FCRA disputes: how a 30-day reinvestigation works for public records
When someone says a record in their background check is wrong, the consumer reporting agency has a fixed clock and a fixed set of outcomes. Public records add a twist: the agency does not own the record — the court or registry does. Here is how the process runs, day by day, and who has to do what.
By Daniel Mase, Offendersearch. General information, not legal advice.
Thirty days, then verify, correct or delete
When a consumer disputes an item, the agency must reinvestigate free of charge and record the current status of the item — or delete it — within 30 days of receiving the dispute. The period can extend by up to 15 days if the consumer sends relevant information during it. Anything found inaccurate or incomplete, or that cannot be verified, must be promptly deleted or modified, and the consumer told the result within five business days of finishing.
The clock and the outcomes
The 30 days run from the date the agency receives the dispute from the consumer, or from a reseller the consumer contacted (15 U.S.C. § 1681i). The reinvestigation ends in one of three places: the item is verified as accurate, it is corrected, or it is deleted because it is inaccurate, incomplete or can no longer be verified. Silence is not an option. An item the agency cannot verify in time comes out.
| Step | Deadline |
|---|---|
| Reinvestigate and record the current status, or delete | 30 days from receipt |
| Extension when the consumer sends relevant new information during the period | Up to 15 more days |
| Tell the consumer the dispute is frivolous or irrelevant, and why | 5 business days after deciding |
| Send the consumer the written results | 5 business days after finishing |
| Tell the consumer if a deleted item is put back | 5 business days after reinsertion |
Before a dispute there is often a file request. A consumer may ask what an agency holds about them, and the agency must disclose it after verifying identity (15 U.S.C. § 1681g). Seeing the file is usually what tells the person there is something to dispute.
Worked example: a dispute from receipt to correction notice
An applicant’s report shows a 2019 theft case. She says it was dismissed and later expunged. Here is how a well-run reinvestigation goes.
| Date | What happens |
|---|---|
| Oct 1 | Dispute received. The 30-day clock starts; the due date is Oct 31. |
| Oct 2 | Status moves to investigating. The court record is pulled again from the court that holds it. |
| Oct 14 | The online docket still shows the case. The agency asks the applicant whether she has the expungement order. |
| Oct 20 | She sends the order. Because it is new, relevant information sent during the period, the deadline extends to Nov 15. |
| Oct 27 | The clerk confirms the expungement. Outcome: deleted. |
| Oct 27 | The record is suppressed from future reports, and every screening company that received it is notified. |
| by Nov 3 | The applicant receives the written result within five business days. |
Two things made this work. The agency went back to the authority that holds the record rather than its own copy, and it could show which reports had included the record, so the correction reached everyone who relied on it.
Why public records are different
A credit bureau can ask the creditor that furnished an item. With a court record or a registry entry, the only authority is the court or registry that holds it, so the reinvestigation is a fresh look at the official record — whether the case was dismissed, sealed or expunged, whether the registration is still listed, whether the person is in fact the one in the record.
That is also why the most common public-record dispute is not “this record is wrong” but “this record is not me.” Matching on name alone produces exactly that dispute, and it is the one an agency is least able to defend. A report that matched on full date of birth, and can show it, starts the reinvestigation from a much stronger place.
Who does what in a public-record dispute
Most background checks pass through more than one company, and each has a part to play.
| Who | Role in the dispute |
|---|---|
| The consumer | Says which item is wrong and why; sends any proof they have |
| The screening company (consumer reporting agency) | Owns the dispute, the 30-day clock and the result letter |
| The records provider behind the report | Re-checks the item at its source, says what it now shows, and notifies everyone it supplied |
| The court or registry | The only place the official record can actually be corrected |
| The employer or landlord | Receives the corrected report and should revisit any decision based on it |
Registry disputes and criminal record disputes
The two kinds of public record go wrong in different ways, so their reinvestigations look different.
| Sex-offender registry record | Criminal court record | |
|---|---|---|
| Most common dispute | Not me; no longer required to register | Wrong outcome; dismissed, sealed or expunged; not me |
| Where it is checked | The state registry that lists it, as it stands today | The court that holds the case |
| What usually settles it | Date of birth and photo on the registry; whether the entry is still listed | The disposition on the docket, or a court order |
| Typical outcome when right | Deleted — not current, or not the person | Modified (correct disposition) or deleted (sealed, expunged, not the person) |
Registry records also change on their own: people move, finish their registration period or are removed. A registry record that was current when the report was made can be out of date by the time of the dispute, and the reinvestigation should report what the registry shows now.
What happens to the decision while a dispute is open
For employment, the dispute usually starts with the adverse action process. Before an employer takes adverse action based on a background check, it must give the applicant a copy of the report and a summary of their rights (15 U.S.C. § 1681b) — the pre-adverse action notice. The waiting period before a final decision is not fixed by the statute; around five business days is common practice. The final adverse action notice then names the agency that supplied the report and tells the applicant they can dispute it (15 U.S.C. § 1681m).
That window is exactly when disputes arrive. An employer that waits for the outcome, or revisits its decision when a correction comes in, avoids building a decision on an item that is about to be deleted. Our guide to the adverse action process walks through the notices step by step.
What to send with a dispute
An agency can treat a dispute as frivolous or irrelevant in limited cases — for example, when the consumer gives too little information to investigate — but it must say so and say why (15 U.S.C. § 1681i). The fastest disputes include:
- Which item is wrong — the case number, court or registry if you have them.
- What is wrong with it: not you, the wrong outcome, sealed or expunged, out of date.
- Any document that proves it — a dismissal, an expungement order, a court letter.
- Your full name and date of birth, so the record can be compared with you.
Never send a Social Security number or identity documents by ordinary email. A legitimate agency will tell you a safe way to verify who you are.
After the decision: who has to be told
Once an item is deleted or a dispute is noted, the consumer can ask the agency to send notice to anyone who received a report containing it — within two years for employment, and within six months for any other purpose (15 U.S.C. § 1681i). If the dispute is not resolved in their favor, the consumer can add a brief statement of dispute to the file.
A deleted item must not quietly return. It can be put back only if the source certifies that it is complete and accurate, and the consumer must then be told within five business days.
Common mistakes
- Re-checking your own copy. The reinvestigation has to look at the official record.
- Letting the clock run out. An item that cannot be verified in 30 days must come out.
- Fixing the one report. Every report that carried the item matters, and the source data has to change.
- Letting the item come back. Without suppression, the next order can reinsert it.
- No trail. Without a record of what was searched and returned, you cannot show the reinvestigation happened.
How we run disputes for what we furnish
For information furnished through FCRA Partner Access, disputes are part of the API rather than an email address. A screening company opens one with POST /v1/fcra/orders/{id}/disputes, naming the records and the reason. The person can also come to us directly through the consumer portal, using the access code on their report, or through our consumer file & disputes page without one.
Every dispute carries a due date 30 days from receipt, extendable once by 15 days when the consumer sends new information. It moves from received to investigating to one of verified, modified, deleted or unable to verify. A record that is deleted or cannot be verified is suppressed from every later order, and a record.corrected event goes to every screening company that received it. The screening company follows each step by webhook, and the person follows it in the portal. The details are in the FCRA dispute API and the FCRA API docs.
Dispute questions
How long does an FCRA dispute take?
The agency has 30 days from receiving the dispute to finish its reinvestigation, extendable by up to 15 days if you send relevant new information during that time. It must send you the result within five business days of finishing.
How do I dispute a criminal record on my background check?
Contact the screening company that produced the report, and say which item is wrong and why. If the information came from us through FCRA Partner Access, you can also dispute it with us directly through the consumer portal or our consumer file & disputes page.
What happens if the record cannot be verified?
It must be deleted or modified. An agency cannot keep reporting an item it was unable to verify within the reinvestigation period.
Can a consumer reporting agency refuse a dispute?
It may treat a dispute as frivolous or irrelevant in limited cases, such as when the consumer gives too little information to investigate, and must tell the consumer why within five business days. Otherwise it has to reinvestigate.
What if the court record itself is wrong?
Then the correction has to happen at the court or registry that holds it. The agency reports the record as it officially stands; once the official record is corrected, the agency’s copy must follow.
Will the employer find out the record was removed?
You can ask the agency to send notice of the deletion to anyone who received a report with the item in the last two years for employment, or the last six months for other purposes.
Can a deleted record come back?
Only if the source certifies that it is complete and accurate, and you must be told within five business days. Our FCRA orders suppress deleted and unverifiable records so they are not furnished again.
What is a statement of dispute?
If a reinvestigation does not resolve the dispute in your favor, you can file a brief statement explaining your side. The agency must note that the item is disputed in later reports and include your statement or a clear summary of it.
Should I also contact the court?
If the court record itself is wrong — the wrong disposition, or a case that should have been sealed — yes. The court is the only place the official record can be fixed, and a corrected docket is the strongest evidence you can send with a dispute.
What does a pre-adverse action notice mean?
It is the notice an employer must give before rejecting you based on a background check: a copy of the report and a summary of your FCRA rights. It is your chance to point out errors and start a dispute before the decision is final.
Does it cost anything to dispute?
No. The FCRA requires the reinvestigation to be free of charge to the consumer.
FCRA Partner Access
Regulated sex-offender and criminal records for consumer reporting agencies and screening platforms, with the controls in this article applied before anything is furnished.
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Related: FCRA dispute API · Consumer portal · Consumer file & disputes · What a CRA should require from a vendor · FCRA Partner Access