Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the
‘‘Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003’’.
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for
this Act are as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Definitions.
Sec. 3. Effective dates.
TITLE I—UNIFORM NATIONAL CONSUMER PROTECTION
STANDARDS
Sec. 101. Uniform national consumer protection standards made permanent.
TITLE II—IDENTITY THEFT PREVENTION
Sec. 201. Investigating changes of address and inactive accounts.
Sec. 202. Fraud alerts.
Sec. 203. Truncation of credit card and debit card account numbers.
Sec. 204. Summary of rights of identity theft victims.
Sec. 205. Blocking of information resulting from identity theft.
Sec. 206. Establishment of procedures for depository institutions to identify
possible instances of identity theft.
Sec. 207. Study on the use of technology to combat identity theft.
TITLE III—IMPROVING RESOLUTION OF CONSUMER DISPUTES
Sec. 301. Coordination of consumer complaint investigations.
Sec. 302. Notice of dispute through reseller.
Sec. 303. Reasonable investigation required.
Sec. 304. Duties of furnishers of information.
Sec. 305. Prompt investigation of disputed consumer information.
TITLE IV—IMPROVING ACCURACY OF CONSUMER RECORDS
Sec. 401. Reconciling addresses.
Sec. 402. Prevention of repollution of consumer reports.
Sec. 403. Notice by users with respect to fraudulent information.
Sec. 404. Disclosure to consumers of contact information for users and fur-
nishers of information in consumer reports.
Sec. 405. FTC study of the accuracy of consumer reports.
TITLE V—IMPROVEMENTS IN USE OF AND CONSUMER ACCESS
TO CREDIT INFORMATION
Sec. 501. Free reports annually.
Sec. 502. Disclosure of credit scores.
Sec. 503. Simpler and easier method for consumers to use notification system.
Sec. 504. Requirement to disclose communications to a consumer reporting
agency.
Sec. 505. Study of effects of credit scores and credit-based insurance scores on
availability and affordability of financial products.
Sec. 506. GAO study on disparate impact of credit system.
Sec. 507. Analysis of further restrictions on offers of credit or insurance.
Sec. 508. Study on the need and the means for improving financial literacy
among consumers.
Sec. 509. Disclosure of increase in APR under certain circumstances.
TITLE VI—PROTECTING EMPLOYEE MISCONDUCT
INVESTIGATIONS
Sec. 601. Certain employee investigation communications excluded from defini-
tion of consumer report.
TITLE VII—LIMITING THE USE AND SHARING OF MEDICAL
INFORMATION IN THE FINANCIAL SYSTEM
Sec. 701. Protection of medical information in the financial system.
Sec. 702. Confidentiality of medical information in credit reports.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
Section 603 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15
U.S.C. 1681a) is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing new subsections:
‘‘(r) RESELLER.—The term ‘reseller’ means a con-
sumer reporting agency that—
‘‘(1) assembles and merges information con-
tained in the database of another consumer report-
ing agency or multiple consumer reporting agencies
concerning any consumer for purposes of furnishing
such information to any third party, to the extent of
such activities; and
‘‘(2) does not maintain a database of the as-
sembled or merged information from which new con-
sumer reports are produced.
‘‘(s) OTHER DEFINITIONS.—
‘‘(1) 
BOARD; 
CREDIT; 
CREDITOR; 
CREDIT
CARD.—The terms ‘Board’, ‘credit’, ‘creditor’, and
‘credit card’ have the same meanings as in section
103 of the Truth in Lending Act.
‘‘(2) COMMISSION.—The term ‘Commission’
means the Federal Trade Commission.
‘‘(3) DEBIT
CARD.—The term ‘debit card’
means any card issued by a financial institution to
a consumer for use in initiating electronic fund
transfers (as defined in section 903(6) of the Elec-
tronic Fund Transfer Act) from the account (as de-
fined in such Act) of the consumer at such financial
institution for the purpose of transferring money be-
tween accounts or obtaining money, property, labor,
or services.
‘‘(4) ELECTRONIC FUND TRANSFER.—The term
‘electronic fund transfer’ has the same meaning as
in section 903 of the Electronic Fund Transfer Act.
‘‘(5) FEDERAL BANKING AGENCY.—The term
‘Federal banking agency’ has the same meaning as
in section 3 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act.
‘‘(6) IDENTITY
THEFT.—The term ‘identity
theft’ means a fraud committed using another per-
son’s identifying information, subject to such further
definition as the Commission and the Board may
prescribe, jointly, by regulation.
‘‘(7) POLICE REPORT.—The term ‘police report’
means a copy of any official valid report filed by a
consumer with any appropriate Federal, State, or
local government law enforcement agency, or any
comparable official government document that the
Board and the Commission shall jointly prescribe in
regulations, that is subject to a criminal penalty for
false statements.’’.
SEC. 3. EFFECTIVE DATES.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsections
(b) and (c)—
(1) before the end of the 2-month period begin-
ning on the date of the enactment of this Act, the
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
and the Federal Trade Commission shall jointly pre-
scribe regulations in final form establishing effective
dates for each provision of this Act (except as other-
wise specified); and
(2) the regulations prescribed under paragraph
(1) shall establish effective dates that are as early
as possible while allowing a reasonable time for the
implementation of the provisions of this Act, but in
no case shall the effective date be later than 10
months after the date of issuance of such regula-
tions in final form.
(b) IMMEDIATE EFFECTIVE DATE.—The following
provisions shall take effect on the date of the enactment
of this Act:
(1) Title I.
(2) Section 201.
(3) Section 609(d)(1) of the Fair Credit Re-
porting Act (as added by the amendment in section
204(a)).
(4) Section 305.
(5) Section 505.
(6) Section 506.
(7) Title VI.
(c) EFFECTIVE DATE FOR PROTECTION OF MEDICAL
INFORMATION IN THE FINANCIAL SYSTEM.—Section 701
shall take effect at the end of the 180-day period begin-
ning on the date of the enactment of this Act, except that
paragraph (2) of section 604(g) of the Fair Credit Report-
ing Act (as added by section 701) shall take effect on the
later of—
(1) the end of the 90-day period beginning on
the date the regulations required under paragraph
(5)(B) of such section 604(g) (as added by section
701) are prescribed in final form; or
(2) the date specified in the regulations referred
to in paragraph (1).
(d) CRITERIA FOR ORDERLY IMPLEMENTATION OF
FREE ANNUAL CREDIT REPORT PROVISION.—
(1) IN
GENERAL.—In developing the regula-
tions and effective dates under subsection (a) (and
subject to the time limits in paragraph (2) and sub-
section (a)), the Federal Trade Commission and the
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
shall provide a systematic approach for imple-
menting the amendment made by section 501 that
allows for an orderly transition to the consumer re-
port distribution system required by the amendment
in a manner that—
(A) does not temporarily overwhelm con-
sumer reporting agencies with requests for dis-
closures of consumer reports beyond their ca-
pacity to deliver; and
(B) does not deny creditors, other users,
and consumers access to consumer credit re-
ports on a time-sensitive basis for specific pur-
poses, such as home purchases or suspicions of
identity theft, during the transition period.
(2) PROHIBITION
ON
EXTENSION
OF
EFFEC-
TIVE DATE.—
(A) 
ONE-TIME
AUTHORIZATION.—The
Federal Trade Commission and the Board of
Governors of the Federal Reserve System may
exercise the authority provided under paragraph
(1) only once during the 2-month period re-
ferred to in subsection (a)(1).
(B) EXTENSION OF EFFECTIVE DATE PRO-
HIBITED.—No provision of this subsection shall
be construed as extending, or authorizing the
Federal Trade Commission or the Board of
Governors of the Federal Reserve System to ex-
tend, the 2-month period referred to in sub-
section (a)(1) or the 10-month period referred
to in subsection (a)(2) relating to the require-
ments imposed on consumer reporting agencies
by the amendment made by section 501.
TITLE 
I—UNIFORM 
NATIONAL
CONSUMER 
PROTECTION
STANDARDS
SEC. 101. UNIFORM NATIONAL CONSUMER PROTECTION
STANDARDS MADE PERMANENT.
Section 624(d) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15
U.S.C. 1681t(d)) is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘Subsections (b) and (c)’’ and
all that follows through ‘‘do not affect any settle-
ment,’’ and inserting ‘‘Subsections (b) and (c) do
not affect any settlement,’’; and
(2) by striking ‘‘Consumer Credit Reporting
Reform Act of 1996’’ and all that follows through
the period at the end of paragraph (2) and inserting
‘‘Consumer Credit Reporting Reform Act of 1996.’’.
TITLE II—IDENTITY THEFT
PREVENTION
SEC. 201. INVESTIGATING CHANGES OF ADDRESS AND IN-
ACTIVE ACCOUNTS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 605 of the Fair Credit
Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681c) is amended by inserting
after subsection (f), the following new subsection:
‘‘(g) ‘RED FLAG’ PATTERNS OF POSSIBLE IDENTITY
THEFT.—
‘‘(1) INVESTIGATION
OF
CHANGES
OF
AD-
DRESS.—The Federal banking agencies and the Na-
tional Credit Union Administration, in carrying out
the responsibilities of such agencies and Administra-
tion under subsection (k), shall jointly prescribe reg-
ulations for credit card and debit card issuers to en-
sure that, if any such issuer receives a request for
an additional or replacement card for an existing ac-
count within a short period of time after the issuer
has received notification of a change of address for
the same account, the issuer will follow reasonable
policies and procedures that require, as appropriate,
that the issuer not issue the additional or replace-
ment card unless the issuer—
‘‘(A) notifies the cardholder of the request
at the former address of the cardholder and
provides to the cardholder a means of promptly
reporting incorrect address changes;
‘‘(B) notifies the cardholder of the request
by such other means of communication as the
cardholder and the card issuer previously
agreed to; or
‘‘(C) uses other means of assessing the va-
lidity of the change of address, in accordance
with reasonable policies and procedures estab-
lished by the card issuer in accordance with the
regulations prescribed under subsection (k).
‘‘(2) INACTIVE ACCOUNTS.—The Federal bank-
ing agencies and the National Credit Union Admin-
istration, in carrying out the responsibilities of such
agencies and Administration under subsection (k),
shall consider including, as a possible ‘red flag’ pat-
tern, reasonable guidelines providing that when a
transaction occurs with respect to a credit or deposit
account that has been inactive for more than 2
years, the creditor or depository institution shall fol-
low reasonable policies and procedures that provide
for notice to be given to a consumer in a manner
reasonably designed to reduce the likelihood of iden-
tity theft with respect to such account.’’.
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.—
(1) The heading for section 605 of the Fair
Credit Reporting Act is amended to read as follows:
‘‘§ 605. Requirements relating to information con-
tained in consumer reports and to iden-
tity theft prevention’’.
(2) The table of sections for title VI of the Con-
sumer Credit Protection Act is amended by striking
the item relating to section 605 and inserting the
following new item:
‘‘605. Requirements relating to information contained in consumer reports and
to identity theft prevention.’’.
(3) Section 624(b)(1)(E) of the Fair Credit Re-
porting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681t(b)(1)(E)) is amended
by inserting ‘‘(and to specific identity theft preven-
tion subjects covered)’’ after ‘‘consumer reports’’.
SEC. 202. FRAUD ALERTS.
Section 605 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15
U.S.C. 1681c) is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing new subsection:
‘‘(i) ONE-CALL FRAUD ALERTS.—
‘‘(1) INITIAL ALERTS.—Upon the direct request
of a consumer, or an individual acting on behalf of
or as a personal representative of a consumer, who
asserts, in good faith, a suspicion that the consumer
has been or is about to become a victim of fraud or
related crime, including identity theft, a consumer
reporting agency described in section 603(p) shall, if
the agency maintains a file on the consumer who is
making the request and has a reasonable belief that
the agency knows the identity of the consumer—
‘‘(A) include a fraud alert in the file of
that consumer for a period of not less than 90
days beginning on the date of such request, un-
less the consumer specifically requests that such
fraud alert be removed before the end of such
period;
‘‘(B) disclose to the consumer that the con-
sumer may request a free copy of the file of the
consumer and provide the consumer, upon re-
quest, a free disclosure of the consumer’s file
(as described in section 609(a)) within 3 busi-
ness days after such request;
‘‘(C) for 2 years after the date of such re-
quest, exclude the consumer from any list of
consumers prepared by the agency and provided
to any third party to offer credit or insurance
to the consumer as part of a transaction that
was not initiated by the consumer, unless the
consumer subsequently requests that such ex-
clusion be rescinded before the end of such pe-
riod; and
‘‘(D) refer the information regarding the
fraud alert to each of the other consumer re-
porting agencies described in section 603(p), as
required under section 621(f)(1).
‘‘(2) EXTENDED ALERTS.—Upon the direct re-
quest of a consumer, or an individual acting on be-
half of or as a personal representative of a con-
sumer, who contacts a consumer reporting agency
described in section 603(p) to report details of an
identity theft and submits evidence that provides the
agency with reasonable cause to believe that such
identity theft has occurred, the agency shall, if the
agency maintains a file on the consumer who is
making the request and has a reasonable belief that
the agency knows the identity of the consumer—
‘‘(A) include a fraud alert in the file of
that consumer and provide an opportunity for
the consumer to extend the alert for a period of
up to 7 years from the date of such request,
unless the consumer subsequently requests that
such fraud alert be removed before the end of
such period;
‘‘(B) provide the consumer with the option
of including more complete information in the
consumer’s file, including a telephone number
or some other reasonable means of communica-
tion that any person who requests the con-
sumer’s report may utilize for authorization be-
fore establishing a new credit plan in the name
of the consumer; and
‘‘(C) provide the consumer with at least 2
free disclosures of the information described in
section 609(a) during the 12-month period be-
ginning on the date of such request.
‘‘(3) ACTIVE DUTY ALERTS.—Upon the direct
request of an active duty military consumer, or an
individual acting on behalf of or as a personal rep-
resentative of an active duty military consumer, who
contacts a consumer reporting agency described in
section 603(p), the agency shall, if the agency main-
tains a file on the consumer who is making the re-
quest and has a reasonable belief that the agency
knows the identity of the consumer—
tended, or active duty alerts in a simple and easy
manner, including by telephone.
‘‘(5) NOTICE TO USERS.—No person who ob-
tains any information that includes a fraud alert
under this section from a file of any consumer from
a consumer reporting agency may establish a new
credit plan in the name of the consumer for a person
other than the consumer without utilizing reasonable
policies and procedures described in paragraph (9).
‘‘(6) REFERRALS
OF
FRAUD
ALERTS.—Each
consumer reporting agency described in section
603(p) that receives a referral of a fraud alert from
another such agency pursuant to paragraph (1)(D)
or (3)(C) shall follow the procedures required under
subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C) of paragraph (1),
in the case of a referral under paragraph (1)(D),
and subparagraphs (A) and (B), in the case of a
referral under paragraph (3)(C), as if the agency re-
ceived the request from the consumer directly.
‘‘(7) DUTY
OF
RESELLER
TO
RECONVEY
ALERT.—A reseller that is notified of the existence
of a fraud alert in a consumer’s consumer report
shall communicate to each person procuring a con-
sumer report with respect to such consumer the ex-
istence of a fraud alert in effect for such consumer.
‘‘(8) DUTY OF OTHER CONSUMER REPORTING
AGENCIES TO PROVIDE CONTACT INFORMATION.—If
a consumer contacts any consumer reporting agency
that is not a consumer reporting agency described in
section 603(p) to communicate a suspicion that the
consumer has been or is about to become a victim
of fraud or related crime, including identity theft,
the agency shall provide the consumer with informa-
tion on how to contact the Commission and the con-
sumer reporting agencies described in section 603(p)
to obtain more detailed information and request
alerts under this subsection.
‘‘(9) FRAUD ALERT.—
‘‘(A) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this
subsection, the term ‘fraud alert’ means, at a
minimum, a statement—
‘‘(i) in the file of a consumer that the
consumer may be a victim of fraud, includ-
ing identity theft, or is a consumer de-
scribed in paragraph (3); and
‘‘(ii) that is transmitted in a manner
that facilitates a clear and conspicuous
view of the statement by any person re-
questing such file.
‘‘(B) OTHER INFORMATION.—A fraud alert
shall include information that notifies all pro-
spective users of a consumer report on the con-
sumer to which the alert relates that the con-
sumer does not authorize establishing any new
credit plan in the name of the consumer, unless
the user utilizes reasonable policies and proce-
dures to form a reasonable belief that the user
knows the identity of the person for whom such
new plan is established, which may include ob-
taining authorization or preauthorization of the
consumer at a telephone number designated by
the consumer or by such other reasonable
means agreed to.
‘‘(10) OTHER DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of
this subsection, the following definitions shall apply:
‘‘(A) 
ACTIVE
DUTY
MILITARY
CON-
SUMER.—The term ‘active duty military con-
sumer’ means a consumer in military service
who—
‘‘(i) is on active duty (as defined in
section 101(d)(1) of title 10, United States
Code) or is a reservist performing duty
under a call or order to active duty under
a provision of law referred to in section
101(a)(13) of title 10, United States Code;
and
‘‘(ii) is assigned to service away from
the consumer’s usual duty station.
‘‘(B) NEW CREDIT PLAN.—The term ‘new
credit plan’ means a new account under an
open end credit plan (as defined in section
103(i) of this Act) or a new credit transaction
not under an open end credit plan.’’.
SEC. 203. TRUNCATION OF CREDIT CARD AND DEBIT CARD
ACCOUNT NUMBERS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 605 of the Fair Credit
Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681c) is amended by inserting
after subsection (k) (as added by section 206 of this title)
the following new subsection:
‘‘(l) TRUNCATION
OF CREDIT CARD
AND DEBIT
CARD ACCOUNT NUMBERS.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in this
subsection, no person that accepts credit cards or
debit cards for the transaction of business shall
print the expiration date or more than the last 5
digits of the card number upon any receipt provided
to the cardholder at the point of the sale or trans-
action.
‘‘(2) LIMITATION.—This section shall apply
only to receipts that are electronically printed, and
shall not apply to transactions in which the sole
means of recording the person’s credit card or debit
card number is by handwriting or by an imprint or
copy of the card.’’.
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by
subsection (a) shall apply after the end of—
(1) the 3-year period beginning on the date of
the enactment of this Act, with respect to any cash
register or other machine or device that electroni-
cally prints receipts for credit card or debit card
transactions that is in use before January 1, 2005;
and
(2) the 1-year period beginning on the date of
the enactment of this Act, with respect to any cash
register or other machine or device that electroni-
cally prints receipts for credit card or debit card
transactions that is first put into use on or after
January 1, 2005.
SEC. 204. SUMMARY OF RIGHTS OF IDENTITY THEFT VIC-
TIMS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 609 of the Fair Credit
Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681g) is amended by adding
at the end the following new subsection:
‘‘(d) SUMMARY OF RIGHTS OF IDENTITY THEFT VIC-
TIMS.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission, in con-
sultation with the Federal banking agencies and the
National Credit Union Administration, shall prepare
a model summary of the rights of consumers under
this title with respect to the procedures for rem-
edying the effects of fraud or identity theft involving
credit, electronic fund transfers, or accounts or
transactions at or with a financial institution.
‘‘(2) SUMMARY OF RIGHTS AND CONTACT IN-
FORMATION.—If any consumer contacts a consumer
reporting agency and expresses a belief that the con-
sumer is a victim of fraud or identity theft involving
credit, electronic fund transfers, or accounts or
transactions at or with a financial institution, the
consumer reporting agency shall, in addition to any
other action the agency may take, provide the con-
sumer with a summary of rights, or other disclosure,
that is the same as or substantially similar to the
model summary of rights prepared by the Commis-
sion under paragraph (1) and information on how to
contact the Commission to obtain more detailed in-
formation.’’.
(b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—
Section 624(b)(3) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15
U.S.C. 1681t(b)(3)) is amended by striking ‘‘section
609(c)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection (c) or (d) of section
609’’.
(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Paragraph (2) of section
609(d) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (as added by sub-
section (a) of this section) shall apply after the end of the
60-day period beginning on the date the model summary
of rights is prescribed in final form by the Federal Trade
Commission pursuant to paragraph (1) of such section
and in accordance with section 3(a) of this Act.
SEC. 205. BLOCKING OF INFORMATION RESULTING FROM
IDENTITY THEFT.
Section 605 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15
U.S.C. 1681c) is amended by inserting after subsection
(i) (as added by section 202 of this title) the following
new subsection:
‘‘(j) BLOCK
OF INFORMATION RESULTING FROM
IDENTITY THEFT.—
‘‘(1) BLOCK.—Except as provided in paragraph
(3), a consumer reporting agency shall block the re-
porting of any information in the file of a consumer
that the consumer identifies as information that re-
sulted from an alleged identity theft and confirms is
not information relating to any transaction by the
consumer not later than 5 business days after the
date of receipt by such agency of—
‘‘(A) appropriate proof of the identity of a
consumer;
‘‘(B) a police report evidencing the claim
of the consumer of identity theft;
‘‘(C) the identification of the information
by the consumer; and
‘‘(D) confirmation by the consumer that
the information is not information relating to
any transaction by the consumer.
‘‘(2) NOTIFICATION.—A consumer reporting
agency shall promptly notify the furnisher of infor-
mation identified by the consumer under paragraph
(1)—
‘‘(A) that the information may be a result
of identity theft;
‘‘(B) that a police report has been filed;
‘‘(C) that a block has been requested under
this subsection; and
‘‘(D) of the effective date of the block.
‘‘(3) AUTHORITY TO DECLINE OR RESCIND.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A consumer reporting
agency may decline to block, or may rescind
any block, of consumer information under this
subsection if the consumer reporting agency
reasonably determines that—
‘‘(i) the information was blocked in
error or a block was requested by the con-
sumer in error;
‘‘(ii) the information was blocked, or a
block was requested by the consumer, on
the basis of a misrepresentation of fact by
the consumer relevant to the request to
block; or
‘‘(iii) the consumer knowingly ob-
tained possession of goods, services, or
moneys as a result of the blocked trans-
action or transactions, or the consumer
should have known that the consumer ob-
tained possession of goods, services, or
moneys as a result of the blocked trans-
action or transactions.
‘‘(B) NOTIFICATION
TO
CONSUMER.—If
the block of information is declined or rescinded
under this paragraph, the affected consumer
shall be notified promptly, in the same manner
as consumers are notified of the reinsertion of
information under section 611(a)(5)(B).
‘‘(C) SIGNIFICANCE OF BLOCK.—For pur-
poses of this paragraph, if a consumer report-
ing agency rescinds a block, the presence of in-
formation in the file of a consumer prior to the
blocking of such information is not evidence of
whether the consumer knew or should have
known that the consumer obtained possession of
any goods, services, or monies as a result of the
block.
‘‘(4) EXCEPTIONS.—
‘‘(A) 
VERIFICATION
COMPANIES.—This
subsection shall not apply to—
‘‘(i) a check services company, which
issues authorizations for the purpose of ap-
proving or processing negotiable instru-
ments, electronic funds transfers, or simi-
lar methods of payments; or
‘‘(ii) a deposit account information
service company, which issues reports re-
garding account closures due to fraud, sub-
stantial overdrafts, automated teller ma-
chine abuse, or similar negative informa-
tion regarding a consumer, to inquiring
banks or other financial institutions for
use only in reviewing a consumer request
for a deposit account at the inquiring bank
or financial institution.
‘‘(B) RESELLERS.—
‘‘(i) NO RESELLER FILE.—This sub-
section shall not apply to a consumer re-
porting agency if the consumer reporting
agency—
‘‘(I) is a reseller;
‘‘(II) is not, at the time of the re-
quest of the consumer under para-
graph (1), otherwise furnishing or re-
selling a consumer report concerning
the information identified by the con-
sumer; and
‘‘(III) informs the consumer, by
any means, that the consumer may re-
port the identity theft to the Commis-
sion to obtain consumer information
regarding identity theft.
‘‘(ii) RESELLER
WITH
FILE.—The
sole obligation of the consumer reporting
agency under this subsection, with regard
to any request of a consumer under this
subsection, shall be to block the consumer
report maintained by the consumer report-
ing agency from any subsequent use if—
‘‘(I) the consumer, in accordance
with the provisions of paragraph (1),
identifies, to a consumer reporting
agency, information in the file of the
consumer that resulted from identity
theft; and
‘‘(II) the consumer reporting
agency is a reseller of the identified
information.
‘‘(iii) NOTICE.—In carrying out its
obligation under clause (ii), the reseller
shall promptly provide a notice to the con-
sumer of the decision to block the file.
Such notice shall contain the name, ad-
dress, and telephone number of each con-
sumer reporting agency from which the
consumer information was obtained for re-
sale.
‘‘(5) ACCESS
TO
BLOCKED
INFORMATION
BY
LAW
ENFORCEMENT
AGENCIES.—No provision of
this subsection shall be construed as requiring a con-
sumer reporting agency to prevent a Federal, State,
or local law enforcement agency from accessing
blocked information in a consumer file to which the
agency could otherwise obtain access under this
title.’’.
SEC. 206. ESTABLISHMENT OF PROCEDURES FOR DEPOSI-
TORY INSTITUTIONS TO IDENTIFY POSSIBLE
INSTANCES OF IDENTITY THEFT.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 605 of the Fair Credit
Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681c) is amended by inserting
after subsection (j) (as added by section 205 of this title)
the following new subsection:
‘‘(k) ‘RED FLAG’ GUIDELINES REQUIRED.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Federal banking agen-
cies and the National Credit Union Administration,
in consultation with the Commission, shall jointly es-
tablish and maintain guidelines for use by insured
depository institutions in identifying patterns, prac-
tices, and specific forms of activity that indicate the
possible existence of identity theft with respect to ac-
counts, and update such guidelines as often as nec-
essary.
‘‘(2) REGULATIONS.—The Federal banking
agencies and the National Credit Union Administra-
tion, in consultation with the Commission, shall
jointly prescribe regulations requiring insured depos-
itory institutions to establish and adhere to reason-
able policies and procedures for implementing the
guidelines established pursuant to paragraph (1) to
identify possible risks to customer accounts or to the
safety and soundness of the institutions.
‘‘(3) CONSISTENCY
WITH
VERIFICATION
RE-
QUIREMENTS.—Policies and procedures established
pursuant to paragraph (2) shall not be inconsistent
with the policies and procedures required under sec-
tion 5318(l) of title 31, United States Code.
‘‘(4) INSURED
DEPOSITORY
INSTITUTION
DE-
FINED.—For purposes of this subsection, the term
‘insured depository institution’—
‘‘(A) has the meaning given to such term
in section 3 of the Federal Deposit Insurance
Act; and
‘‘(B) includes an insured credit union (as
defined in section 101 of the Federal Credit
Union Act).’’.
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by
subsection (a) shall take effect at the end of the 1-year
period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act.
SEC. 207. STUDY ON THE USE OF TECHNOLOGY TO COMBAT
IDENTITY THEFT.
(a) STUDY REQUIRED.—The Secretary of the Treas-
ury shall conduct a study of the use of biometrics and
other similar technologies to reduce the incidence and
costs of identity theft by providing convincing evidence of
who actually performed a given financial transaction.
(b) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary of the Treasury
shall consult with Federal banking agencies, the Federal
Trade Commission, and representatives of financial insti-
tutions, consumer reporting agencies, Federal, State, and
local government agencies that issue official forms or
means of identification, State prosecutors, law enforce-
ment agencies, the biometric industry, and the general
public in formulating and conducting the study required
by subsection (a).
(c) AUTHORIZATION
OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There
are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of the
Treasury for fiscal year 2004 such sums as may be nec-
essary to carry out the provisions of this section.
(d) REPORT REQUIRED.—Before the end of the 180-
day period beginning on the date of the enactment of this
Act, the Secretary shall submit a report to Congress con-
taining the findings and conclusions of the study required
under subsection (a), together with such recommendations
for legislative or administrative actions as may be appro-
priate.
TITLE III—IMPROVING RESOLU-
TION 
OF 
CONSUMER 
DIS-
PUTES
SEC. 301. COORDINATION OF CONSUMER COMPLAINT IN-
VESTIGATIONS.
Section 621 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15
U.S.C. 1681s) is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing new subsection:
‘‘(f) COORDINATION OF CONSUMER COMPLAINT IN-
VESTIGATIONS.—
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—The consumer reporting
agencies described in section 603(p) shall develop
and maintain procedures for the referral, to each
such agency, of any consumer complaint received by
any such agency alleging any identity theft or re-
questing a block or a fraud alert.
‘‘(2) MODEL FORM AND PROCEDURE FOR RE-
PORTING
IDENTITY
THEFT.—The Commission, in
consultation with the Federal banking agencies and
the National Credit Union Administration, shall de-
velop a model form and model procedures to be used
by consumers who are victims of identity theft for
contacting and informing creditors and consumer re-
porting agencies of the fraud.
‘‘(3) ANNUAL SUMMARY REPORTS.—Each con-
sumer reporting agency described in section 603(p)
shall submit an annual summary report to the Com-
mission on consumer complaints received by the
agency on identity theft or fraud alerts.’’.
SEC. 302. NOTICE OF DISPUTE THROUGH RESELLER.
(a) REQUIREMENT FOR REINVESTIGATION OF DIS-
PUTED
INFORMATION
UPON
NOTICE
FROM
A
RE-
SELLER.—Section 611(a) of the Fair Credit Reporting
Act (15 U.S.C. 1681i(a)(1)(A)) is amended—
(1) in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1)—
(A) by striking ‘‘If the completeness’’ and
inserting ‘‘Subject to subsection (e), if the com-
pleteness’’;
(B) by inserting ‘‘, or indirectly through a
reseller,’’ after ‘‘notifies the agency directly’’;
and
(C) by inserting ‘‘or reseller’’ before the
period at the end of such subparagraph;
(2) in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (2)—
(A) by inserting ‘‘or a reseller’’ after ‘‘dis-
pute from any consumer’’; and
(B) by inserting ‘‘or reseller’’ before the
period at the end of such subparagraph; and
(3) in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (2), by
inserting ‘‘or the reseller’’ after ‘‘from the con-
sumer’’.
(b) REINVESTIGATION REQUIREMENT APPLICABLE
TO RESELLERS.—Section 611 of the Fair Credit Report-
ing Act (15 U.S.C. 1681i) is amended by adding at the
end the following new subsection:
‘‘(e) REINVESTIGATION REQUIREMENT APPLICABLE
TO RESELLERS.—
‘‘(1) EXEMPTION
FROM
GENERAL
REINVES-
TIGATION
REQUIREMENT.—Except as provided in
paragraph (2), a reseller shall be exempt from the
requirements of this section.
‘‘(2) ACTION REQUIRED UPON RECEIVING NO-
TICE OF A DISPUTE.—If a reseller receives a notice
from a consumer of a dispute concerning the com-
pleteness or accuracy of any item of information
contained in a consumer report on such consumer
produced by the reseller, the reseller shall, within 5
business days of receiving the notice and free of
charge—
‘‘(A) determine whether the item of infor-
mation is incomplete or inaccurate as a result
of an act or omission of the reseller; and
‘‘(B) if—
SEC. 303. REASONABLE REINVESTIGATION REQUIRED.
Section 611(a)(1)(A) of the Fair Credit Reporting
Act (15 U.S.C. 1681i(a)(1)(A)) is amended by striking
‘‘shall reinvestigate free of charge’’ and inserting ‘‘shall,
free of charge, conduct a reasonable reinvestigation to de-
termine whether the disputed information is inaccurate’’.
SEC. 304. DUTIES OF FURNISHERS OF INFORMATION.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 623(a) of the Fair Credit
Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681s–2(a)) is amended—
(1) in paragraph (1)(A), by striking ‘‘knows or
consciously avoids knowing that the information is
inaccurate’’ and inserting ‘‘knows or has reasonable
cause to believe that the information is inaccurate’’;
(2) in paragraph (1)—
(A) by redesignating subparagraphs (B)
and (C) as subparagraphs (C) and (D), respec-
tively;
(B) by inserting after subparagraph (A),
the following new subparagraph:
‘‘(B) REASONABLE
PROCEDURES
TO
EN-
SURE ACCURACY.—A person that regularly fur-
nishes information relating to consumers to a
consumer reporting agency described in section
603(p) shall maintain reasonable procedures de-
signed to ensure that the information furnished
is accurate.’’; and
(C) by adding at the end the following new
subparagraph:
‘‘(F) DEFINITION.—For purposes of sub-
paragraph (A), the term ‘reasonable cause to
believe that the information is inaccurate’
means, based on the procedures described in
subparagraph (B), has knowledge, other than
solely allegations by the consumer, that would
cause a reasonable person to have substantial
doubts about the accuracy of the information.’’;
and
(3) by adding at the end the following new
paragraph:
‘‘(6) ABILITY OF CONSUMER TO DISPUTE IN-
FORMATION DIRECTLY WITH FURNISHER.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A consumer may dis-
pute directly with a person the accuracy of in-
formation that—
‘‘(i) is contained in a consumer report
on the consumer prepared by a consumer
reporting agency described in section
603(p); and
‘‘(ii) was provided by the person to
that consumer reporting agency in accord-
ance with paragraph (1)(B).
‘‘(B) SUBMITTING
A
NOTICE
OF
DIS-
PUTE.—A consumer who seeks to dispute the
accuracy of information with a person under
subparagraph (A) shall provide a dispute notice
directly to such person at the address specified
by the person for such notices that—
‘‘(i) identifies the specific information
that is being disputed; and
‘‘(ii) explains the basis for the dis-
pute.
‘‘(C) DUTY OF PERSON AFTER RECEIVING
NOTICE OF DISPUTE.—After receiving a notice
of dispute from a consumer pursuant to sub-
paragraph (B), the person that provided the in-
formation in dispute to a consumer reporting
agency referred to in subparagraph (A) shall—
‘‘(i) conduct an investigation with re-
spect to the disputed information;
‘‘(ii) review all relevant information
provided by the consumer with the notice;
‘‘(iii) complete such person’s inves-
tigation of the dispute and report the re-
sults of the investigation to the consumer
before the expiration of the period under
section 611(a)(1) within which a consumer
reporting agency would be required to com-
plete its action if the consumer had elected
to dispute the information under that sec-
tion; and
‘‘(iv) if the investigation finds that the
information 
reported 
was 
inaccurate,
promptly notify each consumer reporting
agency described in section 603(p) to
which the person furnished the inaccurate
information of that determination and pro-
vide to the agency any correction to that
information that is necessary to make the
information provided by the person accu-
rate.
‘‘(D) FRIVOLOUS
OR
IRRELEVANT
DIS-
PUTE.—
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The requirements
of this paragraph shall not apply if the
person receiving a notice of a dispute from
a consumer reasonably determines that the
dispute 
is 
frivolous 
or 
irrelevant,
including—
‘‘(I) by reason of the failure of a
consumer to provide sufficient infor-
mation to investigate the disputed in-
formation; or
‘‘(II) the submission by a con-
sumer of a dispute that is substan-
tially the same as a dispute previously
submitted by or for the consumer, ei-
ther directly to the person under this
paragraph or through a consumer re-
porting agency under subsection (b),
with respect to which the person has
already performed the person’s duties
under this paragraph or subsection
(b), as applicable.
‘‘(ii) NOTICE OF DETERMINATION.—
Upon making any determination under
clause (i) that a dispute is frivolous or ir-
relevant, the person shall notify the con-
sumer of such determination not later than
5 business days after making such deter-
mination, by mail or, if authorized by the
consumer for that purpose, by any other
means available to the person.
‘‘(iii) CONTENTS OF NOTICE.—A no-
tice under clause (ii) shall include—
‘‘(I) the reasons for the deter-
mination under clause (i); and
‘‘(II) identification of any infor-
mation required to investigate the dis-
puted information, which may consist
of a standardized form describing the
general nature of such information.’’.
(b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—
(1) Section 621(c)(5)(A) of the Fair Credit Re-
porting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681s(c)(5)(A)) is amended
by striking ‘‘section 623(a)(1)’’ and inserting ‘‘para-
graph (1) or (6) of section 623(a)’’.
(2) The heading for section 621(c)(5) of the
Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681s(c)(5))
is amended by striking ‘‘VIOLATION
OF
SECTION
623(a)(1)’’ and inserting ‘‘CERTAIN VIOLATIONS OF
SECTION 623(a)’’.
SEC. 305. PROMPT INVESTIGATION OF DISPUTED CON-
SUMER INFORMATION.
(a) STUDY REQUIRED.—The Board of Governors of
the Federal Reserve System and the Federal Trade Com-
mission shall jointly study the extent to which, and the
manner in which, consumer reporting agencies and fur-
nishers of consumer information to consumer reporting
agencies are complying with the procedures, time lines,
and requirements under the Fair Credit Reporting Act for
the prompt investigation of the disputed accuracy of any
consumer information, the completeness of the informa-
tion provided to consumer reporting agencies, and the
prompt correction or deletion, in accordance with such
Act, of any inaccurate or incomplete information or infor-
mation that cannot be verified.
(b) REPORT REQUIRED.—Before the end of the 6-
month period beginning on the date of the enactment of
this Act, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve
System and the Federal Trade Commission shall jointly
submit a progress report to the Congress on the results
of the study required under subsection (a).
(c) RECOMMENDATIONS.—The report under sub-
section (b) shall include such recommendations as the
Board and the Commission jointly determine to be appro-
priate for legislative or administrative action to ensure
that—
(1) consumer disputes with consumer reporting
agencies over the accuracy or completeness of infor-
mation in a consumer’s file are promptly and fully
investigated and any incorrect, incomplete, or un-
verifiable information is corrected or deleted imme-
diately thereafter;
(2) furnishers of information to consumer re-
porting agencies maintain full and prompt compli-
ance with the duties and responsibilities established
under section 623 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act;
and
(3) consumer reporting agencies establish and
maintain appropriate internal controls and manage-
ment review procedures for maintaining full and
continuous compliance with the procedures, time
lines, and requirements under the Fair Credit Re-
porting Act for the prompt investigation of the dis-
puted accuracy of any consumer information and the
prompt correction or deletion, in accordance with
such Act, of any inaccurate or incomplete informa-
tion or information that cannot be verified.
(d) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section, the
terms ‘‘consumer’’, ‘‘consumer report’’, and ‘‘consumer re-
porting agency’’ have the same meaning as in the Fair
Credit Reporting Act.
TITLE 
IV—IMPROVING 
ACCU-
RACY 
OF 
CONSUMER
RECORDS
SEC. 401. RECONCILING ADDRESSES.
Section 605 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15
U.S.C. 1681c) is amended by inserting after subsection
(g) (as added by section 201 of this Act) the following
new subsection.
‘‘(h) NOTICE OF DISCREPANCY.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If a person has requested
a consumer report relating to a consumer from a
consumer reporting agency described in section
603(p), the request includes an address for the con-
sumer that substantially differs from the addresses
in the file of the consumer, and the agency provides
a consumer report in response to the request, the
consumer reporting agency shall notify the requester
of the existence of the discrepancy.
‘‘(2) REGULATIONS.—
‘‘(A) REGULATIONS REQUIRED.—The Fed-
eral banking agencies and the National Credit
Union Administration shall jointly prescribe
regulations providing guidance regarding rea-
sonable policies and procedures a user of a con-
sumer report should employ when such user has
received a notice of discrepancy under para-
graph (1).
‘‘(B) POLICIES AND PROCEDURES TO BE
INCLUDED.—The regulations prescribed under
subparagraph (A) shall describe reasonable poli-
cies and procedures for use by a user of a con-
sumer report—
‘‘(i) to form a reasonable belief that
the user knows the identity of the person
to whom the consumer report pertains; and
‘‘(ii) if the user establishes a con-
tinuing relationship with the consumer,
and the user regularly and in the ordinary
course of business furnishes information to
the consumer reporting agency from which
the notice of discrepancy pertaining to the
consumer was obtained, to reconcile the
consumer’s address with the consumer re-
porting agency by furnishing such address
to such consumer reporting agency as part
of information regularly furnished by the
user for the period in which the relation-
ship is established.’’.
SEC. 402. PREVENTION OF REPOLLUTION OF CONSUMER
REPORTS.
Section 623(a)(1) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act
(15 U.S.C. 1681s–2(a)(1)) is amended by inserting after
subparagraph (D) (as so redesignated by section
304(2)(A)) the following new subparagraph:
‘‘(E) INFORMATION ALLEGED TO RESULT
FROM IDENTITY THEFT.—If a consumer sub-
mits a police report to a person who furnishes
information to a consumer reporting agency
that states that information maintained by such
person that purports to relate to the consumer
resulted from identity theft, the person may not
furnish such information that purports to relate
to the consumer to any consumer reporting
agency, unless the person subsequently knows
or is informed by the consumer that the infor-
mation is correct.’’.
SEC. 403. NOTICE BY USERS WITH RESPECT TO FRAUDU-
LENT INFORMATION.
Section 615 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15
U.S.C. 1681m) is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing new subsection:
‘‘(e) NOTICE OF FRAUDULENT INFORMATION RE-
LATING TO IDENTITY THEFT.—If an agent acting as a
debt collector (as defined in title VIII) of a person who
furnishes information to any consumer reporting agency
uses information contained in a consumer report on any
consumer and learns that any such information so used
is the result of identity theft or otherwise is fraudulent,
the agent shall—
‘‘(1) if such information—
‘‘(A) originated from the person for whom
the debt collector is acting as agent, notify the
person of the fraudulent information; or
‘‘(B) originated from a person other than
the person for whom the debt collector is acting
as agent, notify the consumer reporting agency
(that provided the consumer report) of the
fraudulent 
information, 
either 
directly 
or
through the person for whom the debt collector
is acting as agent; and
‘‘(2) upon the request of the consumer, provide
the consumer with all information which the con-
sumer would be entitled to receive if the information
related to the consumer other than by reason of
identity theft.’’.
SEC. 404. DISCLOSURE TO CONSUMERS OF CONTACT IN-
FORMATION FOR USERS AND FURNISHERS
OF INFORMATION IN CONSUMER REPORTS.
Section 609(a) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15
U.S.C. 1681g(a)) is amended—
(1) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘, including
addresses of the sources, and (if provided by the
sources of information) the telephone numbers iden-
tified for customer service for the sources of infor-
mation’’ after ‘‘sources of information’’ the 1st place
such term appears in such paragraph; and
(2) in paragraph (3)(B) by striking clause (ii)
and inserting the following new clause:
‘‘(ii) the address and (if provided) the
telephone numbers identified for customer
service of the person.’’.
SEC. 405. FTC STUDY OF THE ACCURACY OF CONSUMER RE-
PORTS.
(a) STUDY REQUIRED.—Until the final report is sub-
mitted under subsection (b)(2), the Federal Trade Com-
mission shall conduct an ongoing study of the accuracy
and completeness of information contained in consumer
reports prepared or maintained by consumer reporting
agencies and methods for improving the accuracy and
completeness of such information.
(b) BIENNIAL REPORTS REQUIRED.—
(1) INTERIM
REPORTS.—The Federal Trade
Commission shall submit an interim report to the
Congress on the study conducted under subsection
(a) at the end of the 6-month period beginning on
the date of the enactment of this Act and biennially
thereafter for 8 years.
(2) FINAL REPORT.—The Federal Trade Com-
mission shall submit a final report to the Congress
on the study conducted under subsection (a) at the
end of the 2-year period beginning on the date the
final interim report is submitted to the Congress
under paragraph (1).
(3) CONTENTS.—Each report submitted under
this subsection shall contain a detailed summary of
the findings and conclusions of the Commission with
respect to the study required under subsection (a)
and such recommendations for legislative and ad-
ministrative action as the Commission may deter-
mine to be appropriate.
TITLE 
V—IMPROVEMENTS 
IN
USE OF AND CONSUMER AC-
CESS TO CREDIT INFORMA-
TION
SEC. 501. FREE REPORTS ANNUALLY.
Section 612 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15
U.S.C. 1681j) is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing new subsection:
‘‘(e) FREE ANNUAL DISCLOSURE.—Upon the direct
request of the consumer, a consumer reporting agency
that compiles and maintains files on consumers on a na-
tionwide or regional basis shall make all disclosures pursu-
ant to section 609 once during any 12-month period with-
out charge to the consumer.’’.
SEC. 502. DISCLOSURE OF CREDIT SCORES.
(a) STATEMENT
ON
AVAILABILITY
OF
CREDIT
SCORES.—Section 609(a) of the Fair Credit Reporting
Act (15 U.S.C. 1681g(a)) is amended by adding at the
end the following new paragraph:
‘‘(6) If the consumer requests the credit file
and not the credit score, a statement that the con-
sumer may request and obtain a credit score.’’.
(b) DISCLOSURE OF CREDIT SCORES.—Section 609
of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681g) is
amended by inserting after subsection (d) (as added by
section 204 of this Act) the following new subsection:
‘‘(e) DISCLOSURE OF CREDIT SCORES.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Upon the consumer’s re-
quest for a credit score, a consumer reporting agen-
cy shall supply to a consumer a statement indicating
that the information and credit scoring model may
be different than the credit score that may be used
by the lender, and a notice which shall include the
following information:
‘‘(A) The consumer’s current credit score
or the consumer’s most recent credit score that
was previously calculated by the credit report-
ing agency for a purpose related to the exten-
sion of credit.
‘‘(B) The range of possible credit scores
under the model used.
‘‘(C) All the key factors that adversely af-
fected the consumer’s credit score in the model
used, the total number of which shall not ex-
ceed four, subject to paragraph (9).
‘‘(D) The date the credit score was cre-
ated.
‘‘(E) The name of the person or entity
that provided the credit score or credit file upon
which the credit score was created.
‘‘(2) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this sec-
tion, the following definitions shall apply:
‘‘(A) CREDIT
SCORE.—The term ‘credit
score’—
‘‘(i) means a numerical value or a cat-
egorization derived from a statistical tool
or modeling system used by a person who
makes or arranges a loan to predict the
likelihood of certain credit behaviors, in-
cluding default (and the numerical value or
the categorization derived from this anal-
ysis may also be referred to as a ‘risk pre-
dictor’ or ‘risk score’); and
‘‘(ii) does not include—
‘‘(I) any mortgage score or rating
of an automated underwriting system
that considers one or more factors in
addition to credit information, includ-
ing the loan to value ratio, the
amount of down payment, or a con-
sumer’s financial assets; or
‘‘(II) any other elements of the
underwriting process or underwriting
decision.
‘‘(B) KEY FACTORS.—The term ‘key fac-
tors’ means all relevant elements or reasons ad-
versely affecting the credit score for the par-
ticular individual listed in the order of their im-
portance based on their effect on the credit
score.
‘‘(3) TIMEFRAME
AND
MANNER
OF
DISCLO-
SURE.—The information required by this subsection
shall be provided in the same timeframe and manner
as the information described in subsection (a).
‘‘(4) APPLICABILITY TO CERTAIN USES.—This
subsection shall not be construed so as to compel a
consumer reporting agency to develop or disclose a
score if the agency does not—
‘‘(A) distribute scores that are used in con-
nection with residential real property loans; or
‘‘(B) develop scores that assist credit pro-
viders in understanding a consumer’s general
credit behavior and predicting the future credit
behavior of the consumer.
‘‘(5) APPLICABILITY
TO
CREDIT
SCORES
DE-
VELOPED BY ANOTHER PERSON.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—This subsection shall
not be construed to require a consumer report-
ing agency that distributes credit scores devel-
oped by another person or entity to provide a
further explanation of them, or to process a dis-
pute arising pursuant to section 611, except
that the consumer reporting agency shall pro-
vide the consumer with the name and address
and website for contacting the person or entity
who developed the score or developed the meth-
odology of the score.
‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—This paragraph shall
not apply to a consumer reporting agency that
develops or modifies scores that are developed
by another person or entity.
‘‘(6) MAINTENANCE
OF
CREDIT
SCORES
NOT
REQUIRED.—This subsection shall not be construed
to require a consumer reporting agency to maintain
credit scores in its files.
‘‘(7) COMPLIANCE IN CERTAIN CASES.—In com-
plying with this subsection, a consumer reporting
agency shall—
‘‘(A) supply the consumer with a credit
score that is derived from a credit scoring
model that is widely distributed to users by that
consumer reporting agency in connection with
residential real property loans or with a credit
score that assists the consumer in under-
standing the credit scoring assessment of the
credit behavior of the consumer and predictions
about the future credit behavior of the con-
sumer; and
‘‘(B) a statement indicating that the infor-
mation and credit scoring model may be dif-
ferent than that used by the lender.
‘‘(8) REASONABLE FEE.—A consumer reporting
agency may charge a reasonable fee for providing
the information required under this subsection.
‘‘(9) USE OF ENQUIRIES AS A KEY FACTOR.—
If a key factor that adversely affects a consumer’s
credit score consists of the number of enquiries
made with respect to a consumer report, that factor
shall be included in the disclosure pursuant to para-
graph (1)(C) without regard to the numerical limita-
tion in such paragraph.’’.
(c) DISCLOSURE OF CREDIT SCORES BY CERTAIN
MORTGAGE LENDERS.—Section 609 of the Fair Credit
Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681g) is amended by inserting
after subsection (e) (as added by subsection (b) of this
section) the following new subsection:
‘‘(f) DISCLOSURE OF CREDIT SCORES BY CERTAIN
MORTGAGE LENDERS.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any person who makes or
arranges loans and who uses a consumer credit score
as defined in subsection (e) in connection with an
application initiated or sought by a consumer for a
closed end loan or establishment of an open end loan
for a consumer purpose that is secured by 1 to 4
units of residential real property (hereafter in this
subsection referred to as the ‘lender’) shall provide
the following to the consumer as soon as reasonably
practicable:
‘‘(A) INFORMATION
REQUIRED
UNDER
SUBSECTION (e).—
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—A copy of the in-
formation identified in subsection (e) that
was obtained from a consumer reporting
agency or was developed and used by the
user of the information.
‘‘(ii) NOTICE UNDER SUBPARAGRAPH
(D).—In addition to the information pro-
vided to it by a third party that provided
the credit score or scores, a lender is only
required to provide the notice contained in
subparagraph (D).
‘‘(B) DISCLOSURES
IN
CASE
OF
AUTO-
MATED UNDERWRITING SYSTEM.—
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—If a person who is
subject to this section uses an automated
underwriting system to underwrite a loan,
that person may satisfy the obligation to
provide a credit score by disclosing a credit
score and associated key factors supplied
by a consumer reporting agency.
‘‘(ii) NUMERICAL
CREDIT
SCORE.—
However, if a numerical credit score is
generated by an automated underwriting
system used by an enterprise, and that
score is disclosed to the person, the score
shall be disclosed to the consumer con-
sistent with subparagraph (C).
‘‘(iii) ENTERPRISE
DEFINED.—For
purposes of this subparagraph, the term
‘enterprise’ shall have the same meaning
as in paragraph (6) of section 1303 of the
Federal Housing Enterprises Financial
Safety and Soundness Act of 1992.
‘‘(C) DISCLOSURES
OF
CREDIT
SCORES
NOT OBTAINED FROM A CONSUMER REPORTING
AGENCY.—A person subject to the provisions of
this subsection who uses a credit score other
than a credit score provided by a consumer re-
porting agency may satisfy the obligation to
provide a credit score by disclosing a credit
score and associated key factors supplied by a
consumer reporting agency.
‘‘(D) NOTICE
TO
HOME
LOAN
APPLI-
CANTS.—A copy of the following notice, which
shall include the name, address, and telephone
number of each consumer reporting agency pro-
viding a credit score that was used:
‘‘ ‘NOTICE TO THE HOME LOAN APPLICANT
‘‘ ‘In connection with your application for a home
loan, the lender must disclose to you the score that a con-
sumer reporting agency distributed to users and the lender
used in connection with your home loan, and the key fac-
tors affecting your credit scores.
‘‘ ‘The credit score is a computer generated summary
calculated at the time of the request and based on infor-
mation a consumer reporting agency or lender has on file.
The scores are based on data about your credit history
and payment patterns. Credit scores are important be-
cause they are used to assist the lender in determining
whether you will obtain a loan. They may also be used
to determine what interest rate you may be offered on the
mortgage. Credit scores can change over time, depending
on your conduct, how your credit history and payment pat-
terns change, and how credit scoring technologies change.
‘‘ ‘Because the score is based on information in your
credit history, it is very important that you review the
credit-related information that is being furnished to make
sure it is accurate. Credit records may vary from one com-
pany to another.
‘‘ ‘If you have questions about your credit score or
the credit information that is furnished to you, contact
the consumer reporting agency at the address and tele-
phone number provided with this notice, or contact the
lender, if the lender developed or generated the credit
score. The consumer reporting agency plays no part in the
decision to take any action on the loan application and
is unable to provide you with specific reasons for the deci-
sion on a loan application.
‘‘ ‘If you have questions concerning the terms of
the loan, contact the lender.’.
‘‘(E) ACTIONS NOT REQUIRED UNDER THIS
SUBSECTION.—This subsection shall not require
any person to do any of the following:
‘‘(i) Explain the information provided
pursuant to subsection (e).
‘‘(ii) Disclose any information other
than a credit score or key factor, as de-
fined in subsection (e).
‘‘(iii) Disclose any credit score or re-
lated information obtained by the user
after a loan has closed.
‘‘(iv) Provide more than 1 disclosure
per loan transaction.
‘‘(v) Provide the disclosure required
by this subsection when another person has
made the disclosure to the consumer for
that loan transaction.
‘‘(F) NO OBLIGATION FOR CONTENT.—
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Any person’s obli-
gation pursuant to this subsection shall be
limited solely to providing a copy of the in-
formation that was received from the con-
sumer reporting agency.
‘‘(ii) LIMIT ON LIABILITY.—No person
has liability under this subsection for the
content of that information or for the
omission of any information within the re-
port provided by the consumer reporting
agency.
‘‘(G) PERSON DEFINED AS EXCLUDING EN-
TERPRISE.—As used in this subsection, the
term ‘person’ does not include an enterprise (as
defined in paragraph (6) of section 1303 of the
Federal Housing Enterprises Financial Safety
and Soundness Act of 1992).
‘‘(2) PROHIBITION
ON
DISCLOSURE
CLAUSES
NULL AND VOID.—
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—Any provision in a
contract that prohibits the disclosure of a credit
score by a person who makes or arranges loans
or a consumer reporting agency is void.
‘‘(B) NO
LIABILITY
FOR
DISCLOSURE
UNDER THIS SUBSECTION.—A lender shall not
have liability under any contractual provision
for disclosure of a credit score pursuant to this
subsection.’’.
(d) INCLUSION OF KEY FACTOR IN CREDIT SCORE
INFORMATION IN CONSUMER REPORT.—Section 605(d) of
the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681c(d)) is
amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘DISCLOSED.—Any consumer
reporting agency’’ and inserting ‘‘DISCLOSED.—
‘‘(1) TITLE 11 INFORMATION.—Any consumer
reporting agency’’; and
(2) by adding at the end the following new
paragraph:
‘‘(2) KEY FACTOR IN CREDIT SCORE INFORMA-
TION.—Any consumer reporting agency that fur-
nishes a consumer report that contains any credit
score or any other risk score or predictor on any
consumer shall include in the report a clear and con-
spicuous statement that a key factor (as defined in
section 609(e)(2)(B)) that adversely affected such
score or predictor was the number of enquiries, if
such a predictor was in fact a key factor that ad-
versely affected such score. This paragraph shall not
apply 
to 
a 
person 
described 
in 
subsection
(j)(4)(A)(i), but only to the extent that such person
is engaged in activities described in such sub-
section.’’.
(e) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—
Section 624(b) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15
U.S.C. 1681t(b)(3)) (as amended by section 204(b) of this
Act) is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of paragraph
(2); and
(2) by striking paragraph (3) and inserting the
following new paragraphs:
‘‘(3) with respect to the form and content of
any disclosure required to be made under subsection
(c), (d), (e), or (f) of section 609, except that this
paragraph shall not apply—
‘‘(A) with respect to sections 1785.10,
1785.16 and 1785.20.2 of the California Civil
Code (as in effect on the date of enactment of
the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act
of 2003) and section 1785.15 through section
1785.15.2 of such Code (as in effect on such
date) and
‘‘(B) with respect to section 12–14.3–
104.3 of the Colorado Revised Statutes (as in
effect on the date of enactment of the Fair and
Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003); and
‘‘(4) with respect to the frequency of any disclo-
sure under section 612(e), except that this para-
graph shall not apply—
‘‘(A) with respect to section 12–14.3–
105(1)(d) of the Colorado Revised Statutes (as
in effect on the date of enactment of the Fair
and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003);
‘‘(B) with respect to section 10–1–
393(29)(C) of the Georgia Code (as in effect on
the date of enactment of the Fair and Accurate
Credit Transactions Act of 2003);
‘‘(C) with respect to section 1316.2–B of
title 10 of the Maine Revised Statutes (as in ef-
fect on the date of enactment of the Fair and
Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003);
‘‘(D) 
with 
respect 
to 
sections 
14–
1209(a)(1) and 14–1209(b)(1)(i) of the Com-
mercial Law Article of the Code of Maryland
(as in effect on the date of enactment of the
Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of
2003);
‘‘(E) with respect to section 59(d) and sec-
tion 59(e) of chapter 93 of the General Laws
of Massachusetts (as in effect on the date of
enactment of the Fair and Accurate Credit
Transactions Act of 2003);
‘‘(F) with respect to section 56:11–
37.10(a)(1) of the New Jersey Revised Statutes
(as in effect on the date of enactment of the
Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of
2003); and
‘‘(G) with respect to section 2480c(a)(1) of
the Vermont Statutes Annotated (as in effect
on the date of enactment of the Fair and Accu-
rate Credit Transactions Act of 2003).’’.
SEC. 503. SIMPLER AND EASIER METHOD FOR CONSUMERS
TO USE NOTIFICATION SYSTEM.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 604(e)(5)(A)(i) of the
Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681b(e)(5)(A)(i))
is amended by inserting ‘‘in a simple and easy manner
and’’ after ‘‘notify the agency,’’.
(b) SIMPLIFIED NOTICE AND RESPONSE FORMAT
FOR USERS.—Section 615(d) of the Fair Credit Reporting
Act (15 U.S.C. 1681m(d)) is amended—
(1) by redesignating paragraphs (2), (3), and
(4), as paragraphs (3), (4) and (5); and
(2) by inserting after paragraph (1) the fol-
lowing new paragraph:
‘‘(2) SIMPLE
AND
EASY
NOTIFICATION.—Any
statement given the consumer under paragraph
(1)(E) shall be in a simple and easy to understand
format and shall describe the simple and easy meth-
od established under section 604(e)(5)(A)(i) for the
consumer to respond.’’.
SEC. 504. REQUIREMENT TO DISCLOSE COMMUNICATIONS
TO A CONSUMER REPORTING AGENCY.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 623(a) of the Fair Credit
Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681s–2(a)) is amended by in-
serting after paragraph (6) (as added by section 304(3))
the following new paragraph:
‘‘(7) NEGATIVE INFORMATION.—
‘‘(A) NOTICE TO CONSUMER REQUIRED.—
‘‘(i) IN
GENERAL.—If any financial
institution that extends credit and regu-
larly and in the ordinary course of business
furnishes information to a consumer re-
porting agency described in section 603(p)
furnishes negative information to such an
agency regarding credit extended to a cus-
tomer, the financial institution shall pro-
vide a notice of such furnishing of negative
information, in writing, to the customer.
‘‘(ii) NOTICE EFFECTIVE FOR SUBSE-
QUENT
SUBMISSIONS.—After 
providing
such notice, the financial institution may
submit additional negative information to a
consumer reporting agency described in
section 603(p) with respect to the same
transaction, extension of credit, account, or
customer without providing additional no-
tice to the customer.
‘‘(B) TIME OF NOTICE.—
‘‘(i) IN
GENERAL.—The notice re-
quired under subparagraph (A) shall be
provided to the customer prior to, or no
later than 30 days after, furnishing the
negative information to a consumer report-
ing agency described in section 603(p).
‘‘(ii) COORDINATION
WITH
NEW
AC-
COUNT
DISCLOSURES.—If the notice is
provided to the customer prior to fur-
nishing the negative information to a con-
sumer reporting agency, the notice may
not be included in the initial disclosures
provided under section 127(a) of the Truth
in Lending Act.
‘‘(C) COORDINATION WITH OTHER DISCLO-
SURES.—The notice required under subpara-
graph (A)—
‘‘(i) may be included on or with any
notice of default, any billing statement, or
any other materials provided to the cus-
tomer; and
‘‘(ii) must be clear and conspicuous.
‘‘(D) MODEL DISCLOSURE.—
‘‘(i) DUTY OF BOARD TO PREPARE.—
The Board shall prescribe a brief model
disclosure a financial institution may use
to comply with subparagraph (A), which
shall not exceed 30 words.
‘‘(ii) 
USE
OF
MODEL
NOT
RE-
QUIRED.—No provision of this paragraph
shall be construed as requiring a financial
institution to use any such model form pre-
scribed by the Board.
‘‘(iii) COMPLIANCE USING MODEL.—A
financial institution shall be deemed to be
in compliance with subparagraph (A) if the
financial institution uses any such model
form prescribed by the Board, or the fi-
nancial institution uses any such model
form and rearranges its format.
‘‘(E) USE OF NOTICE WITHOUT SUBMIT-
TING
NEGATIVE
INFORMATION.—No provision
of this paragraph shall be construed as requir-
ing a financial institution that has provided a
customer with a notice described in subpara-
graph (A) to furnish negative information about
the customer to a consumer reporting agency.
‘‘(F) SAFE HARBOR.—A financial institu-
tion shall not be liable for failure to perform
the duties required by this paragraph if, at the
time of the failure, the financial institution
maintained reasonable policies and procedures
to comply with this paragraph or the financial
institution reasonably believed that the institu-
tion is prohibited, by law, from contacting the
consumer.
‘‘(G) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this
paragraph, the following definitions shall apply:
‘‘(i) NEGATIVE
INFORMATION.—The
term ‘negative information’ means infor-
mation concerning a customer’s delin-
quencies, late payments, insolvency, or any
form of default.
‘‘(ii) CUSTOMER; FINANCIAL INSTITU-
TION.—The terms ‘customer’ and ‘finan-
cial institution’ have the same meaning as
in section 509 of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley
Act.’’.
(b) MODEL DISCLOSURE FORM.—Before the end of
the 6-month period beginning on the date of the enact-
ment of this Act, the Board of Governors of the Federal
Reserve System shall adopt the model disclosure required
under the amendment made by subsection (a) after notice
duly given in the Federal Register and an opportunity for
public comment in accordance with section 553 of title 5,
United States Code.
SEC. 505. STUDY OF EFFECTS OF CREDIT SCORES AND
CREDIT-BASED 
INSURANCE 
SCORES 
ON
AVAILABILITY AND AFFORDABILITY OF FI-
NANCIAL PRODUCTS.
(a) STUDY REQUIRED.—The Federal Trade Commis-
sion, in consultation with the Office of Fair Housing and
Equal Opportunity of the Department of Housing and
Urban Development, shall conduct a study of—
(1) the effects of the use of credit scores and
credit-based insurance scores on the availability and
affordability of financial products and services, in-
cluding credit cards, mortgages, auto loans, and
property and casualty insurance;
(2) the degree of causality between the factors
considered by credit score systems and the quantifi-
able risks and actual losses experienced by busi-
nesses, including the extent to which, if any, each of
the factors considered or otherwise taken into ac-
count by such systems are accurate predictors of
risk or loss, and where the means square error of a
scoring model’s predictions are considered in the
evaluation of accuracy;
(3) the extent to which, if any, the use of credit
scoring models, credit scores and credit-based insur-
ance scores result in disparate impact by geography,
income, ethnicity, race, color, religion, national ori-
gin, age, sex or marital status, and creed, including
the extent to which the consideration or lack of con-
sideration of certain factors by credit scoring sys-
tems could result in disparate effects and the extent
to which, if any, the use of underwriting systems re-
lying on these models could achieve comparable re-
sults through the use of factors with less disparate
impact; and
(4) the extent to which credit scoring systems
are used by businesses, the factors considered by
such systems, and the effects of variables which are
not considered by such systems.
(b) PUBLIC PARTICIPATION.—The Commission shall
seek public input about the prescribed methodology and
research design of the study required in subsection (a).
(c) REPORT REQUIRED.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Before the end of the 18-
month period beginning on the date of the enact-
ment of this Act, the Federal Trade Commission
shall submit a detailed report on the study con-
ducted pursuant to subsection (a) to the Committee
on Financial Services of the House of Representa-
tives and the Committee on Banking, Housing, and
Urban Affairs of the Senate.
(2) CONTENTS OF REPORT.—The report sub-
mitted under paragraph (1) shall include the find-
ings and conclusions of the Commission, together
with such recommendations for legislative or admin-
istrative action as the Commission may determine to
be necessary to ensure that credit and credit-based
insurances score are used appropriately and fairly to
avoid disparate effects.
(d) CREDIT SCORE DEFINED.—For purposes of this
section, the term ‘‘credit score’’ means a numerical value
or a categorization derived from a statistical tool or mod-
eling system used to predict the likelihood of certain credit
or insurance behaviors, including default.
SEC. 506. GAO STUDY ON DISPARATE IMPACT OF CREDIT
SYSTEM.
(a) STUDY REQUIRED.—The Comptroller General
shall conduct a study of the credit system to determine
the extent to which, if any, discrimination exists with re-
gard to the availability and the terms of credit which has
a disparate impact on the basis of race, color, income and
education level, geographic location, age, sex, sexual ori-
entation, national origin, or marital status and the nature
of any such discriminatory effect.
(b) REPORT REQUIRED.—Before the end of the 2-
year period beginning on the date of the enactment of this
Act, the Comptroller General shall submit a report to the
Congress on the findings and conclusions of the Comp-
troller General pursuant to the study conducted under
subsection (a), together with such recommendations for
legislative or administrative action as the Comptroller
General may determine to be appropriate.
SEC. 507. ANALYSIS OF FURTHER RESTRICTIONS ON OF-
FERS OF CREDIT OR INSURANCE.
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Board of Governors of the
Federal Reserve System shall conduct a study of—
(1) the ability of consumers to avoid receiving
written offers of credit or insurance in connection
with transactions not initiated by the consumer; and
(2) the potential impact any further restrictions
on providing consumers with such written offers of
credit or insurance would have on consumers.
(b) REPORT.—The Board of Governors of the Fed-
eral Reserve System shall submit a report summarizing
the results of the study required under subsection (a) to
the Congress no later than 12 months after the date of
the 
enactment 
of 
this 
Act, 
together 
with 
such
recommendatioons for legislative or administrative action
as the Board may determine to be appropriate.
(c) CONTENT OF REPORT.—The report described in
subsection (b) shall address the following issues:
(1) The current statutory or voluntary mecha-
nisms that are available to a consumer to notify
lenders and insurance providers that the consumer
does not wish to receive written offers of credit or
insurance.
(2) The extent to which consumers are cur-
rently utilizing existing statutory and voluntary
mechanisms to avoid receiving offers of credit or in-
surance.
and the dispute resolution process, and on methods for
improving financial literacy among consumers.
(b) FACTORS TO BE INCLUDED.—The study re-
quired under subsection (a) shall include the following
issues:
(1) The number of consumers who view their
credit reports.
(2) Under what conditions and for what pur-
poses do consumers primarily obtain a copy of their
consumer report (such as for the purpose of ensur-
ing the completeness and accuracy of the contents,
to protect against fraud, in response to an adverse
action based on the report, or in response to sus-
pected identity theft) and approximately what per-
centage of the total number of consumers who ob-
tain a copy of their consumer report do so for each
such primary purpose.
(3) The extent of consumers’ knowledge of the
data collection process.
(4) The extent to which consumers know how to
get a copy of a consumer report.
(5) The extent to which consumers know and
understand the factors that positively or negatively
impact credit scores.
(c) REPORT REQUIRED.—Before the end of the 9-
month period beginning on the date of the enactment of
this Act, the Comptroller General shall submit a report
to the Congress on the findings and conclusions of the
Comptroller General pursuant to the study conducted
under subsection (a), together with such recommendations
for legislative or administrative action as the Comptroller
General may determine to be appropriate, including rec-
ommendations on methods for improving financial literacy
among consumers.
SEC. 509. DISCLOSURE OF INCREASE IN APR UNDER CER-
TAIN CIRCUMSTANCES.
Section 609 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15
U.S.C. 1681m) is amended by inserting after subsection
(f) (as added by section 502(c) of this title) the following
new subsection:
‘‘(g) DISCLOSURE TO CONSUMER.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The ability of a credit card
issuer to increase any annual percentage rate appli-
cable to a credit card account, or to remove or in-
crease any introductory annual percentage rate of
interest applicable to such account, for reasons other
than actions or omissions of the card holder that are
directly related to such account shall be clearly and
conspicuously disclosed to the consumer by the cred-
it card issuer in any disclosure or statement required
to be made to the consumer under this title in con-
nection with a credit card solicitation that is not ini-
tiated by the consumer.
‘‘(2) 
REGULATIONS
AND
MODEL
STATE-
MENTS.—The Board, in consultation with the Fed-
eral banking agencies and the National Credit Union
Administration, shall develop such guidelines in reg-
ulations as necessary to assure that the information
to be disclosed to consumers pursuant to paragraph
(1) is clearly and conspicuously provided in a promi-
nent location in any credit card solicitation that is
not initiated by the consumer, and shall include
model disclosure statements to be used by credit
card issuers in making the disclosures required to be
provided to the consumer by paragraph (1).’’.
TITLE 
VI—PROTECTING 
EM-
PLOYEE MISCONDUCT INVES-
TIGATIONS
SEC. 601. CERTAIN EMPLOYEE INVESTIGATION COMMU-
NICATIONS EXCLUDED FROM DEFINITION OF
CONSUMER REPORT.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 603 of the Fair Credit
Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681a) is amended by inserting
after subsection (p) the following new subsection:
‘‘(q) EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN COMMUNICATIONS FOR
EMPLOYEE INVESTIGATIONS.—
‘‘(1) COMMUNICATIONS
DESCRIBED
IN
THIS
SUBSECTION.—A communication is described in this
subsection if—
‘‘(A) but for subsection (d)(2)(D), the
communication would be a consumer report;
‘‘(B) the communication is made to an em-
ployer in connection with an investigation of—
‘‘(i) suspected misconduct relating to
employment; or
‘‘(ii) compliance with Federal, State,
or local laws and regulations, the rules of
a self-regulatory organization, or any pre-
existing written policies of the employer;
‘‘(C) the communication is not made for
the purpose of investigating a consumer’s credit
worthiness, credit standing, or credit capacity;
and
‘‘(D) the communication is not provided to
any person except—
‘‘(i) to the employer or an agent of
the employer;
‘‘(ii) to any Federal or State officer,
agency, or department, or any officer,
agency, or department of a unit of general
local government;
‘‘(iii) to any self-regulatory organiza-
tion with regulatory authority over the ac-
tivities of the employer or employee;
‘‘(iv) as otherwise required by law; or
‘‘(v) pursuant to section 608.
‘‘(2) SUBSEQUENT DISCLOSURE.—After taking
any adverse action based in whole or in part on a
communication described in paragraph (1), the em-
ployer shall disclose to the consumer a summary
containing the nature and substance of the commu-
nication upon which the adverse action is based, ex-
cept that the sources of information acquired solely
for use in preparing what would be but for sub-
section (d)(2)(D) an investigative consumer report
need not be disclosed.
‘‘(3) SELF-REGULATORY
ORGANIZATION
DE-
FINED.—For purposes of this subsection, the term
‘self-regulatory organization’ includes any self-regu-
latory organization (as defined in section 3(a)(26) of
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934), any entity es-
tablished under title I of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of
2002, any board of trade designated by the Com-
modity Futures Trading Commission, and any fu-
tures association registered with such Commission.’’.
(b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—
Section 603(d)(2)(D) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15
U.S.C. 1681a(d)(2)(D)) is amended by inserting ‘‘or (q)’’
after ‘‘subsection (o)’’.
TITLE VII—LIMITING THE USE
AND SHARING OF MEDICAL
INFORMATION IN THE FINAN-
CIAL SYSTEM
SEC. 701. PROTECTION OF MEDICAL INFORMATION IN THE
FINANCIAL SYSTEM.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 604(g) of the Fair Credit
Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681b(g)) is amended to read
as follows:
‘‘(g) PROTECTION OF MEDICAL INFORMATION.—
‘‘(1) LIMITATION
ON
CONSUMER
REPORTING
AGENCIES.—A consumer reporting agency shall not
furnish for employment purposes, or in connection
with a credit or insurance transaction, a consumer
report that contains medical information about a
consumer, unless—
‘‘(A) if furnished in connection with an in-
surance transaction, the consumer affirmatively
consents to the furnishing of the report;
‘‘(B) if furnished for employment purposes
or in connection with a credit transaction—
‘‘(i) the information to be furnished is
relevant to process or effect the employ-
ment or credit transaction; and
‘‘(ii) the consumer provides specific
written consent for the furnishing of the
report that describes in clear and con-
spicuous language the use for which the in-
formation will be furnished; or
‘‘(C) the information to be furnished per-
tains solely to transactions, accounts, or
balances relating to debts arising from the re-
ceipt of medical services, products, or devices,
where such information, other than account sta-
tus or amounts, is restricted or reported using
codes that do not identify, or do not provide in-
formation sufficient to infer, the specific pro-
vider or the nature of such services, products,
or devices, as provided in section 605(a)(6)).
‘‘(2) LIMITATION
ON
CREDITORS.—Except as
permitted pursuant to paragraph (3)(C) or regula-
tions prescribed under paragraph (5)(A), a creditor
shall not obtain or use medical information per-
taining to a consumer in connection with any deter-
mination of the consumer’s eligibility, or continued
eligibility, for credit.
‘‘(3) ACTIONS AUTHORIZED BY FEDERAL LAW,
INSURANCE ACTIVITIES AND REGULATORY DETER-
MINATIONS.—Section 603(d)(3) shall not be con-
strued so as to treat information or any communica-
tion of information as a consumer report if the in-
formation or communication is disclosed—
‘‘(A) in connection with the business of in-
surance or annuities, including the activities de-
scribed in section 18B of the model Privacy of
Consumer Financial and Health Information
Regulation issued by the National Association
of Insurance Commissioners (as in effect on
January 1, 2003);
‘‘(B) for any purpose permitted without
authorization under the Standards for Individ-
ually Identifiable Health Information promul-
gated by the Department of Health and Human
Services pursuant to the Health Insurance
Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, or
referred to under section 1179 of such Act, or
described in section 502(e) of Public Law 106–
102; or
‘‘(C) as otherwise determined to be nec-
essary and appropriate, by regulation or order
and subject to paragraph (6), by the Commis-
sion, any Federal banking agency or the Na-
tional Credit Union Administration (with re-
spect to any financial institution subject to the
jurisdiction of such agency or Administration
under paragraph (1), (2), or (3) of section
621(b), or the applicable State insurance au-
thority (with respect to any person engaged in
providing insurance or annuities).
‘‘(4) LIMITATION ON REDISCLOSURE OF MED-
ICAL INFORMATION.—Any person that receives med-
ical information pursuant to paragraphs (1) or (3)
shall not disclose such information to any other per-
son except as necessary to carry out the purposes for
which the information was initially disclosed, or as
otherwise permitted by statute, regulation, or order.
‘‘(5) REGULATIONS AND EFFECTIVE DATE FOR
PARAGRAPH (2).—
‘‘(A) 
REGULATIONS
REQUIRED.—Each
Federal banking agency and the National Cred-
it Union Administration shall, subject to para-
graph (6) and after notice and opportunity for
comment, prescribe regulations that permit
transactions under paragraph (2) that are de-
termined to be necessary and appropriate to
protect legitimate operational, transactional,
risk, consumer, and other needs (and which
shall include permitting actions necessary for
administrative verification purposes), consistent
with the intent of paragraph (2) to restrict the
use of medical information for inappropriate
purposes.
‘‘(B) FINAL
REGULATIONS
REQUIRED.—
The Federal banking agencies and the National
Credit Union Administration shall prescribe the
regulations required under subparagraph (A) in
final form before the end of the 6-month period
beginning on the date of the enactment of the
Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of
2003.
‘‘(6) COORDINATION WITH OTHER LAWS.—No
provision of this subsection shall be construed as al-
tering, affecting, or superseding the applicability of
any other provision of Federal law relating to med-
ical confidentiality.’’.
(b) RESTRICTION ON SHARING OF MEDICAL INFOR-
MATION.—Section 603(d) of the Fair Credit Reporting
Act (15 U.S.C. 1681a(d)) is amended—
(1) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘The term’’
and inserting ‘‘Except as provided in paragraph (3),
the term’’; and
(2) by adding at the end the following new
paragraph:
‘‘(3) RESTRICTION ON SHARING OF MEDICAL
INFORMATION.—Except for information or any com-
munication of information disclosed as provided in
section 604(g)(3), the exclusions in paragraph (2)
shall not apply with respect to information disclosed
to any person related by common ownership or affili-
ated by corporate control if—
‘‘(A) the information is medical informa-
tion; or
‘‘(B) the information is an individualized
list or description based on a consumer’s pay-
ment transactions for medical products or serv-
ices, or an aggregate list of identified con-
sumers based on payment transactions for med-
ical products or services.’’.
SEC. 702. CONFIDENTIALITY OF MEDICAL CONTACT INFOR-
MATION IN CREDIT REPORTS.
(a) DUTIES
OF
MEDICAL
INFORMATION
FUR-
NISHERS.—Section 623(a) of the Fair Credit Reporting
Act (15 U.S.C. 1681s–2(a)) is amended by inserting after
paragraph (7) (as added by section 504(a)) the following
new paragraph:
‘‘(8) DUTY TO PROVIDE NOTICE OF STATUS AS
MEDICAL
INFORMATION
FURNISHER.—A person
whose primary business is providing medical serv-
ices, products, or devices, or the person’s agent or
assignee, who furnishes information to a consumer
reporting agency on a consumer shall be considered
a medical information furnisher for the purposes of
this title and shall notify the agency of such sta-
tus.’’.
(b) RESTRICTION OF DISSEMINATION OF MEDICAL
CONTACT INFORMATION.—Section 605(a) of the Fair
Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681c(a)) is amended by
adding the following new paragraph:
‘‘(6) The name, address, and telephone number
of any medical information furnisher that has noti-
fied the agency of its status, unless—
‘‘(A) such name, address, and telephone
number are restricted or reported using codes
that do not identify, or provide information suf-
ficient to infer, the specific provider or the na-
ture of such services, products, or devices to a
person other than the consumer; or
‘‘(B) the report is being provided to an in-
surance company for a purpose relating to en-
gaging in the business of insurance other than
property and casualty insurance.’’.
(c) NO
EXCEPTIONS
ALLOWED
FOR
DOLLAR
AMOUNTS.—Section 605(b) of the Fair Credit Reporting
Act (15 U.S.C. 1681c(b)) is amended by striking ‘‘The
provisions of subsection (a)’’ and inserting ‘‘The provi-
sions of paragraphs (1) through (5) of subsection (a)’’.
(d) COORDINATION WITH OTHER LAWS.—No provi-
sion of any amendment made by this section shall be con-
strued as altering, affecting, or superseding the applica-
bility of any other provision of Federal law relating to
medical confidentiality.
(e) FTC REGULATION
OF
CODING
OF
TRADE
NAMES.—Section 621 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act
(15 U.S.C. 1681s) is amended by inserting after sub-
section (f) (as added by section 301 of this Act) the fol-
lowing new subsection:
‘‘(g) FTC REGULATION
OF CODING
OF TRADE
NAMES.—If the Commission determines that a person de-
scribed in paragraph (8) of section 623(a) has not met
the requirements of such paragraph, the Commission shall
take action to ensure the person’s compliance with such
paragraph, which may include issuing model guidance or
prescribing reasonable policies and procedures as nec-
essary to ensure that such person complies with such para-
graph.’’.
(f) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—
Section 604(g) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15
U.S.C. 1681b(g)) (as amended by section 701) is
amended—
(1) in paragraph (1) by inserting ‘‘(other than
medical contact information treated in the manner
required under section 605(a)(6))’’ after ‘‘a con-
sumer report that contains medical information’’;
and
(2) in paragraph (2) by inserting ‘‘(other than
medical information treated in the manner required
under section 605(a)(6))’’ after ‘‘a creditor shall not
obtain or use medical information’’.
(g) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by
this section shall take effect at the end of the 15-month
period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act.
Passed the House of Representatives September 10,
2003.
Attest:
Clerk.
108TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 2622
AN ACT
To amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act, to pre-
vent identity theft, improve resolution of con-
sumer disputes, improve the accuracy of con-
sumer records, make improvements in the use of,
and consumer access to, credit information, and
for other purposes.