“This title does not annul, alter, affect, or exempt any person subject to the provisions of this title from complying with the laws of any State with respect to the collection, distribution, or use of any information on consumers, except to the extent that those laws are inconsistent with any provision of this title, and then only to the extent of the inconsistency.”

1. Basic Rule

State law is pre-empted by the FCRA only when compliance with inconsistent State law would result in violation of the FCRA.

2. Examples of Statutes that are not Pre-empted

A State law requirement that an employer provide notice to a consumer before ordering a consumer report, or that a consumer reporting agency must provide the consumer with a written copy of his file, would not be pre-empted, because a party that complies with such provisions would not violate the FCRA.

3. Examples of Statutes that are Pre-empted

A State law authorizing grand juries to compel consumer reporting agencies to provide consumer reports, by means of subpoenas signed by a court clerk, is pre-empted by the FCRA's requirement that such reports be furnished only pursuant to an “order of the court” signed by a judge (section 604(1)), or furnished for other purposes not applicable to grand jury subpoenas (section 604 (2)–(3)), and by section 607(a). A State statute requiring automatic disclosure of a deletion or dispute statement to every person who has previously received a consumer report containing the disputed information, regardless of whether the consumer designates such persons to receive this disclosure, is pre-empted by section 604 of the FCRA, which permits disclosure only for specified, permissible purposes and by section 607(a), which requires consumer reporting agencies to limit the furnishing of consumer reports to purposes listed under section 604. Absent a specific designation by the consumer, the consumer reporting agency has no reason to believe all past recipients would have a present, permissible purpose to receive the reports.

4. Statute Providing Access for Enforcement Purposes

A State “little FCRA” that permits State officials access to a consumer reporting agency's files for the purpose of enforcing that statute just as Federal agencies are permitted access to such files under the FCRA, is not pre-empted by the FCRA.

(Information collection requirements in this appendix were approved by the Office of Management and Budget under control number 3084–0091)

[55 FR 18808, May 4, 1990, as amended at 57 FR 4935, Feb. 11, 1992; 60 FR 45660, Sept. 1, 1995]