CA Civ Code § 1786.16 (2021)
2021 California Code|Civil Code - CIV|DIVISION 3 - OBLIGATIONS|PART 4 - OBLIGATIONS ARISING FROM PARTICULAR TRANSACTIONS|TITLE 1.6A - INVESTIGATIVE CONSUMER REPORTING AGENCIES|ARTICLE 2 - Obligations of Investigative Consumer Reporting Agencies|Section 1786.16.

1786.16.  (a) Any person described in subdivision (d) of Section 1786.12 shall not procure or cause to be prepared an investigative consumer report unless the following applicable conditions are met:(1) If an investigative consumer report is sought in connection with the underwriting of insurance, it shall be clearly and accurately disclosed in writing at the time the application form, medical form, binder, or similar document is signed by the consumer that an investigative consumer report regarding the consumer’s character, general reputation, personal characteristics, and mode of living may be made. If no signed application form, medical form, binder, or similar document is involved in the underwriting transaction, the disclosure shall be made to the consumer in writing and mailed or otherwise delivered to the consumer not later than three days after the report was first requested. The disclosure shall include the name and address of any investigative consumer reporting agency conducting an investigation, plus the nature and scope of the investigation requested, and a summary of the provisions of Section 1786.22.(2) If, at any time, an investigative consumer report is sought for employment purposes other than suspicion of wrongdoing or misconduct by the subject of the investigation, the person seeking the investigative consumer report may procure the report, or cause the report to be made, only if all of the following apply:(A) The person procuring or causing the report to be made has a permissible purpose, as defined in Section 1786.12.(B) The person procuring or causing the report to be made provides a clear and conspicuous disclosure in writing to the consumer at any time before the report is procured or caused to be made in a document that consists solely of the disclosure, that:(i) An investigative consumer report may be obtained.(ii) The permissible purpose of the report is identified.(iii) The disclosure may include information on the consumer’s character, general reputation, personal characteristics, and mode of living.(iv) Identifies the name, address, and telephone number of the investigative consumer reporting agency conducting the investigation.(v) Notifies the consumer in writing of the nature and scope of the investigation requested, including a summary of the provisions of Section 1786.22.(vi) Notifies the consumer of the Internet Web site address of the investigative consumer reporting agency identified in clause (iv), or, if the agency has no Internet Web site address, the telephone number of the agency, where the consumer may find information about the investigative reporting agency’s privacy practices, including whether the consumer’s personal information will be sent outside the United States or its territories and information that complies with subdivision (d) of Section 1786.20. This clause shall become operative on January 1, 2012.(C) The consumer has authorized in writing the procurement of the report.(3) If an investigative consumer report is sought in connection with the hiring of a dwelling unit, as defined in subdivision (c) of Section 1940, the person procuring or causing the request to be made shall, not later than three days after the date on which the report was first requested, notify the consumer in writing that an investigative consumer report will be made regarding the consumer’s character, general reputation, personal characteristics, and mode of living. The notification shall also include the name and address of the investigative consumer reporting agency that will prepare the report and a summary of the provisions of Section 1786.22.(4) The person procuring or causing the request to be made shall certify to the investigative consumer reporting agency that the person has made the applicable disclosures to the consumer required by this subdivision and that the person will comply with subdivision (b).(5) The person procuring the report or causing it to be prepared agrees to provide a copy of the report to the subject of the investigation, as provided in subdivision (b).(b) Any person described in subdivision (d) of Section 1786.12 who requests an investigative consumer report, in accordance with subdivision (a) regarding that consumer, shall do the following:(1) Provide the consumer a means by which the consumer may indicate on a written form, by means of a box to check, that the consumer wishes to receive a copy of any report that is prepared. If the consumer wishes to receive a copy of the report, the recipient of the report shall send a copy of the report to the consumer within three business days of the date that the report is provided to the recipient, who may contract with any other entity to send a copy to the consumer. The notice to request the report may be contained on either the disclosure form, as required by subdivision (a), or a separate consent form. The copy of the report shall contain the name, address, and telephone number of the person who issued the report and how to contact them.(2) Comply with Section 1786.40, if the taking of adverse action is a consideration.(c) Subdivisions (a) and (b) do not apply to an investigative consumer report procured or caused to be prepared by an employer, if the report is sought for employment purposes due to suspicion held by an employer of wrongdoing or misconduct by the subject of the investigation.(d) Those persons described in subdivision (d) of Section 1786.12 constitute the sole and exclusive class of persons who may cause an investigative consumer report to be prepared.(Amended by Stats. 2010, Ch. 481, Sec. 1. (SB 909) Effective January 1, 2011.)