Fair Credit Reporting Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1681a(d) (definition of consumer report)

Is a public-record receipt a consumer report under FCRA?

§ 1681a(d)(1): 'consumer report' means any written, oral, or other communication of any information by a consumer reporting agency bearing on a consumer's credit worthiness … character, general reputation, personal characteristics, or mode of living which is used or expected to be used … as a factor in establishing the consumer's eligibility for credit or insurance … employment purposes, or any other purpose authorized under section 1681b. source

Who it reaches

Anyone deciding whether an entity-level public-record read about an organization is an FCRA-regulated product, and anyone tempted to use one for a decision about an individual.

The record the rule expects

This platform's receipts are about organizations and their registered identifiers; person-level rows appear only as the agency prints them under the exact queried name, are labelled, and are never assembled, scored or used to establish an individual's eligibility. The platform's terms prohibit use as a consumer report. The legal question for your use case is counsel's.

Questions readers ask

This page quotes the rule and describes the record; whether your organization meets the rule is your compliance office's and counsel's reading. All rules · Methodology.