Who Can See Your Credit Report?

Under section 604 of the FCRA (15 U.S.C. section1681b), only certain people may access your credit report for certain specified reasons. Generally, this means prospective creditors. However, there are many reasons that someone may access your credit report. For example, with restrictions, a potential employer may access your credit report when you apply for job.

To get a sense for this, let’s look at the list of “Permissible Purposes of Consumer Reports” as set forth in section 604 of the FCRA to find out who can see your credit report.

1. A court or federal grand jury
2. You
3. Someone (a creditor) that intends to use the information in connection with a credit transaction
4. Other individuals or companies that intend to use the information in connection with employment, the underwriting of insurance, or certain government benefits
5. Other individuals or companies that have a legitimate business need for the information in connection with a business transaction initiated by you
6. A state or local child support enforcement agency
7. An agency administering a State plan under section 454 of the Social Security act to set an initial or modified child support award.