CFPB Publishes Final Rule on Allowable Charges for FCRA Disclosures

The CFPB recently issued a final rule regarding the maximum allowable charges for disclosures under FCRA.  The final rule became effective January 31, 2019 (though it is applicable as of January 1, 2019).  

Under Section 609 of FCRA, a consumer reporting agency (CRA) must disclose to a consumer, upon a consumer’s request, information in the consumer’s file.  If not entitled to a free file disclosure under the circumstances identified in FCRA, Section 612(f) of FCRA allows CRAs to charge consumers a reasonable amount for making a disclosure to consumers pursuant to Section 609 and provides for FCRA’s original $8.00 maximum amount to increase on January 1 of each year.  Each increase is based proportionally on changes in the Consumer Price Index, with fractional changes rounded to the nearest fifty cents. 

Before the responsibility for setting the maximum allowable charge was transferred from the FTC to the CFPB pursuant to the Dodd-Frank Act, the FTC published the annual adjustments as a notice.  The CFPB continued this historical practice of issuing annual adjustment notices.  However, to emphasize that the FCRA annual adjustment is legally binding, the CFPB’s final rule adds a new section to FCRA’s implementing Regulation V to codify a maximum allowable charge for disclosures by a CRA to a consumer pursuant to Section 609 of FCRA.  The final rule also adds a new appendix that the CFPB will amend by notice each year to indicate the maximum allowable charge for a new calendar year.  The appendix also will provide historical information regarding the maximum allowable charge for prior calendar years.

Pursuant to the final rule, the maximum allowable disclosure charge for the year 2019 is $12.50.