Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act

The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003 (FACT Act or FACTA, Pub. L.Tooltip Public Law (United States) 108–159 (text) (PDF)) is a U.S. federal law, passed by the United States Congress on November 22, 2003, and signed by President George W. Bush on December 4, 2003, as an amendment to the Fair Credit Reporting Act. The act allows consumers to request and obtain a free credit report once every 12 months from each of the three nationwide consumer credit reporting companies (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion). In cooperation with the Federal Trade Commission, the three major credit reporting agencies set up the web site AnnualCreditReport.com to provide free access to annual credit reports.

Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act
Other short titlesFinancial Literacy and Education Improvement Act
Long titleAn Act to amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act, to prevent identity theft, improve resolution of consumer disputes, improve the accuracy of consumer records, make improvements in the use of, and consumer access to, credit information, and for other purposes.
Acronyms (colloquial)FACTA, FLEIA
NicknamesFair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003
Enacted bythe 108th United States Congress
EffectiveDecember 4, 2003
Citations
Public law108-159
Statutes at Large117 Stat. 1952
Codification
Titles amended15 U.S.C.: Commerce and Trade
U.S.C. sections amended
Legislative history
  • Introduced in the House as H.R. 2622 by Spencer Bachus (R-AL) on June 26, 2003
  • Committee consideration by House Financial Services, Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
  • Passed the House on September 10, 2003 (392-30, Roll call vote 499, via Clerk.House.gov)
  • Passed the Senate on November 5, 2003 (95-2, Roll call vote 437, via Senate.gov)
  • Reported by the joint conference committee on November 21, 2003; agreed to by the House on November 21, 2003 (379-49, Roll call vote 667, via Clerk.House.gov) and by the Senate on November 22, 2003 (agreed unanimous consent)
  • Signed into law by President George W. Bush on December 4, 2003

The act also contains provisions to help reduce identity theft, such as the ability for individuals to place alerts on their credit histories if identity theft is suspected, or if deploying overseas in the military, thereby making fraudulent applications for credit more difficult. Further, it requires secure disposal of consumer information.

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