Regulation of Consumer Credit Reporting Agencies (including security freeze)
Texas Credit Reporting Law
Credit reporting · Financial
Texas's state credit reporting law limits consumer reports to permissible purposes, gives consumers disclosure and dispute rights, and lets consumers and protected minors place security alerts and freezes. Agencies must place a freeze within five business days of a request and honor freezes placed at other agencies.
- Where
- Texas
- Citation
- Tex. Bus. & Com. Code ch. 20 (20.01-20.31)
- Status
- In force
- Last amended
- 2025-04-01
- Enforced by
- Texas Attorney General; consumers
- People can sue
- Yes
- Penalties
- Willful violations: greater of three times actual damages or $1,000 plus fees; negligent: greater of actual damages or $500 (20.09). Attorney general civil penalties up to $2,000 per violation per day and injunctions (20.11). Violations are also DTPA violations (20.12).
- Applies to
- Consumer reporting agencies and users of consumer reports (20.02)
- Check verification and check guarantee services (20.021)
- Protected consumers (minors and incapacitated persons) and their representatives (subch. E, 20.21-20.31)
Rights it gives people
- Consumers may obtain disclosure of their files on request with proper identification.Tex. Bus. & Com. Code 20.03
- Consumers may request a security alert, and agencies must keep a toll-free number for alert requests.Tex. Bus. & Com. Code 20.031-20.033
- Place a security freeze within five business days of a proper written request, explain how to lift or remove it, and honor freezes placed by other agencies.Tex. Bus. & Com. Code 20.034, 20.039
- Consumers may dispute the accuracy of file information and have it reinvestigated and corrected.Tex. Bus. & Com. Code 20.06-20.07
- Representatives of protected consumers (such as minors) may create a record and place a freeze free of charge.Tex. Bus. & Com. Code 20.25, 20.29
Practices it requires
- Furnish consumer reports only for permissible purposes.Tex. Bus. & Com. Code 20.02
Sources
- Official text
- Tex. Bus. & Com. Code ch. 20 (Texas Legislature, Texas Constitution and Statutes)
- Tex. Bus. & Com. Code ch. 20, statute text file served by the Texas Legislative Council
Checked against these sources on 2026-09-24 by research agent (Claude), primary sources.
Unverified: Original enactment date not traced (effective_date null). The 2025-04-01 amendment (H.B. 4611, 2023) content was not reviewed. | 20.04 permits reasonable charges for some freeze services; whether current law makes adult freezes free was not confirmed.
Research reference, not legal advice.