This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains regulatory documents having general

applicability and legal effect, most of which

are keyed to and codified in the Code of

Federal Regulations, which is published under

50 titles pursuant to 44 U.S.C. 1510.

The Code of Federal Regulations is sold by

the Superintendent of Documents.

Rules and Regulations Federal Register

41243 

Vol. 87, No. 132 

Tuesday, July 12, 2022 

1 85 FR 77987 (Dec. 3, 2020). 

2See 15 U.S.C. 1681a(d) (defining ‘‘consumer 

report’’). 

3See 15 U.S.C. 1681–1681x. 

4Safeco Ins. Co. of Am. v. Barr, 551 U.S. 47, 52 

(2007); see also 15 U.S.C. 1681 (recognizing ‘‘a need 

to insure that consumer reporting agencies exercise 

their grave responsibilities with fairness, 

impartiality, and a respect for the consumer’s right 

to privacy’’). 

5S. Rep. No. 91–517, at 4 (1969) (noting, as an 

example of this problem, ‘‘a reporter for a major TV 

network was able to obtain 10 out of 20 reports 

requested at random from 20 credit bureaus by 

using the name of a completely fictitious company 

under the guise of offering the individuals credit’’). 

When introducing the bill that would become the 

FCRA, Senator Proxmire observed that ‘‘[w]hat is 

disturbing is the lack of any public standards to 

ensure that the information [collected by consumer 

reporting companies] is kept confidential and used 

only for its intended purpose. The growing 

accessibility of this information through computerand data-transmission techniques makes the 

problem of confidentiality even more important.’’ 

15 Cong. Rec. 2413 (1969). 

6S. Rep. No. 91–517, at 1 (1969). 

7Trans Union Corp. v. FTC, 81 F.3d 228, 234 

(D.C. Cir. 1996). 

8 15 U.S.C. 1681b(a) (providing that, ‘‘[s]ubject to 

subsection (c), any consumer reporting agency may 

furnish a consumer report under the following 

circumstances and no other’’). FCRA section 604(c) 

defines when consumer reporting companies may 

furnish consumer reports in connection with credit 

and insurance transactions not initiated by the 

consumer. 15 U.S.C. 1681b(c). Other sections of the 

FCRA identify additional limited circumstances 

under which consumer reporting companies are 

permitted or required to disclose certain 

information to government agencies. See 15 U.S.C. 

1681f, 1681u, 1681v. Further, the Debt Collection 

Improvement Act of 1996, Public Law 104–134, sec. 

31001(m)(1), allows the head of an executive, 

judicial, or legislative agency to obtain a consumer 

report under certain circumstances relating to debt 

collection. See 31 U.S.C. 3711(h). 

9 15 U.S.C. 1681b(a)(2), (a)(3)(A), (a)(3)(B), 

(a)(3)(C). 

10 15 U.S.C. 1681e(a). 

11 15 U.S.C. 1681r. 

BUREAU OF CONSUMER FINANCIAL 

PROTECTION 

12 CFR Part 1022 

Fair Credit Reporting; Permissible 

Purposes for Furnishing, Using, and 

Obtaining Consumer Reports 

AGENCY: Bureau of Consumer Financial 

Protection. 

ACTION: Advisory opinion. 

SUMMARY: The Consumer Financial 

Protection Bureau (Bureau) is issuing 

this advisory opinion to outline certain 

obligations of consumer reporting 

agencies and consumer report users 

under section 604 of the Fair Credit 

Reporting Act (FCRA). This advisory 

opinion explains that the permissible 

purposes listed in FCRA section 

604(a)(3) are consumer specific, and it 

affirms that a consumer reporting 

agency may not provide a consumer 

report to a user under FCRA section 

604(a)(3) unless it has reason to believe 

that all of the consumer report 

information it includes pertains to the 

consumer who is the subject of the 

user’s request. The Bureau notes that 

disclaimers will not cure a failure to 

have a reason to believe that a user has 

a permissible purpose for a consumer 

report provided pursuant to FCRA 

section 604(a)(3). This advisory opinion 

also reminds consumer report users that 

FCRA section 604(f) strictly prohibits a 

person who uses or obtains a consumer 

report from doing so without a 

permissible purpose. 

DATES: This advisory opinion is 

effective on July 12, 2022. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Seth 

Caffrey, Pavneet Singh, Laura Stack, or 

Ruth Van Veldhuizen, Senior Counsels, 

Office of Regulations at (202) 435–7700 

or https://

reginquiries.consumerfinance.gov/. If 

you require this document in an 

alternative electronic format, please 

contact CFPB_Accessibility@cfpb.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Bureau is issuing this advisory opinion 

through the procedures for its Advisory 

Opinions Policy.1 Refer to those 

procedures for more information. 

I. Advisory Opinion 

A. Background 

Consumer reporting agencies collect 

and assemble or evaluate information 

about, among other things, the credit, 

criminal, employment, and rental 

histories of hundreds of millions of 

Americans. They package this 

information into consumer reports,2

which are used by creditors, insurers, 

landlords, employers, and others to 

make eligibility and other decisions 

about consumers. This collection, 

assembly, evaluation, dissemination, 

and use of vast quantities of often highly 

sensitive personal and financial 

information about consumers poses 

significant risks to consumer privacy. 

The FCRA regulates consumer 

reporting.3 Congress enacted the statute 

‘‘to ensure fair and accurate credit 

reporting, promote efficiency in the 

banking system, and protect consumer 

privacy.’’ 4 One of the problems with the 

credit reporting industry that Congress 

recognized and sought to remedy with 

the FCRA was that ‘‘information in a 

person’s credit file [was] not always 

kept strictly confidential.’’ 5 The statute 

was enacted to ‘‘prevent an undue 

invasion of the individual’s right of 

privacy in the collection and 

dissemination of credit information.’’ 6

As courts have recognized, ‘‘[a] major 

purpose of the [FCRA] is the privacy’’ of 

consumer data.7

The FCRA protects consumer privacy 

in multiple ways, including by limiting 

the circumstances under which 

consumer reporting agencies may 

disclose consumer information. For 

example, FCRA section 604, entitled 

‘‘Permissible purposes of consumer 

reports,’’ identifies an exclusive list of 

‘‘permissible purposes’’ for which 

consumer reporting agencies may 

provide consumer reports,8 including in 

accordance with the written instructions 

of the consumer to whom the report 

relates and for purposes relating to 

credit, employment, and insurance.9

The statute states that a consumer 

reporting agency may provide consumer 

reports under these circumstances ‘‘and 

no other.’’ In addition, FCRA section 

607(a) requires that ‘‘[e]very consumer 

reporting agency shall maintain 

reasonable procedures designed to . . . 

limit the furnishing of consumer reports 

to the purposes listed under section 

604.’’ 10 And FCRA section 620 imposes 

criminal liability on any officer or 

employee of a consumer reporting 

agency who knowingly and willfully 

provides information concerning an 

individual from the agency’s files to an 

unauthorized person.11

In addition to imposing permissible 

purpose limitations on consumer 

reporting agencies, the FCRA limits the 

circumstances under which third parties 

may obtain and use consumer report 

information from consumer reporting 

agencies. FCRA section 604(f) provides 

that ‘‘a person shall not use or obtain a 


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41244 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 132 / Tuesday, July 12, 2022 / Rules and Regulations 

12 15 U.S.C. 1681b(f). FCRA section 607(a) 

requires that consumer reporting companies, among 

other things, must require that prospective users of 

consumer reports ‘‘certify the purposes for which 

the information is sought, and certify that the 

information will be used for no other purpose.’’ 15 

U.S.C. 1681e(a). 

13 15 U.S.C. 1681q. 

14See, e.g., United States v. Vivint Smart Home, 

Inc., No. 2:21-cv-00267 (D. Utah 2021), https://

www.ftc.gov/system/files/documents/cases/de2_

complaint_against_vivint_smart_home.pdf (alleging 

that the defendant violated FCRA section 604(f) by 

obtaining consumer reports about consumers who 

had not applied for credit in order to improve credit 

applicants’ ability to satisfy the defendant’s credit 

criteria); In re Clarity Servs., Inc., 2015–CFPB–0030 

(Dec. 3, 2015), https://files.consumerfinance.gov/f/ 

201512_cfpb_consent-order_clarity-services-inctimothy-ranney.pdf (alleging that the defendant 

violated FCRA section 604(f) by obtaining consumer 

reports to create presentations to market its 

analytical services to lenders and other financial 

service providers); United States v. Direct Lending 

Source, Inc., No. 3:12-cv-02441 (S.D. Cal. 2012), 

https://www.ftc.gov/sites/default/files/documents/ 

cases/2012/10/121010directlendingcmpt.pdf 

(alleging that the defendant violated FCRA section 

604(f) by obtaining consumer reports without a 

permissible purpose and selling them to entities 

that targeted consumers in financial distress for 

loan modification, debt relief, and foreclosure relief 

services); In re Fajilan & Assocs., No. C–4332 (Aug. 

17, 2011), https://www.ftc.gov/sites/default/files/ 

documents/cases/2011/08/ 

110819statewidecmpt.pdf (alleging that the 

respondents furnished consumer reports to hackers 

in violation of FCRA section 604); In re ACRAnet, 

Inc., No. C–4331 (Aug. 17, 2011), https://

www.ftc.gov/sites/default/files/documents/cases/ 

2011/08/110809acranetcmpt.pdf (same); In re 

SettlementOne Credit Corp., No. C–4330 (Aug. 17, 

2011), https://www.ftc.gov/sites/default/files/ 

documents/cases/2011/08/ 

110819settlementonecmpt.pdf (same). 

15United States v. Choicepoint, Inc., No. 1:06-cv00198–GET, at ¶ 12 (N.D. Ga. 2006), https://

www.ftc.gov/sites/default/files/documents/cases/ 

2006/01/0523069complaint.pdf. 

16Bureau of Consumer Fin. Prot. v. Chou Team 

Realty, LLC et al., No. 8:20-cv-00043, at ¶¶ 57–59, 

69, 77–78, 89–106 (C.D. Cal. 2020), https://

files.consumerfinance.gov/f/documents/cfpb_chouteam-realty-monster-loans_complaint_2020-01.pdf. 

17United States v. Mortgage Sols. FCS, Inc., No. 

4:20-cv-00110–DMR, at ¶¶ 11–14 (N.D. Cal. 2020), 

https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/documents/cases/ 

mortgage_solutions_complaint.pdf. In addition to 

continuing to enforce the FCRA’s permissible 

purpose provisions and protect the privacy of 

consumer reports, the Bureau’s supervisory work 

also has focused on ensuring compliance with the 

FCRA’s permissible purpose requirements by 

consumer reporting companies and consumer 

report users. See, e.g., Bureau of Consumer Fin. 

Prot., Supervisory Highlights, at 3–4 (Sept. 2020), 

https://files.consumerfinance.gov/f/documents/ 

cfpb_supervisory-highlights_issue-22_2020-09.pdf; 

Bureau of Consumer Fin. Prot., Supervisory 

Highlights Consumer Reporting Special Edition, at 

16–17 (Dec. 2019), https://

files.consumerfinance.gov/f/documents/cfpb_

supervisory-highlights_issue-20_122019.pdf. 18 15 U.S.C. 1681b(a). 

consumer report for any purpose 

unless’’ the consumer report ‘‘is 

obtained for a purpose for which the 

consumer report is authorized to be 

furnished under [FCRA section 604]’’ 

and ‘‘the purpose is certified in 

accordance with FCRA section 607 by a 

prospective user of the report through a 

general or specific certification.’’ 12

FCRA section 619 imposes criminal 

liability on any person who knowingly 

and willfully obtains information on a 

consumer from a consumer reporting 

agency under false pretenses.13

The FCRA’s permissible purpose 

provisions are thus central to the 

statute’s protection of consumer 

privacy. Consumers suffer harm when 

consumer reporting agencies provide 

consumer reports to persons who are 

not authorized to receive the 

information or when recipients of 

consumer reports obtain or use such 

reports for purposes other than 

permissible purposes. These harms 

include the invasion of consumers’ 

privacy, as well as reputational, 

emotional, physical, and economic 

harms. The Bureau and the Federal 

Trade Commission (FTC) have 

collectively brought numerous 

enforcement actions to address 

violations of the FCRA’s permissible 

purpose provisions.14 For example, in a 

case that resulted in a 2006 settlement 

with a consumer reporting agency, the 

FTC alleged that the agency violated the 

FCRA’s permissible purpose provisions 

by providing consumer reports to 

persons without a permissible purpose, 

resulting in at least 800 cases of identity 

theft.15 More recently, in 2020, a group 

of companies and individuals settled 

Bureau allegations that they obtained 

consumer reports without a permissible 

purpose when they obtained consumer 

reports for use in marketing debt relief 

services.16 Also in 2020, a mortgage 

broker settled FTC allegations that it 

used consumer reports for other than a 

permissible purpose when, in response 

to negative reviews on a website, it 

publicly posted information it had 

obtained from a consumer report about 

the reviewer.17

In light of the importance of the 

FCRA’s permissible purpose provisions 

to the protection of consumer privacy, 

the Bureau is issuing this advisory 

opinion to affirm that consumer 

reporting agencies may not provide a 

consumer report pursuant to FCRA 

section 604(a) under any circumstance 

not expressly permitted by this section. 

In particular, the permissible purposes 

identified in FCRA section 604(a)(3) are 

consumer specific—that is, they apply 

only with respect to the consumer who 

is the subject of the user’s request—and 

a consumer reporting company may not 

provide a consumer report to a user 

under FCRA section 604(a)(3) unless it 

has reason to believe that all of the 

consumer report information it includes 

pertains to the consumer who is the 

subject of the user’s request. For 

example, consumer reporting agencies 

violate the FCRA’s permissible purpose 

provisions if they provide consumer 

reports on multiple consumers (e.g., 

consumers with the same name) in 

response to a request where the user 

only has a permissible purpose to obtain 

a report on a single individual because 

that would inherently involve providing 

at least one consumer report on an 

individual with respect to whom the 

user did not have a permissible purpose. 

The Bureau notes that disclaimers will 

not cure a failure to have a reason to 

believe that a user has a permissible 

purpose for a consumer report provided 

pursuant to FCRA section 604(a)(3). The 

Bureau also is issuing this advisory 

opinion to highlight that FCRA section 

604(f) strictly prohibits a person who 

uses or obtains a consumer report from 

doing so without a permissible purpose. 

B. Coverage 

Section C.1 of this advisory opinion 

applies to all ‘‘consumer reporting 

agencies,’’ as that term is defined in 

FCRA section 603(f). Section C.2 of this 

advisory opinion applies to all persons 

that obtain or use, or seek to obtain or 

use, ‘‘consumer reports,’’ as that term is 

defined in FCRA section 603(d). 

C. Legal Analysis 

1. FCRA Section 604(a)(3) 

Section 604(a) of the FCRA identifies 

a limited set of ‘‘permissible purposes’’ 

for which a consumer reporting 

company may provide a consumer 

report to a user.18 The Bureau is aware 

that some consumer reporting agencies 

use insufficient identifiers in matching 

procedures, such as name-only 

matching, which can result in the 

provision of consumer reports to 

persons without a permissible purpose 

to receive them. The permissible 

purposes for which consumer reports 

are most commonly sought are those 

identified in FCRA section 604(a)(3), 

including for purposes related to credit, 

employment, insurance, and rental 

housing. Under section 604(a)(3), a 

consumer reporting company may 

provide a consumer report when it has 

‘‘reason to believe’’ that the user 

requesting the report has one of the 

permissible purposes specified therein 

with respect to the consumer who is the 

subject of the user’s request. The Bureau 

interprets the permissible purposes in 

FCRA section 604(a)(3) to apply only 

with respect to the consumer who is the 

subject of the user’s request. 

The Bureau’s interpretation is based 

on the plain language of FCRA section 


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Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 132 / Tuesday, July 12, 2022 / Rules and Regulations 41245 

19 15 U.S.C. 1681b(a)(3)(A) (emphasis added). 

20 15 U.S.C. 1681b(a)(3)(F) (emphasis added). 

21 15 U.S.C. 1681(a)(4). 

22 15 U.S.C. 1681b(a) (providing that, in general, 

‘‘[s]ubject to subsection (c), any consumer reporting 

agency may furnish a consumer report under the 

following circumstances and no other’’). 

23The Bureau’s interpretation of FCRA section 

604(a)(3) also is consistent with the statute’s 

purpose and structure with respect to accuracy. See 

15 U.S.C. 1681e(b). As discussed below, a consumer 

reporting agency’s use of poor matching procedures 

can lead to violations of the FCRA’s permissible 

purpose requirements, as well as its accuracy 

requirements. 

24Bureau of Consumer Fin. Prot., Fair Credit 

Reporting; Name-Only Matching Procedures, 86 FR 

62468, 62472 (Nov. 10, 2021). 

25 Id. at 62471. 

26See, e.g., Erickson v. First Advantage 

Background Screening Corp., 981 F.3d 1246, 1249 

(11th Cir. 2020) (defendant furnished a consumer 

report about plaintiff that included a record 

belonging to plaintiff’s father using name-only 

matching; defendant included with the consumer 

report the statement: ‘‘[t]his record is matched by 

First Name, Last Name ONLY and may not belong 

to your subject. Your further review of the State Sex 

Offender Registry is required in order to determine 

if this is your subject.’’); see also United States v. 

Infotrack Info. Servs., 14-cv-02054, at ¶¶ 16–17 

(N.D. Ill. 2014), https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/ 

documents/cases/140409infotrackcmpt.pdf 

(defendant consumer reporting agency, using nameonly matching, identified more than one individual 

with a record in the National Sex Offender registry 

and reported all identified individuals as ‘‘possible 

matches’’ to users). Erickson and Infotrack 

concerned alleged violations of the FCRA’s 

accuracy provisions, 15 U.S.C. 1681e(b), not its 

permissible purpose provisions. 

27See, e.g., Erickson, 981 F.3d at 1249 (consumer 

report directed the user to a public database ‘‘to 

compare the ‘demographic data and available 

photographs,’ noting that the user might ‘conclude 

that the records do not belong to’’’ the subject of 

the user’s request); Dodgson v. First Advantage 

Background Screening Corp., 2018 WL 1807014, *1 

(N.D. Ga. 2018) (noting that the record belonging to 

plaintiff’s father that was included in plaintiff’s 

consumer report ‘‘contained at the very least an 

address that did not match plaintiff’s address’’); 

Infotrack, 14-cv-02054, at ¶ 16 (‘‘Defendants would 

forward reports that included names and pictures 

of several different people with the same name who 

were convicted sex offenders and listed in the 

National Sex Offender Registry. Defendants’ 

practice and procedure resulted in furnishing 

consumer reports to employers that included 

National Sex Offender Registry records of 

individuals who could not have been the subject of 

the inquiry.’’). 

28Erickson, 981 F.3d at 1249. 

604(a)(3) itself, which makes clear that 

whether a user has a permissible 

purpose under that section is analyzed 

on a consumer-by-consumer basis. For 

example, FCRA section 604(a)(3)(A) 

permits a consumer reporting company 

to provide a consumer report ‘‘to a 

person which it has reason to believe 

. . . intends to use the information in 

connection with a credit transaction 

involving the consumer on whom the 

information is to be furnished and 

involving the extension of credit to, or 

review or collection of an account of, 

the consumer.’’ 19 Similarly, FCRA 

section 604(a)(3)(F) permits a consumer 

reporting company to provide a 

consumer report ‘‘to a person which it 

has reason to believe . . . has a 

legitimate business need for the 

information . . . in connection with a 

business transaction that is initiated by 

the consumer or to review an account to 

determine whether the consumer 

continues to meet the terms of the 

account.’’ 20

The Bureau’s interpretation also is 

consistent with the FCRA’s purpose and 

structure. As explained in part I.A, 

Congress enacted the FCRA in part to 

address ‘‘a need to insure that consumer 

reporting agencies exercise their grave 

responsibilities with . . . a respect for 

the consumer’s right to privacy.’’ 21 The 

FCRA achieves this by, among other 

things, narrowly limiting the 

circumstances under which a consumer 

reporting company may provide 

consumer report information to third 

parties. The statute is structured so that 

the permissible purposes in section 

604(a) function as exceptions to the 

general rule that a consumer reporting 

company may not provide consumer 

reports to third parties.22 Interpreting 

FCRA section 604(a)(3) to allow a 

consumer reporting company to provide 

consumer report information to a third 

party about a consumer with respect to 

whom the third party does not have a 

permissible purpose would undermine 

the statutory scheme and threaten 

consumer privacy with respect to the 

often highly sensitive information 

collected by consumer reporting 

agencies.23

A consumer reporting company may 

not provide a consumer report under 

FCRA section 604(a)(3) unless it has 

reason to believe that the user has a 

permissible purpose with respect to the 

consumer about whom the report is 

requested. A user’s request to a 

consumer reporting company for a 

report about a consumer does not give 

the consumer reporting company a 

reason to believe that the user has a 

permissible purpose to obtain a 

consumer report about other consumers. 

Accordingly, a consumer reporting 

company may not provide a consumer 

report under FCRA section 604(a)(3) 

unless it has reason to believe that all 

of the consumer report information it 

includes pertains to the consumer who 

is the subject of the user’s request. 

The use of poor matching procedures, 

such as name-only matching, can lead to 

violations of the FCRA’s permissible 

purpose provisions. As the Bureau has 

observed, some consumer reporting 

agencies obtain information from 

sources that do not have or use 

identifying information other than 

consumer names, and they include such 

information in consumer reports 

without taking additional steps to match 

the information to the consumer who is 

the subject of the report.24 The Bureau 

has recently affirmed that, ‘‘[i]n 

preparing consumer reports, it is not a 

reasonable procedure to assure 

maximum possible accuracy to use 

insufficient identifiers to match 

information to the consumer who is the 

subject of the report.’’ 25 In addition to 

running afoul of the FCRA’s accuracy 

provisions, a consumer reporting 

company that uses insufficient 

identifiers in its matching procedures, 

such as name-only matching, cannot 

rely on these procedures to form a 

reason to believe that all of the 

information it includes in a consumer 

report pertains to the consumer who is 

the subject of the user’s request. 

For example, when a consumer 

reporting company conducts a public 

records search using name-only 

matching and identifies one or more 

individuals with the same name as the 

consumer who is the subject of the 

user’s request, it sometimes might 

provide the user with a report 

containing a possible match or list of 

possible matches instead of taking 

further steps to match the information to 

the specific consumer who is the subject 

of the request.26 Under these 

circumstances, a consumer reporting 

company has not formed a reason to 

believe that all of the information it 

includes in a consumer report pertains 

to the consumer who is the subject of 

the user’s request. If the report includes 

information that identifies (even if not 

by name) consumers who are possible 

matches and information that bears on 

the credit worthiness, credit standing, 

credit capacity, character, general 

reputation, personal characteristics, or 

mode of living of those consumers, the 

consumer reporting company will have 

provided consumer reports about those 

consumers to a user that does not have 

a permissible purpose for them.27

The Bureau is aware that some 

consumer reporting agencies that use 

inadequate matching procedures 

include disclaimers with their consumer 

reports. For example, one consumer 

reporting company stated when 

providing a consumer report: ‘‘This 

record is matched by First Name, Last 

Name ONLY and may not belong to 

your subject. Your further review of the 

State Sex Offender Registry is required 

in order to determine if this is your 

subject.’’ 28 Disclaimers will not cure a 


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29 15 U.S.C. 1681b(f). As noted above, FCRA 

section 607(a) requires that a consumer reporting 

agency must, among other things, require that 

prospective users of consumer reports ‘‘certify the 

purposes for which the information is sought, and 

certify that the information will be used for no other 

purpose.’’ 15 U.S.C. 1681e(a). 

30Consumer Credit Reporting Reform Act of 

1996, Public Law 104–208, Div. A, tit. II, sec. 2404. 

31See, e.g., Blumenfeld v. Regions Bank, No. 

4:16–CV–01652–ACA, 2018 WL 4216369, at *5 

(N.D. Ala. 2018) (holding that ‘‘[FCRA section 

604(f)] does not incorporate the ‘reason to believe’ 

language from [FCRA section 604(a)],’’ and noting 

that the opinion in Korotki v. Att’y Servs. Corp. Inc., 

931 F. Supp. 1269, 1276 (D. Md. 1996) (applying 

section 604(a)(3)’s ‘‘reason to believe’’ standard to 

users), was decided prior to the 1996 amendments 

to the FCRA that added section 604(f)). 

32Pursuant to FCRA sections 616 and 617, a 

person is civilly liable to a consumer for violations 

of section 604(f) if they have negligently or willfully 

failed to comply with the requirement. 15 U.S.C. 

1681n, 1681o. 

33 In re State Farm Bank, FSB, 2018–CFPB–0009, 

at ¶¶ 17–19 (Dec. 6, 2018), https://

files.consumerfinance.gov/f/documents/bcfp_statefarm-bank_consent-order.pdf. 

34 Id. 

35 Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer 

Protection Act, Public Law 111–203, 124 Stat. 1376 

(2010). 

36 12 U.S.C. 5512(b)(1). 

37 5 U.S.C. 553(b). 

38 5 U.S.C. 603(a), 604(a). 

39 4 U.S.C. 3501–3521. 

40 5 U.S.C. 801 et seq. 

failure to have a reason to believe that 

a user has a permissible purpose for a 

consumer report provided pursuant to 

FCRA section 604(a)(3). A disclaimer 

does not change the fact that the 

consumer reporting company has failed 

to satisfy the requirements of 604(a)(3) 

and has provided a consumer report 

about a consumer to a person lacking a 

permissible purpose with respect to that 

consumer. 

2. FCRA Section 604(f) 

FCRA section 604(f) prohibits a 

person from using or obtaining a 

consumer report ‘‘unless . . . the 

consumer report is obtained for a 

purpose for which the consumer report 

is authorized to be furnished under 

[FCRA section 604]’’ and ‘‘the purpose 

is certified in accordance with FCRA 

section 607 by a prospective user of the 

report through a general or specific 

certification.’’ 29 Congress amended the 

FCRA to include section 604(f) in 

September 1996.30 Before the 1996 

amendments, FCRA section 604 did not 

impose limitations on users of consumer 

reports, only on consumer reporting 

agencies. The Bureau interprets FCRA 

section 604(f) to provide that consumer 

report users are strictly prohibited from 

using or obtaining consumer reports 

without a permissible purpose. 

Although some courts have applied a 

‘‘reason to believe’’ standard for persons 

using or obtaining a consumer report, as 

at least one court has noted, the opinion 

most commonly cited in support of this 

standard was decided before the 1996 

amendments.31 Based on its plain 

language, the 1996 addition of FCRA 

section 604(f) clearly imposes a strict 

prohibition on using or obtaining a 

consumer report without a permissible 

purpose.32

Users of consumer reports must 

ensure that they do not violate 

consumer privacy by obtaining 

consumer reports when they lack a 

permissible purpose for doing so. For 

example, in 2018 a company settled 

Bureau allegations that it violated FCRA 

section 604(f) when its agents obtained 

consumer reports for consumers who 

were not seeking an extension of credit 

from the company and the company had 

no other permissible purpose for the 

consumer reports it obtained.33 In some 

instances, for example, the company’s 

agents initiated credit applications for 

the wrong consumer by incorrectly 

inputting consumer information into the 

company’s application system or by 

selecting the wrong consumer from a list 

of possible consumers identified in the 

system. When these applications were 

initiated in error, the company obtained 

a consumer report for a consumer with 

respect to which it had no permissible 

purpose, violating the FCRA’s 

permissible purpose provisions and the 

privacy of the consumers that were the 

subject of those reports, and also 

generating an inquiry on the consumers’ 

credit reports.34

II. Regulatory Matters 

This advisory opinion is an 

interpretive rule issued under the 

Bureau’s authority to interpret the 

FCRA, including under section 

1022(b)(1) of the Dodd-Frank Wall 

Street Reform and Consumer Protection 

Act,35 which authorizes guidance as 

may be necessary or appropriate to 

enable the Bureau to administer and 

carry out the purposes and objectives of 

Federal consumer financial laws.36

As an interpretive rule, this advisory 

opinion is exempt from the notice-andcomment rulemaking requirements of 

the Administrative Procedure Act.37

Because no notice of proposed 

rulemaking is required, the Regulatory 

Flexibility Act does not require an 

initial or final regulatory flexibility 

analysis.38 The Bureau has also 

determined that this advisory opinion 

does not impose any new or revise any 

existing recordkeeping, reporting, or 

disclosure requirements on covered 

entities or members of the public that 

would be collections of information 

requiring approval by the Office of 

Management and Budget under the 

Paperwork Reduction Act.39

Pursuant to the Congressional Review 

Act,40 the Bureau will submit a report 

containing this interpretive rule and 

other required information to the United 

States Senate, the United States House 

of Representatives, and the Comptroller 

General of the United States prior to the 

rule’s published effective date. The 

Office of Information and Regulatory 

Affairs has designated this interpretive 

rule as not a ‘‘major rule’’ as defined by 

5 U.S.C. 804(2). 

Rohit Chopra, 

Director, Consumer Financial Protection 

Bureau. 

[FR Doc. 2022–14823 Filed 7–11–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4810–AM–P 

COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING 

COMMISSION 

17 CFR Part 1 

Fees for Reviews of the Rule 

Enforcement Programs of Designated 

Contract Markets and Registered 

Futures Associations; Correction 

AGENCY: Commodity Futures Trading 

Commission. 

ACTION: Notification of 2021 schedule of 

fees; correction. 

SUMMARY: The Commodity Futures 

Trading Commission (Commission) is 

correcting a document published in the 

Federal Register on June 17, 2022. The 

document contained incorrect assessed 

fee data for four of the entities in Table 

2. This document corrects the data 

contained in those inaccurate sixteen 

cells in Table 2. 

DATES: Each self-regulatory organization 

is required to remit electronically the 

applicable fee on or before August 16, 

2022. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joel 

Mattingley, Chief Financial Officer, 

Commodity Futures Trading 

Commission; (202) 418–5310; Three 

Lafayette Centre, 1155 21st Street NW, 

Washington, DC 20581; jmattingley@

cftc.gov. For information on electronic 

payments, contact Jennifer Fleming; 

(202) 418–5034; jfleming@cftc.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Correction 

In FR Rule Doc. 2022–13141, 

appearing on page 36409 in the Federal 

Register of Friday, June 17, 2022, Table 

2—Schedule of Fees is corrected to read 

as follows: 


jspears on DSK121TN23PROD with RULES1