FCRA Section 623: Furnisher Responsibilities

FCRA Section 623: Furnisher Responsibilities

Section 623 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. § 1681s-2) places legal responsibilities on "furnishers", the companies that provide your credit information to the bureaus. This includes banks, credit card companies, mortgage lenders, auto lenders, and collection agencies.

What Is a Furnisher?

A furnisher is any entity that reports information about your accounts to one or more of the three major credit bureaus. When your credit card company tells Equifax that you made a late payment, they are acting as a furnisher. Understanding this distinction is critical because Section 623 gives you the right to go directly to the source.

Key Obligations Under Section 623

Duty to Report Accurate Information

Furnishers are prohibited from reporting information they know (or should know) to be inaccurate. This includes:

Duty to Investigate Disputes

When a consumer disputes information through a credit bureau (called an "indirect dispute") or directly to the furnisher (called a "direct dispute"), the furnisher must:

Duty to Correct and Update

If a furnisher discovers it has been reporting inaccurate information, it must promptly notify all credit bureaus and correct the data, even if no consumer has filed a dispute.

How to File a Direct Dispute Under Section 623

A direct dispute goes straight to the furnisher, bypassing the credit bureau entirely:

Section 623 vs Section 611

When to Use Section 623

Common Furnisher Violations

Penalties for Violations

Consumers can sue furnishers for willful or negligent violations:

CreditBooster leverages Section 623 direct disputes as a key part of our multi-pronged approach. When bureau disputes don't work, going directly to the furnisher often does. Start with our $1 credit scan.