CFPB's 2022 Rule: FCRA Leaves Room for State Laws

Source: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Decided: June 28, 2022
Bottom line: This 2022 guidance is no longer in effect. Whether a state credit reporting law is preempted is now for the courts, and the CFPB's current position favors broad preemption.

Background

Since 1970 the FCRA has preserved state laws on consumer reporting except to the extent they are inconsistent with the federal statute. In 1996 Congress added more specific preemption provisions. Section 1681t(b)(1) says no requirement or prohibition may be imposed under state law “with respect to any subject matter regulated under” a list of FCRA sections, including § 1681c (information contained in consumer reports) and § 1681s-2 (duties of furnishers). Section 1681t(b)(5) preempts state laws “with respect to the conduct required by the specific provisions of” other listed sections.

How broadly to read those words has real consequences. Read broadly, they could wipe out state laws that keep medical debt, old evictions, or arrest records off reports. Read narrowly, they leave states room to add protections. Earlier in 2022, in Consumer Data Industry Ass’n v. Frey, 26 F.4th 1 (1st Cir. 2022), the First Circuit rejected the industry argument that § 1681t(b)(1)(E) preempts every state law relating to information in consumer reports, calling that “not the most natural reading of the statute’s syntax and structure.”

What the rule does

On June 28, 2022, the CFPB issued an interpretive rule, published July 11, 2022, titled “The Fair Credit Reporting Act’s Limited Preemption of State Laws.” It concluded that both provisions “have a narrow and targeted scope.” Its key points:

The phrase “with respect to” limits § 1681t(b)(1) to state laws that concern the specific subject matter actually regulated in each listed section, not everything touching the same general topic. The rule quoted Frey that the phrase “necessarily reaches a subset of laws narrower than those that merely relate to information contained in consumer reports.”
Section 1681c regulates only certain topics, such as how long adverse information may appear. A state law forbidding bureaus from reporting medical debt, evictions, arrest records, or rental arrears, or from reporting them for a period of time, “would generally not be preempted,” and neither would a state law barring furnishers from furnishing such information.
Section 1681t(b)(5) preempts only state laws about the specific conduct the listed provisions require. A state could, for example, require disclosures in languages other than English.

Director Rohit Chopra said the interpretation “makes clear that federal law does not automatically hit delete on state data protections.” As an interpretive rule, it did not bind courts.

Later developments. On May 12, 2025, the CFPB withdrew the rule, along with dozens of other guidance documents. On October 28, 2025, it issued a new interpretive rule stating that the FCRA generally preempts state laws touching broad areas of credit reporting, including state medical debt reporting bans.

Our take

We thought the 2022 rule was a fair reading of the text. Congress chose “with respect to any subject matter regulated under” specific sections rather than a broad “relating to” clause, and the First Circuit had rejected the broadest industry reading. Industry groups argued the opposite: that a national reporting system needs national rules and that a patchwork of state laws raises costs and risks inconsistency. That concern is legitimate, and the 2025 rule adopts it.

The larger lesson is that interpretive rules come and go with administrations. Neither the 2022 rule nor its 2025 replacement has the force of law. Courts decide preemption, and a number of states have since passed medical debt reporting laws. Those laws can be challenged in court, and their fate will turn on judges reading § 1681t, not on agency guidance.

What it means if your report is wrong

Do not rely on the 2022 rule; it has been withdrawn. If your state has a law restricting what may appear on your credit or tenant screening report, that law may still protect you unless a court holds it preempted, and federal FCRA rights apply everywhere. Dispute errors in writing with each credit bureau and the furnisher, cite any state law you believe applies, and keep copies. Whether a state claim is available depends on your state and the item at issue, so it is worth having a lawyer look. A free case review can sort out which federal and state protections fit your situation, and there is no fee unless we win.

Sources

Primary

Commentary we reviewed

Commentary: CFPB issues interpretive rule on FCRA preemption (Consumer Finance Monitor, Ballard Spahr)

Updated November 1, 2026. "Our take" is the firm's opinion. This page is general information, not legal advice, and later decisions may change the law.