An AUD is the electronic form a lender, collector or other furnisher sends through e-OSCAR to correct or delete an account it already reported, without waiting for its next regular monthly update. Unlike an ACDV, the furnisher starts it and chooses which bureaus receive it.
Also called: AUD, automated universal dataform, automated universal data form, universal data form
What it means
Most lenders and collectors update the bureaus in a regular batch, often once a month. When a furnisher needs to fix an account sooner, it can send an AUD, short for Automated Universal Dataform. e-OSCAR’s own getting-started page says AUDs are started by the furnisher to request out-of-cycle updates, and are routed to the bureaus the furnisher specifies. It also says e-OSCAR cannot be used to add a new record to a consumer’s file, so an AUD changes or deletes an account that is already there.
The difference from an ACDV is who starts it. An ACDV begins with a bureau passing along your dispute. An AUD begins with the furnisher.
Where it comes from
The FCRA requires furnishers to fix what they get wrong. Under 15 U.S.C. § 1681s-2(a)(2), a furnisher that learns it reported incomplete or inaccurate information must promptly notify the bureaus and send the correction. Under § 1681s-2(b), after investigating a dispute from a bureau, it must report changes to every nationwide bureau it reported to.
The CFPB’s 2012 report describes the last step of the dispute process the same way: when an account is changed or deleted, the furnisher is supposed to send the change to each bureau it reports to. An AUD is one way a furnisher can send a correction between monthly cycles.
Common problems
- A furnisher agrees to fix an account, after a direct dispute or a settlement, but never sends the AUD, so the error stays until the next cycle or longer.
- The AUD fixes one bureau’s report but not the others.
- A later regular update from the furnisher repeats the old information.
- The bureau receives the correction but the old information stays on the report.
How to use this when you dispute
If a lender or collector tells you it will correct your report, ask in writing when and how it sent the update, and to which bureaus. Get any confirmation number. Check all three reports about 30 days later. If the correction is missing at one bureau, dispute there and include the furnisher’s letter.
When it can be an FCRA violation
A furnisher that promises a correction but keeps reporting the old information may run into its duty to correct under § 1681s-2. A bureau that receives a correction and keeps reporting the error may have problems under § 1681e(b). Records of AUDs can matter in FCRA cases because they show what the furnisher told the bureau and when.
If a company promised to fix your report and the error is still there, FCRA Attorneys offers a free case review, and you pay no fee unless we win.
Related
- e-OSCAR
- ACDV (automated consumer dispute verification)
- Furnisher
- Metro 2 format
- Direct dispute
- Reinvestigation
- How to Dispute Credit Report Errors With Equifax, Experian and TransUnion
- Dispute letter builder
Sources
- e-OSCAR, Getting Started (Online Data Exchange LLC)
- CFPB, Key Dimensions and Processes in the U.S. Credit Reporting System (2012)
- 15 U.S.C. § 1681s-2, responsibilities of furnishers of information (Cornell LII)
Updated November 2026. This glossary is written by FCRA Attorneys from public sources. It is general information, not legal advice, and is not affiliated with any credit bureau or industry association.