15 U.S.C. § 1681d — Disclosure of investigative consumer reports

(a) Notice that a report will be prepared. A person^* may not obtain or cause an investigative consumer report^* about a consumer^* unless: (1) the person clearly and accurately tells the consumer that a report may be made about applicable character, general reputation, personal characteristics, and way of living. The written notice must be mailed or otherwise delivered no later than 3 days after the report was first requested, and must say that the consumer may request the disclosures in subsection (b) and the written rights summary prepared under § 1681g(c). (2) The person certifies to the agency that the disclosures were made and that the person will comply with subsection (b).
(b) Nature and scope. After receiving the notice, the consumer may make a written request within a reasonable time. The person must then give a complete and accurate written disclosure of the nature and scope of the investigation, mailed or otherwise delivered within 5 days after receiving the request or after the report was first requested, whichever is later.
(c) Reasonable procedures. A person is not liable for violating (a) or (b) if the person proves by a preponderance of the evidence that, when the violation occurred, the person maintained reasonable procedures to ensure compliance.
(d) Prohibitions. (1) An agency may not prepare or provide an investigative report unless it received the requester’s certification under (a)(2). (2) For employment, an agency may not inquire if the employer’s or prospective employer’s inquiry would violate applicable Federal or State^* equal-employment-opportunity law or regulation. (3) Except as § 1681k otherwise provides, an agency may not provide a report containing public-record information about an arrest, indictment, conviction, civil judicial action, tax lien, or outstanding judgment unless it verified the information’s accuracy during the 30 days ending when the report is provided. (4) An agency may not prepare or provide a report containing adverse information obtained in a personal interview with a neighbor, friend, associate, acquaintance, or another person who knows the information, unless (A) the agency used reasonable procedures to confirm it from an additional source with independent and direct knowledge, or (B) the interviewed person was the best possible source.