2023 Texas Statutes › Business and Commerce Code › Title 2 - Competition and Trade Practices › Chapter 20 - Regulation of Consumer Credit Reporting Agencies › Subchapter B. Security Alert and Security Freeze › Section 20.038. Exemption From Security Freeze

Text of section effective on April 01, 2025
Sec. 20.038.  EXEMPTION FROM SECURITY FREEZE.  A security freeze does not apply to a consumer report provided to:
(1)  a state or local governmental entity, including a law enforcement agency or court or private collection agency, if the entity, agency, or court is acting under a court order, warrant, subpoena, or administrative subpoena;
(2)  a child support agency as defined by Section 101.004, Family Code, acting to investigate or collect child support payments or acting under Title IV-D of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. Section 651 et seq.);
(3)  the Health and Human Services Commission acting under the following provisions of the Government Code:
(A)  Section 544.0052;
(B)  Section 544.0101;
(C)  Section 544.0102;
(D)  Section 544.0103;
(E)  Section 544.0104;
(F)  Section 544.0105;
(G)  Section 544.0106;
(H)  Section 544.0108;
(I)  Sections 544.0109(b) and (d);
(J)  Section 544.0110;
(K)  Section 544.0113;
(L)  Section 544.0114;
(M)  Section 544.0251;
(N)  Section 544.0252(b);
(O)  Section 544.0254;
(P)  Section 544.0255;
(Q)  Section 544.0257;
(R)  Section 544.0301;
(S)  Section 544.0302;
(T)  Section 544.0303; and
(U)  Section 544.0304;
(4)  the comptroller acting to investigate or collect delinquent sales or franchise taxes;
(5)  a tax assessor-collector acting to investigate or collect delinquent ad valorem taxes;
(6)  a person for the purposes of prescreening as provided by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. Section 1681 et seq.), as amended;
(7)  a person with whom the consumer has an account or contract or to whom the consumer has issued a negotiable instrument, or the person's subsidiary, affiliate, agent, assignee, prospective assignee, or private collection agency, for purposes related to that account, contract, or instrument;
(8)  a subsidiary, affiliate, agent, assignee, or prospective assignee of a person to whom access has been granted under Section 20.037(b);
(9)  a person who administers a credit file monitoring subscription service to which the consumer has subscribed;
(10)  a person for the purpose of providing a consumer with a copy of the consumer's report on the consumer's request;
(11)  a check service or fraud prevention service company that issues consumer reports:
(A)  to prevent or investigate fraud; or
(B)  for purposes of approving or processing negotiable instruments, electronic funds transfers, or similar methods of payment;
(12)  a deposit account information service company that issues consumer reports related to account closures caused by fraud, substantial overdrafts, automated teller machine abuses, or similar negative information regarding a consumer to an inquiring financial institution for use by the financial institution only in reviewing a consumer request for a deposit account with that institution; or
(13)  a consumer reporting agency that:
(A)  acts only to resell credit information by assembling and merging information contained in a database of another consumer reporting agency or multiple consumer reporting agencies; and
(B)  does not maintain a permanent database of credit information from which new consumer reports are produced.
Added by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 1326, Sec. 3, eff. Sept. 1, 2003.
Assigned by Acts 2013, 83rd Leg., R.S., Ch. 64 (S.B. 60), Sec. 3, eff. January 1, 2014.
Amended by:
Acts 2023, 88th Leg., R.S., Ch. 769 (H.B. 4611), Sec. 2.01, eff. April 1, 2025.