15 U.S.C. § 1681
Section 1681 · Congressional findings and statement of purpose
Amended 1 time on record
Applied in 1,470 court decisions — leading case Trw Inc v. Adelaide Andrews (2001)
Most recently applied in Fausett v. Walgreen Co. (November 2025)
Applied most in the Ninth Circuit Circuit (83 decisions)
Cases citing this section usually also cite 15 U.S.C. § 1692 · 28 U.S.C. § 1331 · 15 U.S.C. § 1601
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year.Markers show enactment, consequential amendments, and circuit splits over this section — watch for a citation surge after a change or a disagreement. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
The Congress makes the following findings:
(1) The banking system is dependent upon fair and accurate credit reporting. Inaccurate credit reports directly impair the efficiency of the banking system, and unfair credit reporting methods undermine the public confidence which is essential to the continued functioning of the banking system.
(2) An elaborate mechanism has been developed for investigating and evaluating the credit worthiness, credit standing, credit capacity, character, and general reputation of consumers.
(3) Consumer reporting agencies have assumed a vital role in assembling and evaluating consumer credit and other information on consumers.
(4) There is a need to insure that consumer reporting agencies exercise their grave responsibilities with fairness, impartiality, and a respect for the consumer's right to privacy.
It is the purpose of this subchapter to require that consumer reporting agencies adopt reasonable procedures for meeting the needs of commerce for consumer credit, personnel, insurance, and other information in a manner which is fair and equitable to the consumer, with regard to the confidentiality, accuracy, relevancy, and proper utilization of such information in accordance with the requirements of this subchapter.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
Effective Date
Section 504(d) of Pub. L. 90 321, as added by Pub. L. 91 508, title VI, §602, Oct. 26, 1970, 84 Stat. 1136, provided that: “Title VI [enacting this subchapter] takes effect upon the expiration of one hundred and eighty days following the date of its enactment [Oct. 26, 1970].”
Short Title
This subchapter known as the “Fair Credit Reporting Act”, see Short Title note set out under section 1601 of this title.