The Fair Credit Reporting Act is a federal law that regulates the collection, dissemination, and use of consumer credit information. Along with the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, it forms the base of consumer credit rights in the United States. It was originally passed in 1970 and is enforced by the US Federal Trade Commission.

Consumer reporting agencies are entities that collect and disseminate information about consumers to be used for credit evaluation and certain other purposes. Credit bureaus, a type of consumer reporting agency, hold a person's credit report in their files. Credit Report Agencies have a number of responsibilities under FCRA, including the following:

1. Provide a consumer with information about him or her in the agency's files and to take steps to verify the accuracy of information disputed by a consumer. Under the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act, an amendment to the FCRA passed in 2003, consumers are able to receive one free credit report a year. The free report can be requested by telephone, mail, or through their website.

2. If negative information is removed as a result of a consumer's dispute, it may not be reinserted without notifying the consumer within five days, in writing.

3. Credit Bureaus may not retain negative information for an excessive period. The FCRA describes how long negative information, such as late payments, bankruptcies, tax liens or judgments may stay on a consumer's credit report - typically seven years from the date of the delinquency. The exceptions: bankruptcies last 10 years and tax liens last seven years from the time they are paid. The three big Credit Bureaus (also known as CRAs) - Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax, do not interact with information furnishers directly as a result of consumer disputes. They use a system called E-Oscar. In some areas of the country, however, there are other credit bureaus. For example, in Texas, if a consumer tries to dispute information with Equifax directly, they must go through CSC Credit Services which is hooked into the Equifax database.