promi11 nently displayed on the home page of the 

12 website of each nationwide specialty consumer 

13 reporting agency. Each of the circumstances 

14 under which a consumer may obtain a free con15 sumer report and credit score or educational 

16 credit score (as applicable) shall be presented in 

17 an easily understandable format and consumers 

18 shall be directed to an individual who is a cus19 tomer service representative not later than 2 

20 minutes after the initial phone connection is 

21 made by the consumer. Information provided 

22 through such telephone number shall comply 

23 with the requirements of section 633. 

24 ‘‘(D) ONLINE CONSUMER REPORTS; EX25 EMPTION.—Upon receipt of a request by a conVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:32 Jul 10, 2019 Jkt 034408 PO 00000 Frm 00023 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3618.IH H3618

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1 sumer for a consumer report, each nationwide 

2 specialty consumer reporting agency shall pro3 vide access to such report electronically on the 

4 Internet website described in section 611(h). 

5 ‘‘(i) AUTOMATIC PROVISION OF FREE CONSUMER

6 REPORTS AND CREDIT SCORES OR EDUCATIONAL CREDIT

7 SCORES.—A consumer reporting agency shall provide to 

8 a consumer a free copy of the file and credit score or edu9 cational credit score of the consumer who— 

10 ‘‘(1) obtains a fraud alert, extended alert, active 

11 duty alert, or security freeze as described in section 

12 605A; or 

13 ‘‘(2) has disputed information, or submitted an 

14 appeal of an investigation or reinvestigation of such 

15 information, under section 611 or 623.’’. 

16 (b) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.—Section 615(h)(7) of 

17 such Act (15 U.S.C. 1681m(h)(7)) is amended by striking 

18 ‘‘section’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection’’. 


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1 SEC. 7. REQUIRES PRIVATE EDUCATIONAL LENDERS TO 

2 PROVIDE CONSUMERS WITH FREE COPIES OF 

3 ANY CONSUMER REPORTS AND CREDIT 

4 SCORES THAT THEY USED FOR UNDER5 WRITING BEFORE CONSUMERS SIGN LOAN 

6 AGREEMENTS. 

7 Section 609 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 

8 U.S.C. 1681g) is amended by adding at the end the fol9 lowing new subsection: 

10 ‘‘(h) DISCLOSURE OF CONSUMER REPORTS AND

11 CREDIT SCORES BY PRIVATE EDUCATIONAL LENDERS.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If a private educational 

13 lender obtains a copy of any consumer reports or 

14 credit scores and uses such reports or scores in con15 nection with an application of a consumer for a pri16 vate education loan, the private educational lender 

17 shall provide to the consumer, not later than 3 busi18 ness days after obtaining such reports or scores and 

19 before the date on which the consumer enters into 

20 a loan agreement with the private educational lend21 er, a copy of any such reports or scores, along with 

22 the statement described under subsection (f)(2). 

23 ‘‘(2) COSTS.—None of the costs to the private 

24 educational lender associated with procuring con25 sumer reports or credit scores under this subsection 


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1 may be charged, directly or indirectly, to the con2 sumer. 

3 ‘‘(3) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 

4 this subsection shall be construed to eliminate any 

5 requirement for creditors and lenders to provide 

6 credit score disclosures, including the statement de7 scribed under subsection (f)(2), to consumers as 

8 part of an adverse action or risk-based pricing no9 tice.’’. 

10 SEC. 8. REQUIRES MOTOR VEHICLE LENDERS OR INDIRECT 

11 AUTO LENDERS TO PROVIDE CONSUMERS 

12 WITH FREE COPIES OF ANY CONSUMER RE13 PORTS AND CREDIT SCORES THAT THEY 

14 USED FOR UNDERWRITING BEFORE CON15 SUMERS SIGN LEASE OR LOAN AGREEMENTS. 

16 Section 609 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 

17 U.S.C. 1681g), as amended by section 6, is further 

18 amended by adding at the end the following new sub19 section: 

20 ‘‘(i) DISCLOSURE OF CONSUMER REPORTS AND

21 CREDIT SCORES USED BY MOTOR VEHICLE LENDERS OR

22 INDIRECT AUTO LENDERS.— 

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If a motor vehicle lender or 

24 indirect auto lender obtains a copy of any consumer 

25 reports or credit scores and uses such reports or 


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1 scores in connection with an application of a con2 sumer for a motor vehicle loan or lease, the motor 

3 vehicle lender or indirect auto lender shall provide to 

4 the consumer a document, separate from the con5 sumer’s lease or purchase agreement and before the 

6 consumer enters into a lease or purchase agreement, 

7 disclosing any consumer reports and credit scores, 

8 including the statement described in subsection 

9 (f)(2), used by the lender to determine whether to 

10 extend credit to the consumer. 

11 ‘‘(2) COSTS.—None of the costs to the motor 

12 vehicle lender or indirect auto lender associated with 

13 procuring consumer reports or credit scores under 

14 this subsection may be charged, directly or indi15 rectly, to the consumer. 

16 ‘‘(3) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 

17 this subsection shall be construed to eliminate any 

18 requirement for creditors and lenders to provide 

19 credit score disclosures, including the statement de20 scribed under subsection (f)(2), to consumers as 

21 part of an adverse action or risk-based pricing no22 tice. 

23 ‘‘(4) DEFINITIONS.— 

24 ‘‘(A) INDIRECT AUTO LENDER.—The term 

25 ‘indirect auto lender’ has the meaning given the 


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1 term by the Bureau, and shall include a person 

2 extending a loan made with respect to a car, 

3 boat, motorcycle, recreational vehicle, or other 

4 similar vehicle used primarily for personal or 

5 household purposes. 

6 ‘‘(B) MOTOR VEHICLE LENDER.—The 

7 term ‘motor vehicle lender’ has the meaning 

8 given the term by the Board of Governors of 

9 the Federal Reserve System, and shall include 

10 a person extending a loan made with respect to 

11 a car, boat, motorcycle, recreational vehicle, or 

12 other similar vehicle used primarily for personal 

13 or household purposes.’’. 

14 SEC. 9. REQUIRES RESIDENTIAL MORTGAGE LENDERS TO 

15 PROVIDE CONSUMERS WITH FREE COPIES OF 

16 ANY CONSUMER REPORTS AND CREDIT 

17 SCORES THAT THEY USED FOR UNDER18 WRITING BEFORE CONSUMERS SIGN LOAN 

19 AGREEMENTS. 

20 Section 609(g) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 

21 U.S.C. 1681g(g)) is amended— 

22 (1) by redesignating paragraph (2) as para23 graph (5); 

24 (2) in paragraph (1)— 


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1 (A) by striking ‘‘a consumer credit score’’ 

2 and inserting ‘‘any consumer reports or credit 

3 scores’’; 

4 (B) by striking ‘‘, as defined in subsection 

5 (f),’’; 

6 (C) by striking ‘‘the following to the con7 sumer as soon as reasonably practicable:’’ and 

8 inserting ‘‘, not later than 3 business days after 

9 using such reports or scores, a document dis10 closing any consumer reports and credit scores 

11 used by the lender to determine whether to ex12 tend credit to the consumer along with the 

13 statement described in subsection (f)(2).’’; 

14 (D) by striking subparagraphs (A), (B), 

15 (C), (E), and (F); 

16 (E) by redesignating subparagraph (D) as 

17 paragraph (3) (and adjusting the margins ac18 cordingly); and 

19 (F) by redesignating subparagraph (G) as 

20 paragraph (4) (and adjusting the margins ac21 cordingly); 

22 (3) by inserting before paragraph (3) (as so re23 designated) the following new paragraph: 

24 ‘‘(2) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 

25 this subsection shall be construed to eliminate any 


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1 requirement for lenders to provide credit score dis2 closures, including the statement described under 

3 subsection (f)(2), to consumers as part of an adverse 

4 action or risk-based pricing notice.’’; 

5 (4) in paragraph (3) (as so redesignated), in 

6 the quoted material— 

7 (A) by inserting ‘‘, free of charge,’’ after 

8 ‘‘disclose to you’’; and 

9 (B) by striking ‘‘affecting your credit 

10 scores’’ and inserting ‘‘affecting your credit 

11 score or scores’’; 

12 (5) in paragraph (5) (as so redesignated) by in13 serting ‘‘or scores’’ after ‘‘credit score’’ each place 

14 such term appears; and 

15 (6) by adding at the end the following new 

16 paragraphs: 

17 ‘‘(6) ACTIONS NOT REQUIRED.—This subsection 

18 shall not require any person to disclose any credit 

19 score or related information obtained by the person 

20 after a loan has closed. 

21 ‘‘(7) NO PROCUREMENT COSTS.—None of the 

22 costs to the creditor or lender associated with pro23 curing any consumer reports or scores under this 

24 subsection may be charged, directly or indirectly, to 

25 the consumer.’’. 


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1 SEC. 10. RULEMAKING. 

2 Not later than the end of the 2-year period beginning 

3 on the date of the enactment of this Act, the Bureau of 

4 Consumer Financial Protection shall issue final rules to 

5 implement the amendments made by this Act. 

Æ 


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