With your written permission, employers may obtain a limited copy of your credit report for employment purposes. When employers request your credit report, it generates a soft inquiry.
Soft inquiries are usually initiated by others, like companies making promotional offers of credit or your lender conducting periodic reviews of your existing credit accounts. Soft inquiries also occur when you check your own credit report or when you use credit monitoring services from companies like Experian. These inquiries do not impact your credit score.
Before an employer can receive a copy of your credit report, you must provide written permission for them to do so. If you provide written permission, the employer will receive a copy of your credit history that omits account numbers, birth date, spouse information, or any other information that could violate equal employment opportunity regulations. Employers will never receive your credit score.
Employment is the only instance in which written permission is specifically required under federal law.
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Scoped on: 2/19/2019
