I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4078 
To establish requirements relating to credit scores and educational credit 
scores, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 23, 2021 
Mrs. BEATTY introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Financial Services 
A BILL 
To establish requirements relating to credit scores and 
educational credit scores, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Free Credit Scores 
for Consumers Act of 2021’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) While nationwide consumer reporting agen-
cies (‘‘CRAs’’) are required by law to supply con-
sumers with a free copy of their credit report annu-
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ally, they can charge consumers to obtain a credit 
score disclosure. 
(2) A July 2011 report by the Consumer Fi-
nancial Protection Bureau (‘‘Consumer Bureau’’) ti-
tled ‘‘The Impact of Differences between Consumer- 
and Creditor-Purchased Credit Scores’’ found that 
the credit scores made available to and purchased by 
consumers from CRAs are unlikely to be the same 
credit scores used by creditors and lenders to evalu-
ate consumers’ creditworthiness. 
(3) That report found that the scarcity of pub-
lic educational tools to inform consumers of the dif-
ferences among credit scores, the large combined 
market share and brand recognition of FICO credit 
scores, and the marketing practices of some credit 
score sellers may perpetuate consumers’ confusion 
about credit scores. As a result, some consumers 
may be purchasing an educational credit score or 
subscribing to a credit monitoring service sold by a 
CRA, without realizing the limitations and useful-
ness of these products and services. 
(4) Similarly, a September 2012 Consumer Bu-
reau report titled ‘‘Analysis of Differences between 
Consumer- and Creditor-Purchased Credit Scores’’ 
found that consumers do not know before they pur-
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chase a credit score from a CRA whether this credit 
score will closely track or vary significantly from the 
credit score sold to creditors or lenders. Given the 
lack of transparency about the usefulness of credit 
scores that are marketed for purchase by consumers 
from CRAs and the resulting consumer confusion, 
the Consumer Bureau recommended that companies 
selling scores to consumers clearly inform consumers 
that the scores marketed to consumers for purchase 
by CRAs can vary, sometimes substantially, from 
the scores that are actually sold to and used by 
creditors and lenders. 
(5) A February 2011 study by Consumer Fed-
eration of America and VantageScore also found 
that half of the consumers surveyed did not know 
that a credit score is designed to indicate the risk 
of not repaying a credit obligation. Consumers also 
did not know who makes credit scores available, 
what numerical range constitutes excellent credit 
standing, or the financial implications of having a 
low credit score. 
(6) Many consumers do not realize that they 
have more than just ‘‘one’’ credit score. Because the 
submission of credit information to CRAs is vol-
untary and not all furnishers submit information to 
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every CRA, the information contained in a report 
also varies among CRAs. As a result, the credit 
score generated by each CRA is also likely to vary, 
resulting in potentially different credit decisions 
based on an evaluation of different credit reports ob-
tained from different CRAs. 
(7) A February 2015 Consumer Bureau report 
titled ‘‘Consumer Voices on Credit Reports and 
Scores’’ found that consumers had questions about 
what actions to take to improve their scores once 
they had seen them, suggesting that additional dis-
closures and educational content would be helpful to 
consumers. The Consumer Bureau found that con-
sumers were confused by conflicting advice on how 
to improve their scores. 
(8) That report also noted that consumers 
found the process for obtaining consumer reports 
and credit scores confusing. Consumers also were 
uncertain about whether, and under what cir-
cumstances, they could obtain a consumer report for 
free. 
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 603 of the Fair Credit 
Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681a) is amended by adding 
at the end the following new subsection: 
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‘‘(bb) CREDIT SCORE AND EDUCATIONAL CREDIT 
SCORE DEFINITIONS.— 
‘‘(1) CREDIT SCORE.—The term ‘credit score’ 
means a numerical value or a categorization derived 
from a statistical tool or modeling system used by a 
person who makes or arranges a loan or extends 
credit to predict the likelihood of certain credit be-
haviors, including default, as determined by the Bu-
reau. 
‘‘(2) EDUCATIONAL CREDIT SCORE.—The term 
‘educational credit score’ means a numerical value or 
categorization derived from a statistical tool or mod-
eling system based upon information from a con-
sumer report that assists consumers in under-
standing how a lender or creditor may view the con-
sumer’s creditworthiness in deciding whether to 
make a loan or extend credit to that consumer. 
‘‘(3) KEY
FACTORS.—The term ‘key factors’ 
means relevant elements or reasons affecting the 
credit score for the particular individual, listed in 
the order of importance based on the effect of each 
element or reason on the credit score or educational 
credit score. 
‘‘(4) CREDIT
SCORING
MODEL.—The term 
‘credit scoring model’ means a scoring algorithm, 
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formula, model, program, or mechanism used to gen-
erate a credit score or an educational credit score.’’. 
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—The Fair Credit 
Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.) is amended— 
(1) in section 605(d)(2), by striking ‘‘(as de-
fined in section 609(f)(2)(B))’’; and 
(2) in section 615— 
(A) by striking ‘‘as defined in section 
609(f)(2)(A)’’ each place that term appears; 
and 
(B) by striking ‘‘set forth in subpara-
graphs (B) through (E) of section 609(f)(1)’’ 
and inserting ‘‘with respect to a credit score de-
scribed in section 609(f)(2), if available’’ each 
place that term appears. 
SEC. 4. EXPANDS EXPLANATORY INFORMATION GIVEN TO 
CONSUMERS ABOUT HOW SCORES ARE CAL-
CULATED. 
Section 609(f) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 
U.S.C. 1681g(f)) is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(f) DISCLOSURE
OF CREDIT SCORE
AND EDU-
CATIONAL CREDIT SCORE
BY CONSUMER REPORTING 
AGENCIES.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Upon the request of a con-
sumer for a credit score or educational credit score, 
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a consumer reporting agency shall supply to the con-
sumer a statement— 
‘‘(A) containing— 
‘‘(i) a current credit score at the time 
of the request generated using a commonly 
used credit scoring model to generate cred-
it scores, subject to regulations of the Bu-
reau; 
‘‘(ii) an educational credit score at the 
time of the request, if it is not practicable 
to generate such a credit score, as deter-
mined by the Bureau; or 
‘‘(iii) an explanation that the con-
sumer’s file does not have sufficient infor-
mation from which to generate such a 
credit score or educational credit score; 
and 
‘‘(B) with respect to each previous credit 
score in the file of the consumer— 
‘‘(i) the date on which the credit score 
was generated; 
‘‘(ii) the name of any entity that the 
credit score was provided to; and 
‘‘(iii) the credit score itself. 
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by the consumer reporting agency, and using 
the same scale as that of the score that is pro-
vided to a creditor or consumers— 
‘‘(i) in the form of a bar graph con-
taining a minimum of 6 bars that illus-
trates the percentage of consumers with 
credit scores or educational credit scores 
within the range of scores represented by 
each bar; or 
‘‘(ii) by another clear and readily un-
derstandable graphical depiction, state-
ment, or illustration comparing the con-
sumer’s credit score or educational credit 
score to the scores of other consumers, as 
determined by the Bureau; 
‘‘(F) the date on which the credit score or 
educational credit score was created; and 
‘‘(G) the name of the person that devel-
oped the credit scoring model on which the 
credit score or educational credit score was 
based. 
‘‘(3) APPLICABILITY TO CERTAIN USES.—This 
subsection shall not be construed so as to compel a 
consumer reporting agency to— 
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‘‘(A) develop or disclose a credit score if 
the agency does not distribute credit scores 
used by a person who makes or arranges a loan 
or extends credit to predict the likelihood of 
certain credit behaviors; or 
‘‘(B) develop or disclose an educational 
credit score if the agency does not develop edu-
cational credit scores that assist in under-
standing the general credit behavior of a con-
sumer and predicting the future credit behavior 
of the consumer. 
‘‘(4) MAINTENANCE OF CREDIT SCORES.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—All consumer report-
ing agencies shall maintain in the consumer’s 
file credit scores relating to the consumer for a 
period of 2 years from the date on which such 
information is generated. 
‘‘(B) 
DISCLOSURE
ONLY
TO
CON-
SUMERS.—A past credit score maintained in a 
consumer’s file pursuant to subparagraph (A) 
may only be provided to the consumer to which 
the credit score relates and may not be included 
in a consumer report or used as a factor in gen-
erating a credit score or educational credit 
score. 
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‘‘(C) 
REMOVAL
OF
PAST
CREDIT 
SCORES.—A past credit score maintained in a 
consumer’s file pursuant to subparagraph (A) 
shall be removed from the consumer’s file after 
the end of the 2-year period described under 
subparagraph (A).’’. 
SEC. 5. REQUIRES CONSUMER REPORTING AGENCIES TO 
DISCLOSE PROMINENTLY THE DIFFERENCES 
BETWEEN 
AND 
LIMITATIONS 
OF 
CREDIT 
SCORES AND EDUCATIONAL CREDIT SCORES 
REQUIRED PRIOR TO A CONSUMER OBTAIN-
ING SUCH SCORES. 
Section 609(f) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 
U.S.C. 1681g(f)), as amended by section 3, is further 
amended by adding at the end the following new para-
graphs: 
‘‘(5) WEBSITE DISCLAIMER.—A consumer re-
porting agency that generates or provides credit 
scores or educational credit scores shall clearly and 
conspicuously display on the home page of the agen-
cy’s Internet website, and as part of any application, 
solicitation, or marketing material or media pro-
viding information related to a credit score or edu-
cational credit score, the following notice, in boldface 
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type of 18-point font or larger and in a text box 
with boldface outer borders: 
‘‘ ‘CREDIT SCORE DISCLAIMER. 
‘‘ ‘There is no ‘‘one’’ credit score. There are many 
scoring formulas derived from a wide variety of models 
available to a consumer and used by lenders and creditors. 
Different lenders and creditors use different scoring for-
mulas to determine whether to extend credit or make a 
loan to you, and the terms of the credit or loan. An edu-
cational credit score is not a credit score that a person 
who makes a loan or extends credit to you is likely to use. 
Educational credit scores are merely intended to be used 
as an educational tool to help consumers understand how 
the information contained in a consumer report may affect 
the terms and conditions of a loan or extension of credit 
that may be available to a consumer. Lenders and credi-
tors may also rely on information not contained in your 
consumer report and not reflected in the calculation of 
your credit score.’. 
‘‘(6) ADDITIONAL
REQUIREMENTS
FOR
EDU-
CATIONAL CREDIT SCORES.— 
‘‘(A) 
DISCLAIMER.—If 
an 
educational 
credit score is provided pursuant to paragraph 
(1), a consumer reporting agency shall clearly 
and conspicuously include in a prominent loca-
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tion on the statement, in boldface type of 18- 
point font or larger, and in a text box with 
boldface outer borders, the following notice: 
‘‘ ‘EDUCATIONAL CREDIT SCORE DISCLAIMER. 
‘‘ ‘The educational credit score provided to you is not 
a credit score that a lender or creditor is likely to use to 
make a loan or extend credit to you. There are many dif-
ferent credit scores derived from a wide variety of models 
used by lenders and creditors. An educational credit score 
is merely an educational tool. It is intended to provide con-
sumers with a basic understanding of how the information 
contained in a consumer report may affect the terms and 
conditions of credit that are available. The credit scores 
you receive directly from different lenders and creditors 
may not be the same as an educational credit score. There 
are a number of reasons for this: 
‘‘ ‘(1) Each company may use a different for-
mula for calculating credit scores and the differences 
in the formulas may lead to differences in your 
scores. 
‘‘ ‘(2) Companies may produce scores that give 
results on different scales. 
‘‘ ‘(3) Not all lenders or creditors report to 
every consumer reporting agency, and therefore the 
information contained in your consumer report that 
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the consumer reporting agencies use to calculate 
your educational credit score may differ among 
agencies.’. 
‘‘(B) PROHIBITION ON MISLEADING REP-
RESENTATIONS.—A consumer reporting agency 
may not refer to an educational credit score as 
a credit score in any application, solicitation, 
marketing, or other informational materials or 
media. 
‘‘(7) MODIFICATION
OF
DISCLAIMERS.—The 
Bureau may modify the content, format, and man-
ner of the disclaimers required under paragraphs (5) 
and (6), if warranted, after conducting consumer 
testing or research.’’. 
SEC. 6. PROVIDES CONSUMERS WITH FREE CREDIT SCORE 
DISCLOSURES WITH THEIR FREE ANNUAL 
CONSUMER REPORTS UPON REQUEST AND 
CREATES 
INSTANCES 
WHEN 
CONSUMERS 
AUTOMATICALLY RECEIVE FREE CONSUMER 
REPORTS AND CREDIT SCORES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 612 of the Fair Credit 
Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681j) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (a)— 
(A) in paragraph (1)— 
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