If there is a mistake on your Equifax credit report, federal law gives you the right to dispute it. Once Equifax receives your dispute, it must reinvestigate the item for free. It generally has 30 days to finish, or up to 45 in some cases. Inaccurate, incomplete or unverifiable information must be deleted or corrected.
A credit report error can surface at a bad moment, such as when a loan is turned down, an apartment application stalls, or a report shows an account the consumer never opened or a debt paid long ago. A consumer in that position may wonder whether the company will listen, what to send, and whether the law does anything if nothing changes. This page explains the federal rules under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), the core statute for credit reporting across the United States. It covers what Equifax must do, what the business that reported the item must do, and what options remain if a dispute does not fix the problem.
What an Equifax Dispute Is and What Federal Law Requires
Equifax is a consumer reporting agency, a company that gathers information about people and sells reports built from it. It is one of the three nationwide credit bureaus, alongside Experian and TransUnion. In a 2025 order, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) described Equifax as collecting and organizing data on most adult Americans to generate consumer reports, which it sells to creditors and other businesses deciding whether to offer loans, jobs, housing and certain other products (CFPB).
A consumer report is defined in 15 U.S.C. § 1681a(d). It means a communication by a consumer reporting agency of information "bearing on a consumer's credit worthiness, credit standing, credit capacity, character, general reputation, personal characteristics," among other things. A dispute is a consumer's notice to the agency that an item in their file is wrong or incomplete.
The core duty appears in 15 U.S.C. § 1681i(a)(1)(A). When a consumer disputes "the completeness or accuracy of any item of information contained in a consumer's file," and notifies the agency directly or through a reseller, the agency "shall, free of charge, conduct a reasonable reinvestigation." A reinvestigation is the agency's second look at whether the disputed information is inaccurate. The agency must then record the item's current status or delete it. The FCRA overview on this site covers the statute more broadly.
Public regulatory record
Official agency pages record these actions involving Equifax:
- CFPB consent order, January 17, 2025. The Bureau found that Equifax violated the FCRA, including by failing to properly conduct reinvestigations, failing to prevent the improper reinsertion of previously deleted information, failing to provide adequate written notice of reinvestigation results, failing to follow reasonable accuracy procedures, and failing to block identity-theft information and give appropriate notice when blocks were declined or rescinded (CFPB).
- CFPB and FTC complaints and stipulated orders, July 22, 2019 (N.D. Ga.). The CFPB alleges that Equifax, Inc. engaged in unfair and deceptive practices in connection with the 2017 data breach of its systems, which the CFPB says affected approximately 147 million consumers (CFPB; FTC). The FTC's refunds page states that the claim deadline was January 22, 2024 (FTC).
- CFPB consent order, filed January 3, 2017. The Bureau identified violations involving the marketing of credit scores and advertising placed on AnnualCreditReport.com pages. Equifax consented "without admitting or denying any of the findings of fact or conclusions of law," except that it admitted the facts necessary to establish the Bureau's jurisdiction (consent order; CFPB).
What Can Be Disputed on an Equifax Credit Report
Any item that is inaccurate or incomplete may be disputed. The FCRA's standard is accuracy and completeness, not a fixed list of reasons. Common problems include:
- accounts that do not belong to the consumer
- an incorrect account status, such as an account shown as open when it was closed, or as delinquent when it was paid
- wrong balances
- wrong personal information, such as a name or address
Some of this information can come from a furnisher, a business that provides information about a consumer to a consumer reporting agency. Furnishers include lenders, card issuers and debt collectors.
Two sources of error tend to cause the most confusion. One is a mixed file, a credit file that contains information belonging to a different person, for example someone with a similar name or Social Security number. The other is identity theft, where someone uses another person's identifying information without permission, for example to open accounts in their name. Both can place debts on a report that the consumer never took on. The site's page on identity theft credit report errors discusses these problems more fully.
Correct negative information is a different matter. The FTC explains that a credit bureau can report most accurate negative information for seven years, and bankruptcy information for 10 years (FTC). A dispute addresses what is wrong or incomplete, not accurate history the consumer would rather not see.
This section concerns the FCRA only. The FCRA governs consumer reporting agencies, furnishers and users of consumer reports. Rules for how debt collectors communicate come from a different statute.
How to File a Dispute with Equifax: Online, by Mail, and by Phone
The CFPB lists three ways to reach Equifax with a dispute (CFPB):
- Online: www.equifax.com/personal/credit-report-services/credit-dispute/
- By phone: the number shown on the credit report, or (866) 349-5191. The FTC's page lists the same number.
- By mail: the CFPB points to www.equifax.com/personal/contact-us/ for the current mailing address.
The CFPB explains that fixing an error generally means contacting both the credit reporting company and the company that provided the information. For a written dispute, the FTC says the letter states that the consumer is disputing errors. It also says the letter includes the consumer's complete name and address, each item the consumer wants fixed and why, and copies, not originals, of supporting documents (FTC). The CFPB advises keeping copies of the dispute letter and the documents sent with it. It also provides instructions and a template letter.
A consumer may choose whichever channel suits them. The FTC states that, however a dispute is filed, the credit bureau has 30 days to investigate it. A consumer may also file a dispute with the furnisher directly. The CFPB describes sending those disputes in writing by certified mail, either to the furnisher's address on the report or to an address the furnisher specifies for credit reporting disputes.
What Happens After a Dispute Is Filed: The Reinvestigation Timeline
The clock starts when Equifax receives the dispute. Under 15 U.S.C. § 1681i(a)(1)(A), the agency must finish "before the end of the 30-day period beginning on the date on which the agency receives the notice." Under 15 U.S.C. § 1681i(a)(1)(B), that period may be extended by no more than 15 additional days if the agency receives relevant information from the consumer during the 30 days. The extension does not apply when, during the 30 days, the information is found inaccurate or incomplete or cannot be verified.
Several steps happen within that window:
- Notice to the furnisher. Within 5 business days of receiving the dispute, the agency must notify the business that provided the item and include "all relevant information regarding the dispute" it received from the consumer.
- Consumer evidence. The agency must "review and consider all relevant information submitted by the consumer."
- The outcome. If an item "is found to be inaccurate or incomplete or cannot be verified," the agency must promptly delete or modify it and notify the furnisher.
- Written results. The agency must give written notice of the results within 5 business days after completing the reinvestigation. That notice must include a revised consumer report and a notice of the consumer's right to add a statement of dispute.
The agency may stop a reinvestigation it reasonably finds frivolous or irrelevant, including when a consumer gives too little information to investigate. If it does, it must tell the consumer within 5 business days, with its reasons and the information it would need.
Deleted information may not be reinserted unless the furnisher certifies that it is complete and accurate. If it is reinserted, the agency must notify the consumer in writing within 5 business days.
What the FCRA Says About Furnisher Obligations
A furnisher has its own duties under the FCRA, separate from Equifax's duties. This matters because a credit bureau usually checks a disputed item with the business that reported it.
Under 15 U.S.C. § 1681s-2(b)(1), after a furnisher receives notice of a dispute from a consumer reporting agency, it must:
- conduct an investigation of the disputed information
- review all relevant information the agency provided
- report the results to the agency
- if the information is incomplete or inaccurate, report those results to all other consumer reporting agencies it furnished the information to that compile and maintain files on consumers on a nationwide basis
- if an item is found inaccurate or incomplete or cannot be verified, promptly modify it, delete it, or permanently block its reporting
Under 15 U.S.C. § 1681s-2(b)(2), the furnisher must finish this work within the period the agency has for its own reinvestigation.
Other duties apply to furnishers generally. Under 15 U.S.C. § 1681s-2(a)(3), when a consumer disputes information directly with a furnisher, the furnisher may not report that information to an agency without noting that it is disputed. The FTC adds that the credit bureau must then include a notice that the consumer is disputing the item.
These are FCRA duties. A debt collector that reports to Equifax is a furnisher for this purpose. A request to a collector to verify a debt under the debt collection statute is a separate process, explained on the site's FDCPA overview. It is not a credit report dispute.
When a Dispute Does Not Resolve the Error: Federal Rights and Next Steps
A dispute that comes back unchanged can feel like a closed door, but the FCRA leaves some options open. Under 15 U.S.C. § 1681i(b), "if the reinvestigation does not resolve the dispute, the consumer may file a brief statement setting forth the nature of the dispute." The agency may limit the statement to 100 words if it helps the consumer write a clear summary.
A consumer may also dispute with the furnisher directly or send new supporting documents. The CFPB's guidance covers submitting a complaint and what to do when a consumer disagrees with dispute results (CFPB). The FTC's guidance explains what the bureau and the furnisher must each do after a dispute (FTC).
The FCRA also sets out civil liability. Under 15 U.S.C. § 1681n(a), a person who willfully fails to comply with a requirement imposed under the FCRA with respect to a consumer is liable to that consumer, in general, for the sum of the following (15 U.S.C. § 1681n(a)(1)(B) sets a different amount for a natural person who obtains a consumer report under false pretenses or knowingly without a permissible purpose):
- actual damages, or damages of not less than $100 and not more than $1,000
- punitive damages as the court may allow
- in a successful action, costs and reasonable attorney's fees as determined by the court
Under 15 U.S.C. § 1681o, a person who is negligent in failing to comply is liable for actual damages and, in a successful action, costs and reasonable attorney's fees. Under 15 U.S.C. § 1681n(c) and § 1681o(b), when a court finds that an unsuccessful pleading, motion or other paper filed in connection with an action was filed in bad faith or for purposes of harassment, the court shall award the prevailing party attorney's fees reasonable in relation to the work expended in responding to it. Except as 15 U.S.C. § 1681s-2(c) provides, 15 U.S.C. §§ 1681n and 1681o do not apply to a violation of 15 U.S.C. § 1681s-2(a), which under 15 U.S.C. § 1681s-2(d) is enforced exclusively by the federal and State officials the FCRA identifies. For example, failing to conduct a reasonable reinvestigation within the statutory period may violate 15 U.S.C. § 1681i(a) if the consumer actually notified the agency of the dispute. Whether any particular situation violates the law, and whether the conduct was willful or negligent, depends on its facts. The site's consumer rights remedies page explains these provisions further.
If Equifax Is Reporting Something About You That Is Wrong
Credit report disputes turn on records: the item Equifax reported, what the consumer sent and when, how Equifax and the furnisher answered, and whether the item stayed, changed or came back. This page covers the federal FCRA dispute framework only. State law may add protections, and it differs from state to state.
A request for a consumer rights case review about an Equifax reporting problem can be made through Federal Consumer Rights.
