How to check whether a credit or debt company is legitimate

You can check a credit repair, debt settlement or similar company yourself with free public tools before you pay anyone. Two federal ones are the CFPB's Consumer Complaint Database, which publishes complaint records after the company responds or after 15 days, whichever comes first,^[1] and the FTC's Legal Library of cases and proceedings, where the FTC says it brings hundreds of cases a year.^[2] Each has limits, covered below, and neither is a verdict on a company. This hub organizes the checks by the points of our Standard and links to the guide for each one. It names no company and is general information, not legal advice.

Check by Standard point

The numbered points are the nine points of our credit repair and debt settlement standard. Each row says what you can look at yourself and which of our guides covers it.

Standard point	How you can check it	Our guides
1. No advance fees before results	Compare each fee in the contract with the rule on fee timing.	The advance-fee rule; credit repair costs and fee structures; verify a debt settlement company
2. No guaranteed-results claims	Look for a quotable written promise of a score increase or removal of accurate items.	Warning signs checklist; What is credit repair?
3. CFPB complaint history	Search the CFPB Consumer Complaint Database and read it with its stated limits.	CFPB complaint database, explained
4. FTC, state AG and self-regulatory enforcement	Search the FTC Legal Library, Cases and Proceedings; check your state attorney general separately.	Where to file a complaint
5. Published, flat fee schedule	Ask for the full fee schedule in writing and compare it with the rule on fee structure.	Credit repair costs and fee structures; debt settlement worksheet
6. State registration or bonding	Use your own state regulator's lookup; rules differ by state.	State bonding and registration; debt settlement licensing
7. Dispute-process transparency	Ask what the company files, with which bureaus, for which items, and on what basis.	Furnisher disputes, explained; dispute came back verified
8. Named company, real address, working contact	Match the legal name and address on the contract to other records.	Verify a debt settlement company; verify a counseling agency
9. Cancellation-rights disclosure	Read the contract for the cancellation notice and your right to cancel.	What your credit repair contract must say

The two federal databases, and their limits

CFPB Consumer Complaint Database

The database publishes structured complaint records: product, issue, company, state, dates, the company's response type and whether it was timely. You can view, filter and download them, including through a data API.^[1]^[4]
On 14 August 2026 the CFPB announced that it is ending publication of consumers' written complaint narratives and its data visualizations. It says it is "ceasing publication of unverified complaint narratives and visualizations." Narratives published before then are in the CFPB's FOIA Reading Room archive.^[3]
Only complaints sent to companies for response are eligible, and they are published after the company responds, confirming a commercial relationship, or after 15 days, whichever comes first. Complaints referred to other regulators, such as those about depository institutions with less than $10 billion in assets, are not published.^[1]
The CFPB says the database is not a statistical sample, that a lack of or low number of complaints does not necessarily mean little or no consumer harm, and that complaint volume should be read against company size or market share.^[1]

FTC Legal Library: Cases and Proceedings

It holds information on cases the FTC has brought in federal court or through its administrative process.^[2]
Results can be filtered by record type, including "Banned Debt and Mortgage Relief Providers" and "Banned Debt Collectors," and by consumer-protection topics such as Debt and Debt Collection.^[2]
Our reading, not the FTC's: it covers FTC matters only, so finding nothing does not show that no state attorney general or court has acted.

A sensible order

Write down the company's exact legal name, address and every name it uses.
Read the contract and fee schedule against the fee-timing rules (points 1, 5 and 9).
Search the two databases above (points 3 and 4).
Check your state regulator (point 6).
Ask for anything unclear in writing, and keep copies. The fee-timing rules above govern when a debt relief or credit-history fee may be requested; read your contract against them before you pay.

Category-specific versions: debt settlement companies and credit counseling agencies. Related: debt consolidation loans (including how to look up a lender on NMLS Consumer Access), tax debt relief companies and student loan debt-relief companies.

How this fits with the Register

The Register reports what we checked on specific companies against the Standard, with a date. A Register result is not a recommendation and does not replace running these checks yourself; these guides exist so you can.

What this page does not cover

It does not say whether any company is lawful or trustworthy, and a check that finds no problems is not a guarantee of your own experience. It does not restate state rules, which vary. It is general information, not legal or financial advice.

When we will update this page

We revisit it when we add a guide in this area or when either database changes how it works. Sources last read 2 October 2026.

What you can do next

Find a company — see which specific US companies we checked and what we could verify.
How we check — the rules and sources behind each result.
More credit help guides
Report an error on this page or in a result.