Consumer Reporting Agencies 2026: The List
The Fair Credit Reporting Act doesn't just cover Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. Dozens of companies sell reports that decide whether you get a job, a home, a bank account, or a loan — and every one of them can be sued when they get it wrong. Here's the directory.
The Big Three Credit Bureaus
The nationwide credit reporting agencies that maintain files on virtually every American adult and sell those files to lenders, landlords, insurers, and employers.
Equifax
One of the three nationwide consumer reporting agencies. Reports credit accounts, payment history, collections, public records, and inquiries. Common errors: mixed files, accounts that aren't yours, paid debts still showing as past due, and sham reinvestigations of disputes.
Experian
Nationwide credit bureau reporting tradelines, collections, bankruptcies, and inquiries to lenders. Common errors: identity-theft accounts the bureau refuses to remove, re-aged debts, and disputes 'verified' in seconds by automated e-OSCAR responses.
TransUnion
The third nationwide credit bureau. Sells credit reports and scores to creditors, landlords, and employers. Common errors: duplicate collection accounts, outdated negative information past the 7-year window, and confusing one consumer's file with another's.
All of the companies above are consumer reporting agencies governed by the Fair Credit Reporting Act. If they report inaccurate information about you, you have the right to dispute it — and if they don't fix it, you may be able to sue for statutory damages, actual damages, and attorney's fees.
Employment Background Check Companies
Consumer reporting agencies that sell background reports to employers. Under the FCRA, employers must get written consent and follow a strict pre-adverse / adverse action process before denying you a job.
Checkr
Tech-forward background check company used by gig platforms (Uber, DoorDash, Instacart) and many employers. Common errors: reporting expunged or sealed records, matching the wrong person, and reporting old arrests that didn't lead to conviction.
HireRight
Large employment screening company providing criminal, employment, and education verifications. Common errors: incomplete dispositions on criminal records, inaccurate employment-history reporting, and slow reinvestigations that cost candidates the job.
Sterling
One of the biggest background check vendors for Fortune 500 employers. Common errors: out-of-date criminal records, misidentified candidates with common names, and reporting records that don't belong to the applicant.
First Advantage
Global background screening provider used heavily in transportation, healthcare, and staffing. Common errors: stale criminal data, drug-test reporting errors, and DOT/MVR record mistakes that get drivers fired.
GoodHire
Background check service marketed to small and mid-size businesses. Common errors: failing to update dismissed charges, reporting records older than FCRA allows, and inadequate dispute investigations.
Accurate Background
Employment screening company serving large employers and staffing firms. Common errors: mismatched records, reporting non-convictions as convictions, and county-court data that's months out of date.
SentryLink
Background check provider focused on driving records, criminal history, and tenant screening. Common errors: incorrect MVR reporting, outdated criminal records, and false matches on common names.
InCheck
Employment screening company providing criminal, civil, and verification services. Common errors: reporting expunged records, slow reinvestigations, and incomplete case dispositions.
General Information Services (GIS)
National background screening firm for employers across multiple industries. Common errors: confusing applicants with similar names, reporting old non-convictions, and reinvestigations that simply re-verify the original bad data.
All of the companies above are consumer reporting agencies governed by the Fair Credit Reporting Act. If they report inaccurate information about you, you have the right to dispute it — and if they don't fix it, you may be able to sue for statutory damages, actual damages, and attorney's fees.
Tenant Screening Companies
Consumer reporting agencies that sell tenant screening reports to landlords and property managers. Errors here cost people housing.
TransUnion SmartMove
Tenant screening product from TransUnion sold to individual landlords. Common errors: wrong credit data, eviction records that don't belong to the applicant, and reporting dismissed eviction filings as if they were judgments.
RealPage
Large property-management software company whose screening reports go to apartment complexes nationwide. Common errors: false eviction matches, inaccurate criminal records, and algorithmic 'recommendations' based on bad underlying data.
SafeRent (CoreLogic Rental Property Solutions)
Tenant screening service owned by CoreLogic. Common errors: scoring tenants down based on dismissed cases, mixing up applicants with the same name, and reporting old eviction filings as denials.
RentGrow
Yardi-owned tenant screening company used by many large apartment operators. Common errors: stale eviction data, misidentified criminal records, and slow reinvestigations.
On-Site (RealPage)
Application and screening platform integrated into RealPage. Common errors: pulling outdated court records, false eviction matches, and rejecting applicants based on uncorrected data.
All of the companies above are consumer reporting agencies governed by the Fair Credit Reporting Act. If they report inaccurate information about you, you have the right to dispute it — and if they don't fix it, you may be able to sue for statutory damages, actual damages, and attorney's fees.
Banking & Check Screening
Consumer reporting agencies that banks use to decide whether to open you a checking account or accept your check. An error here can lock you out of mainstream banking.
ChexSystems
The dominant bank-account screening bureau. Reports closed accounts, overdrafts, and suspected fraud. Common errors: keeping closed-in-good-standing accounts on file as negatives, reporting identity-theft activity as the consumer's fault, and refusing to remove paid items.
Early Warning Services
Bank-owned consortium (operator of Zelle) that maintains a deposit-account fraud database. Common errors: tagging consumers as fraud risks based on disputed transactions and refusing to explain or correct the entry.
Certegy
Check-acceptance service used by retailers to approve or decline personal checks at the register. Common errors: declining good checks based on stale or wrong data, and slow dispute responses.
TeleCheck
First Data-owned check verification service used by major retailers. Common errors: false 'Code 3' declines, reporting closed accounts as risky, and reinvestigations that don't actually fix the underlying record.
All of the companies above are consumer reporting agencies governed by the Fair Credit Reporting Act. If they report inaccurate information about you, you have the right to dispute it — and if they don't fix it, you may be able to sue for statutory damages, actual damages, and attorney's fees.
Specialty Consumer Reporting Agencies
Specialty CRAs that sell reports for specific industries — insurance, sub-prime lending, driving, retail returns, and identity verification.
SageStream
LexisNexis-owned alternative credit bureau used heavily by sub-prime lenders and fintechs. Common errors: stale data, accounts that don't belong to the consumer, and identity-theft entries the bureau won't remove.
LexisNexis Risk Solutions
Massive data broker that sells reports to insurers, lenders, and government agencies — including the C.L.U.E. insurance loss-history report. Common errors: reporting claims that were never filed, attributing other people's records, and inaccurate public-record data driving up insurance premiums.
Innovis
The 'fourth' nationwide credit bureau, often used for pre-screened credit offers and identity verification. Common errors: mixed files, outdated address data, and difficulty reaching anyone to dispute.
Clarity Services
Experian-owned sub-prime credit bureau focused on payday, installment, and rent-to-own lenders. Common errors: reporting paid-off loans as outstanding and stale account data driving loan denials.
MicroBilt
Alternative-data credit bureau serving sub-prime lenders, landlords, and small businesses. Common errors: outdated public-record data and incorrect account information.
The Retail Equation
Tracks consumer returns at major retailers and scores shoppers for return fraud risk. Common errors: flagging legitimate returns as fraud and refusing to explain the score that got a consumer banned from returning items.
SambaSafety
Driving-record monitoring service used by employers and insurers to track MVRs in real time. Common errors: reporting violations that were dismissed, attributing tickets to the wrong driver, and stale license-status data that costs CDL drivers their jobs.
All of the companies above are consumer reporting agencies governed by the Fair Credit Reporting Act. If they report inaccurate information about you, you have the right to dispute it — and if they don't fix it, you may be able to sue for statutory damages, actual damages, and attorney's fees.
People-Search Sites
When people-search sites are used to make decisions about credit, employment, housing, or insurance, they can qualify as consumer reporting agencies under the FCRA — and they've been sued for it.
Whitepages
Online directory aggregating phone, address, and background data. Has been sued under the FCRA when its 'premium' reports are used for tenant or employment screening without FCRA compliance.
Spokeo
People-search site selling background and contact reports. Subject of the landmark Supreme Court case Spokeo v. Robins on FCRA standing; continues to face FCRA litigation when reports are used for permissible-purpose decisions.
BeenVerified
People-search aggregator selling background, criminal, and contact reports. Common errors: outdated criminal records, wrong addresses, and reports being used for tenant or employment decisions without FCRA disclosures.
TruthFinder
Background-report subscription service. Common errors: stale public-record data, false matches, and use cases that trigger FCRA obligations the company doesn't follow.
All of the companies above are consumer reporting agencies governed by the Fair Credit Reporting Act. If they report inaccurate information about you, you have the right to dispute it — and if they don't fix it, you may be able to sue for statutory damages, actual damages, and attorney's fees.