Denied housing because of a CIC screening report?

Who CIC is and who relies on its reports

Contemporary Information Corp. (CIC) is a public records and screening company for the rental housing industry. The CFPB’s list of consumer reporting companies says CIC provides background screening services for landlords and residential real estate management companies. CIC’s website says it offers criminal records updated daily from courts across the country, housing court records including unlawful detainers and property damage claims, identity verification, and a compliance tool that filters results against criminal and housing record restrictions in the applicant’s zip code. It also supplies data to other consumer reporting agencies and property technology platforms.

According to Asurint, CIC has operated since 1986. On March 23, 2026, Asurint, an A&M Capital Partners (AMCP) portfolio company, announced that AMCP had acquired CIC, describing it as a Georgia-based provider with more than 36 million housing court records and about 1 billion criminal records. Asurint has its own guide.

Because CIC sells data to landlords and to other screening companies, a CIC record can surface in a tenant screening report even if your landlord never mentions CIC by name. The CFPB suggests asking the management company which screening company it uses.

Errors that show up on CIC reports

Eviction and criminal records are matched to people by name, birth date and address, and court files are often incomplete. That leads to problems like these:

• Wrong-person evictions. A case filed against someone with a similar name attached to your report.
• Outcomes left out. An eviction that was dismissed, settled or won by the tenant reported as though you lost.
• Sealed or expunged records. Eviction or criminal cases a court has sealed or expunged still being reported.
• Duplicates. The same case listed more than once, making your history look worse.
• Obsolete items. Civil cases, judgments and arrests older than the FCRA’s seven-year limit.
• Rubber-stamp disputes. A dispute closed without anyone pulling the court file.

How to dispute CIC

CIC’s Consumer Disputes page lists these channels:

1. Get your report. Use CIC’s online consumer portal at consumers.cicreports.com to request a copy of your report or your free annual report, or call 888-316-4242 (Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Eastern). The CFPB says you get a free report after an adverse action and a free annual disclosure of your eviction report on request.
2. File your dispute online, by fax or by mail. The same portal has a dispute form. You can also fax CIC Consumer Relations at 888-797-2254 or mail CIC Consumer Relations, 3700 Crestwood Pkwy, #300, Duluth, GA 30096. CIC says in-person visits are not available.
3. Include what CIC needs to find your file. For fax and mail requests, CIC asks for your full name, current and previous addresses, phone number, Social Security number, date of birth, a clear copy of your driver’s license or other state ID, and an explanation of your dispute.
4. Send the court record. A dismissal order, judgment in your favor, sealing or expungement order, or proof of a different birth date is the strongest proof.
5. Expunged evictions and freezes. CIC’s page links a separate online form for expunged evictions and says to call 888-316-4242 for security freezes and court expungement requests.
6. Trafficking survivors. CIC has a process for blocking adverse items that resulted from human trafficking.
7. Tell the landlord. Ask the property manager to reconsider once the record is corrected, and keep copies of everything.

How to contact CIC

• Online consumer portal (report requests and disputes): consumers.cicreports.com
• Consumer support phone: 888-316-4242, Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Eastern
• Fax: 888-797-2254, Attn: CIC Consumer Relations
• Mail: CIC Consumer Relations, 3700 Crestwood Pkwy, #300, Duluth, GA 30096

Your rights under the FCRA

• Accuracy (15 U.S.C. § 1681e(b)). CIC must follow reasonable procedures to assure maximum possible accuracy, which includes matching records to the right person and reporting how a case ended.
• Reinvestigation (§ 1681i). After you dispute, CIC must conduct a reasonable reinvestigation, free of charge, generally within 30 days, and correct or delete information that is inaccurate, incomplete or cannot be verified.
• File disclosure (§ 1681g). You may see all information in your file and its sources, including who has requested your report.
• Free disclosures (§ 1681j). You are entitled to a free copy within 60 days after an adverse action notice. The CFPB says CIC also provides a free annual disclosure of your eviction report on request.
• Reporting time limits (§ 1681c). Civil suits, judgments, arrest records and most other adverse items older than seven years may not be reported. Criminal convictions are not subject to that limit.
• Trafficking blocks (§ 1681c-3). A survivor of trafficking may ask a reporting agency to block adverse items that resulted from the trafficking.
• Adverse action notice (§ 1681m). A landlord that denies you or requires a higher deposit based on a CIC report must name the reporting company and explain your rights.

Can you sue CIC?

Yes, if CIC reported inaccurate information because it did not follow reasonable procedures, or if it failed to reasonably reinvestigate after you disputed. Examples include an eviction filed against someone else matched to you by name only, or a dismissed case reported as a judgment after you sent the dismissal order.

What you may recover. For a negligent violation, you may recover your actual damages, such as a lost apartment, higher deposits or rent, moving and temporary housing costs, and emotional distress, plus attorney’s fees and costs (15 U.S.C. § 1681o). For a willful violation, you may recover actual damages or statutory damages of $100 to $1,000, punitive damages, and fees and costs (§ 1681n).

The deadline. An FCRA lawsuit generally must be filed within two years after you discover the violation and no later than five years after it occurred (§ 1681p).

Keep the landlord’s denial, the screening report, your dispute and CIC’s response. If another screening company used CIC’s data, that company may also be responsible.

Get a free case review

If a CIC record cost you an apartment and the company would not fix it, act quickly. FCRA Attorneys represents consumers in federal court on contingency, so there is no fee unless we win. Contact us for a free case review, or see our tenant screening practice and the other companies we cover.

Questions about suing CIC (Contemporary Information Corp.)

Can I sue CIC?

Yes, if the facts support a claim. The CFPB lists CIC as a consumer reporting company that provides background screening for landlords and property managers. If CIC reports inaccurate information without reasonable procedures, or fails to reasonably reinvestigate your dispute, you may have a claim under the FCRA.

Who owns CIC?

Asurint, an A&M Capital Partners (AMCP) portfolio company, announced on March 23, 2026 that AMCP had acquired Contemporary Information Corporation. Asurint describes CIC as a Georgia-based provider of criminal public records and housing data for tenant screening that has operated since 1986.

How do I get my CIC report?

CIC's consumer disputes page offers online forms for a copy of your report, your free annual report and disputes, plus a phone line at 888-316-4242. The CFPB says CIC provides a free report after an adverse action and a free annual disclosure of your eviction (unlawful detainer) report on request.

What does it cost to bring a case?

There is no fee unless we win. FCRA Attorneys handles these cases on contingency, and the FCRA lets a successful consumer recover reasonable attorney's fees and costs from the company.

Related reading

• How to Dispute a Tenant Screening Report: Evictions, Sealed Records and Wrong-Person Errors
• Denied an Apartment Because of a Background Check: What to Do in the First Week
• Criminal Record Apartment Rights: What Landlords Can and Cannot Do

Sources

• CFPB consumer reporting companies list: Contemporary Information Corp. (CIC) (tenant screening for landlords; phone, mailing address, free report after adverse action, free annual eviction report)
• CIC Consumer Disputes page (online dispute and report forms, phone, fax, mailing address, ID requirements)
• CIC official website (criminal records, housing court records, identity verification)
• CIC: human trafficking survivors (blocking adverse items resulting from trafficking)
• Asurint: Asurint Enhances Powerful Data Asset with AMCP's Acquisition of CIC (March 23, 2026)

Updated November 2026. This page is general information, not legal advice.