Last reviewed: 3 October 2026
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How to request your specialty consumer reports: a checklist
Equifax, TransUnion and Experian are not the only companies that collect information and prepare consumer reports about you. You have a right to see those other reports too.[1] Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), a consumer reporting company must give you a copy of the information in your report if you request it.[1] This checklist walks through finding, requesting, reading and disputing them.
The short version
- Other companies also prepare consumer reports about you. They can go to landlords, banks, employers, insurers and utilities, among others.[1]
- The CFPB publishes a 2025 list of consumer reporting companies, including ones focused on certain market areas and consumer segments.[1]
- The statute says a company must, on request, disclose all information in your file, with listed exceptions.[2]
- You can dispute errors with the reporting company and with the company that supplied the information. Companies must investigate free of charge.[1]
Step 1: Work out which reports could exist about you
The CFPB lists the kinds of businesses that can receive consumer reports. The table matches some of them to our guides. The pairing in the third column is ours, not the CFPB's.
| If you have recently… | Users the CFPB lists | Our guide |
|---|---|---|
| Applied to rent a home | Landlords and residential real estate management companies (tenant screening).[1] | Eviction records and tenant screening |
| Opened a bank account or paid by check | Banks, credit unions and merchants that accept personal checks and electronic funds transfer payments (check screening).[1] | ChexSystems and Early Warning Services |
| Set up a phone, power, gas or water account | Telecommunication and utility companies.[1] | Utility and telecom credit reporting |
| Applied for a job | Employers and volunteer organizations (pre-employment screening and on-going employee monitoring).[1] | No guide on this site yet. |
| Applied for an insurance policy | Insurance companies (health, life, auto and other property insurance screening).[1] | Credit-based insurance scores |
The CFPB also lists other users, including retail stores screening for product return fraud, rent-to-own businesses and some short-term lenders.[1] The CFPB notes that, apart from employment screening, users generally do not warn you in advance before taking an adverse action based on your report.[1]
Step 2: Find the company
- Open the CFPB's list of consumer reporting companies. It offers a PDF, a CSV file and an on-page list.[1]
- Find the company that serves the market you dealt with, such as tenant screening or check screening.
- Use the contact details on the CFPB list. We do not reproduce them here, because the CFPB updates the list.
Step 3: Ask for your file
The CFPB says all consumer reporting companies are required to give you a copy of the information in your report if you request it.[1] The statute says that, on request, a company must clearly and accurately disclose to you:[2]
- all information in your file at the time of the request, with listed exceptions;[2]
- the sources of the information;[2]
- each person that procured a report about you in the preceding year, or two years for employment purposes;[2]
- the dates, original payees and amounts of any checks on which an adverse characterization of you is based; and[2]
- a record of inquiries in the preceding year that were not initiated by you and identified you in connection with a credit or insurance transaction.[2]
Two limits apply. Section 1681g(a) does not itself require a company to disclose credit scores or other risk scores or predictors; a separate subsection, 1681g(f), covers a consumer's request for a credit score.[2] And the duty to disclose is stated as subject to section 1681h(a)(1), which says a company must require proper identification as a condition of making the disclosures. Our suggestion, not the sources': keep the date you asked, how you asked, and a copy of what you receive.
Step 4: Check what it costs
The CFPB says you are entitled to a free credit report every 12 months from each of the three nationwide companies, through AnnualCreditReport.com.[1] The sources we read do not say whether the other kinds of company charge for a copy. Ask the company before you pay anything.
Step 5: Read the report for errors
Our suggestions, not the sources':
- Check your name, address and identifying details.
- Check each account, record or entry against your own paperwork.
- Check who has obtained a report about you, and whether you recognize each one.[2]
- Note anything inaccurate or incomplete.
The CFPB advises checking background screening reports if you are applying for a job, an insurance policy or a lease.[1]
Step 6: Dispute what is wrong
If you find information you believe is inaccurate or incomplete, the CFPB says you have the legal right to dispute it with the consumer reporting company and with the company that shared the information with it. It says companies must conduct a reasonable investigation of your dispute free of charge.[1] Each written disclosure must come with a summary of your rights and a statement that a company is not required to remove accurate derogatory information unless it is outdated under section 1681c or cannot be verified.[3] See also furnishers and your FCRA dispute rights.
Step 7: Complain if the process fails
The CFPB says it handles complaints about report accuracy and completeness, credit repair services and other consumer reporting topics. It says you may consider a complaint if you are dissatisfied with a company's investigation, believe your report was used improperly, or have problems getting access to your own reports.[1] See where to file a complaint.
How to verify this yourself
- Open the CFPB's consumer reporting companies page and read the list and the sections on requesting a report.[1]
- Read section 1681g(a) of the FCRA for what a company must disclose.[2]
- Compare what you receive against that list. Our suggestion: raise anything missing with the company.
What this page does not cover
It does not list company names or addresses, give timelines for responses, or say whether a given company charges. It does not cover state-law rights, which can differ; the statute's required notice says you may have additional rights under state law and may wish to contact a state or local consumer protection agency or a state attorney general.[3] It is general information, not legal advice.
Your next step
Pick the one situation in the table that fits your recent history, find that company on the CFPB list, and send your request. Then read the matching guide. Our credit report audit checklist covers the three nationwide reports. Our Standard and the Register concern credit repair and debt settlement companies, not reporting companies.
When we will update this page
We revisit it when the CFPB updates its list or the statute changes. 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.