Credit Report Help for Human Trafficking Survivors

If accounts, loans or collections on your credit report came out of being trafficked, federal law gives you a way to have them blocked. Since 2022, the Fair Credit Reporting Act has required Equifax, Experian, TransUnion and every other consumer reporting agency to stop reporting negative information that resulted from trafficking once you send the right documentation.

This page explains what that protection covers, what to send, the deadlines the credit bureau has to meet, and what you can do if a bureau refuses.

What the law requires

The protection is in Section 605C of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1681c-3, which Congress added in December 2021 through the Debt Bondage Repair Act. It says a consumer reporting agency “may not furnish a consumer report containing any adverse item of information about a consumer that resulted from a severe form of trafficking in persons or sex trafficking if the consumer has provided trafficking documentation to the consumer reporting agency.”

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s rule, 12 C.F.R. § 1022.142, sets out how the process works. It applies to every consumer reporting agency, not only the three national bureaus.

Who this protection is for

It covers survivors of sex trafficking and of a “severe form of trafficking in persons,” as those terms are defined in the Trafficking Victims Protection Act. It reaches negative items that resulted from the trafficking. Examples include:

  • a credit card or loan a trafficker opened in your name;
  • debt you were forced or coerced into taking on;
  • late payments, charge-offs or collections on accounts the trafficker controlled.

What you send to the credit bureau

A complete submission has three parts.

  • Proof of identity.
  • A victim determination. This can be a determination that you are a victim of trafficking made by a federal, state or tribal government entity, or by a court. It can also come from a non-governmental organization, a human trafficking task force or an affiliated victim service provider that a government entity has authorized to make that determination. A signed statement from you also counts if one of those entities signs or certifies it.
  • A statement identifying the items. List each account or item that resulted from the trafficking, and give the bureau one way to contact you, such as an email address or a mailing address. The bureau may use that contact only for your submission. You or someone you designate may prepare this statement, but a credit repair company may not.

The bureau must accept your submission at the address it uses for disputes, and at any address or website it has set up specifically for trafficking blocks. Each bureau must post instructions on its website. The three national bureaus must also have a dedicated toll-free number for these requests.

The deadlines the bureau must meet

  • Four business days: the bureau must block the items you identified within four business days of receiving your submission.
  • Five business days: if something is missing, the bureau must tell you within five business days and try to resolve it with you.
  • 25 business days: the bureau must make a final decision no later than 25 business days after receiving your submission.
  • Five business days after the decision: the bureau must send you a notice that includes the outcome and its reasons if it declined, a free copy of your updated report, a description of how it reached the decision, a way to appeal or fix the submission, and the web page for filing a complaint with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

What the bureau may not do

The rule limits why a bureau can say no. A bureau may decline or remove a block only if it cannot reasonably confirm your identity, you did not provide a victim determination, or it cannot identify the items. Even then, it must first contact you and try to fix the problem.

A bureau may not question the facts described in your documentation, or whether the items resulted from trafficking, as a reason to refuse.

When a credit bureau refuses

Survivors have filed federal lawsuits against all three national bureaus over refused or ignored trafficking-block requests, including cases filed in Philadelphia’s federal court in 2026. The allegations in those cases include form-letter denials that gave no reason, rejection of determination letters from victim service organizations, and repeated demands for more documentation. These are allegations, not findings.

The Fair Credit Reporting Act allows a consumer to sue a consumer reporting agency that fails to comply with the Act’s requirements. If the failure is willful, you may recover actual damages or statutory damages of $100 to $1,000, punitive damages, and attorney’s fees. If it is negligent, you may recover actual damages and attorney’s fees. Our article on willful violations of the FCRA explains the difference.

If a bureau has refused your request, keep everything: your submission, proof of mailing or upload, and every letter or email the bureau sent back.

If you do not have a victim determination yet

You may still have options. If a trafficker opened accounts in your name without your permission, the Act’s separate identity-theft block may apply. Our identity theft page explains how that works.

You can also dispute any inaccurate item directly with each bureau. Our dispute letter guide shows how.

A victim service organization may be able to help you obtain a determination.

Your privacy

What you tell me is confidential. Survivors who bring these cases commonly ask the court at the outset for permission to proceed under their initials or a pseudonym, and the published complaints in these cases are filed that way.

There are deadlines to sue

A claim under the Fair Credit Reporting Act must be brought by the earlier of two years after you discover the violation or five years after it occurs (15 U.S.C. § 1681p). Our article on the FCRA statute of limitations explains how the dates are counted.

Common questions

Do I need a police report?
The rule does not list a police report as a requirement. What it requires is a victim determination from one of the sources described above: a government entity, a court, or an authorized organization or task force.

Do I have to send this to every bureau?
Each consumer reporting agency has its own obligation, so send your submission to each bureau that reports the items.

What if the bureau blocked some items but not others?
The bureau’s notice must give its reasons and a way to appeal or fix the submission. A partial refusal is also something a lawyer can review.

If you need help now

If you are in danger or need support, the National Human Trafficking Hotline is available at 1-888-373-7888, or text 233733.

We handle Fair Credit Reporting Act cases against Equifax, Experian, TransUnion and other consumer reporting agencies, including refused requests to block information that resulted from trafficking. You pay nothing unless we win.

Admitted in Pennsylvania and New Jersey; available to appear pro hac vice in other federal courts.

Related reading: identity theft on your credit report · credit reporting errors · Equifax errors · Experian errors

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