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On or around February 4, 2026, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) published a notice reminding consumers that federal law requires a dispute to be submitted directly to a credit reporting agency before a complaint is filed with the CFPB regarding inaccurate or incomplete information on a consumer report. The notice cites the Fair Credit Reporting Act, which directs consumers to first pursue the dispute process with the reporting agency under 15 U.S.C. § 1681i(a) and (e) before seeking CFPB intervention. This notice clarifies that CFPB complaint intake operates as a secondary step and not a substitute for the statutory dispute process set forth in the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
The same requirement appears within the CFPB Consumer Complaint Portal itself. Here, the agency states that consumers must first dispute inaccurate or incomplete information with the credit reporting agency and warns that premature submissions slow the system for consumers who follow the required process. The portal further asks whether the consumer submitted a dispute more than 45 days earlier or whether the dispute no longer remains pending, and it instructs consumers not to submit a complaint if those conditions do not apply.
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If you have questions about this publication, please contact Adam Friedman, Ralph Vartolo or Michael DeRosa,
Friedman Vartolo LLP, 1325 Franklin Avenue, Suite 160, Garden City, NY 11530, Phone: (212) 471-5100 | Fax: (212) 471-5150.
