A furnisher is a company that sends information about you to a credit bureau, such as a bank, card issuer, lender, servicer, or collection agency. The FCRA requires furnishers to report accurately, correct errors, and investigate disputes the bureaus forward to them.
Also called: data furnisher, information furnisher, creditor reporting, 15 U.S.C. 1681s-2
What it means
The credit bureaus don’t create most of what’s on your report. They get it from furnishers. Regulation V, 12 CFR § 1022.41(c), defines a furnisher as an entity that furnishes information about consumers to one or more consumer reporting agencies. In practice that means banks, card issuers, auto lenders, mortgage and student loan servicers, collection agencies, and debt buyers.
How big the system is
The CFPB’s 2012 study of the credit reporting system found that the three nationwide bureaus each received data from about 10,000 furnishers, covering more than 1.3 billion accounts. A small number of large institutions supplied most of it; collection agencies were more fragmented. Furnishers usually send updates monthly in a standard electronic format called Metro 2.
A furnisher’s duties
Under 15 U.S.C. § 1681s-2(a), a furnisher must not report information it knows or has reasonable cause to believe is inaccurate. It must correct and update information it learns is wrong, note when you dispute an item, and report the month and year an account first went delinquent when it reports a collection or charge-off. You can also send some disputes straight to the furnisher (a direct dispute).
Under § 1681s-2(b), when a bureau forwards your dispute, the furnisher must:
- Investigate the disputed information.
- Review all relevant information the bureau sent.
- Report the results to the bureau.
- Tell the other bureaus if the information was wrong.
- Modify, delete, or permanently block inaccurate, incomplete, or unverifiable information.
It has to finish within the bureau’s deadline, usually 30 days.
Common errors
- Wrong balance, status, or payment history after a payoff, settlement, or bankruptcy.
- A false date of first delinquency that keeps old debt on the report.
- Reporting an account to the wrong person.
- “Verifying” a disputed account through e-OSCAR by matching the data to its own records without looking at what you sent.
How to dispute it
Dispute with the bureau in writing and include your documents. A bureau dispute triggers the furnisher’s § 1681s-2(b) duties. You can also write the furnisher directly, but keep the bureau dispute going.
When it can be an FCRA violation
Consumers generally can’t sue a furnisher under § 1681s-2(a); those duties are enforced by government agencies (§ 1681s-2(c), (d)). The duties in § 1681s-2(b), which start when a bureau forwards your dispute, can be enforced in a private lawsuit.
If a furnisher keeps reporting an error after you disputed it with the bureau, FCRA Attorneys offers a free case review, and you pay no fee unless we win.
Related
- Consumer reporting agency
- Tradeline
- Metro 2 format
- e-OSCAR
- ACDV (automated consumer dispute verification)
- Direct dispute
- Reinvestigation
- How to Dispute Credit Report Errors With Equifax, Experian and TransUnion
- How to Write a Credit Report Dispute Letter That Gets Investigated
- Do You Still Have an FCRA Claim After the Error Was Fixed?
Sources
- 15 U.S.C. § 1681s-2, responsibilities of furnishers of information (Cornell LII)
- 12 CFR § 1022.41, definitions for furnisher rules (Cornell LII)
- CFPB, Key Dimensions and Processes in the U.S. Credit Reporting System (2012)
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.