A furnisher is a company that sends information about your accounts to credit bureaus, such as a bank, credit card issuer, auto lender, mortgage or student loan servicer, or debt collector. The FCRA requires furnishers to report accurately and to investigate disputes.
Credit bureaus such as Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion do not create most of the information in your credit report. They receive it from companies that do business with you. Those companies are called “furnishers.”
Common furnishers
- Banks and credit card issuers
- Auto lenders and finance companies
- Mortgage servicers
- Federal and private student loan servicers
- Collection agencies and debt buyers
- Some utilities, phone companies, and landlords
Regulation V defines a furnisher as an entity that furnishes information about consumers to a consumer reporting agency for inclusion in a consumer report. You are not a furnisher when you provide information about yourself.
What furnishers must do
Section 1681s-2 of the FCRA sets out their main duties:
- Not report information they know or have reasonable cause to believe is inaccurate
- Promptly correct and update information they learn is incomplete or inaccurate
- Report that information is disputed when you dispute it with them directly
- Report when you voluntarily closed an account
- Report the date of first delinquency on collections and charge-offs
- Investigate disputes forwarded by a credit bureau and fix, delete, or block inaccurate or unverifiable information
Regulation V adds requirements for written accuracy policies and for investigating many disputes sent directly to the furnisher.
Why it matters
When your credit report is wrong, the furnisher is often the source of the error. Disputing through the credit bureau puts both the bureau and the furnisher on notice. The furnisher’s duty to investigate a bureau-forwarded dispute can be enforced by consumers in court, while most of its other duties are enforced by government agencies.
If a furnisher keeps reporting information you have shown is wrong, a free case review can help, with no fee unless we win.
Related
- Companies we sue
- Capital One lawsuit guide
- Navient lawsuit guide
- Midland Credit Management lawsuit guide
Sources
- 15 U.S.C. § 1681s-2 (Cornell LII)
- 12 CFR § 1022.41 (eCFR): definitions, including furnisher
- 12 CFR § 1022.42 (eCFR): furnisher accuracy and integrity
- 12 CFR § 1022.43 (eCFR): direct disputes
Updated November 2026. This page is general information, not legal advice.