NRS: CHAPTER 598C - CONSUMER REPORTING

[Rev. 6/29/2024 4:35:00 PM--2023]

CHAPTER 598C - CONSUMER REPORTING

GENERAL PROVISIONS

NRS 598C.010 Definitions.

NRS 598C.020 “Adverse action” defined.

NRS 598C.030 “Commissioner” defined.

NRS 598C.040 “Consumer” defined.

NRS 598C.050 “Consumer credit” defined.

NRS 598C.060 “Consumer report” defined.

NRS 598C.070 “File” defined.

NRS 598C.080 “Medical information” defined.

NRS 598C.090 “Person” defined.

NRS 598C.100 “Reporting agency” defined.

NRS 598C.105 “Security freeze” defined.

GENERAL RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS

NRS 598C.110 Duties of reporting agency.

NRS 598C.120 Person shall not procure consumer report to resell or disclose information in report; exception.

NRS 598C.130 Disclosures to consumer regarding consumer report.

NRS 598C.140 Furnishing consumer report for determination of whether to extend credit.

NRS 598C.150 Purging of information from files of reporting agency; disclosure of purged information.

NRS 598C.160 Duties of reporting agency when consumer disputes accuracy of information in its files.

NRS 598C.170 Person who takes adverse action based on consumer report to provide certain information to consumer.

ADMINISTRATION AND ENFORCEMENT

NRS 598C.180 Commissioner of Consumer Affairs to administer chapter; duties of Attorney General.

NRS 598C.190 Remedies of consumer for willful failure of reporting agency to comply with provisions of chapter.

NRS 598C.200 Remedies of consumer for negligent failure of reporting agency to comply with provisions of chapter.

SECURITY FREEZES

NRS 598C.300 Duty of reporting agency to place security freeze in file of consumer upon request; procedures; use of personal identification number or password; security freeze must not be considered adverse factor against consumer.

NRS 598C.310 Duty of reporting agency to provide written disclosure of rights of consumer regarding security freeze; form of written disclosure.

NRS 598C.320 Fees; exception to payment of fees for certain consumers.

NRS 598C.330 Duty of reporting agency to provide notice of changes made to consumer file; exceptions.

NRS 598C.340 Reporting agency prohibited from providing consumer report when security freeze in effect; third party may deem credit application incomplete under certain circumstances.

NRS 598C.350 Temporary release of consumer report upon request of consumer.

NRS 598C.360 Removal of security freeze upon request of consumer.

NRS 598C.370 Removal of security freeze by reporting agency; notice to consumer.

NRS 598C.380 Release of consumer report by reporting agency to authorized persons.

NRS 598C.390 Companies not required to place security freeze in file of consumer.

_________

GENERAL PROVISIONS

NRS 598C.010 Definitions. As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires, the words and terms defined in NRS 598C.020 to 598C.105, inclusive, have the meanings ascribed to them in those sections.

(Added to NRS by 1993, 2459; A 2005, 1524)

NRS 598C.020 “Adverse action” defined.

1. “Adverse action” includes:

(a) The denial of, increase in any charge for or reduction in the amount of insurance for personal, family or household purposes;

(b) The denial of employment or any other decision for employment purposes that adversely affects a current or prospective employee; and

(c) An action or determination with respect to a consumer’s application for credit that is adverse to the interests of the consumer.

2. The term does not include:

(a) A refusal to extend additional credit under an existing credit arrangement if:

(1) The applicant is delinquent or otherwise in default with respect to the arrangement; or

(2) The additional credit would exceed a previously established credit limit; or

(b) A refusal or failure at the point of sale to authorize a specific transaction on an existing account.

(Added to NRS by 1993, 2459)

NRS 598C.030 “Commissioner” defined. “Commissioner” means the Commissioner of Consumer Affairs.

(Added to NRS by 1993, 2460; R temp. 2009, 2732; R temp. 2011, 2652; R temp. 2013, 1054; R temp. 2015, 3653; R temp. 2017, 2254; R temp. 2019, 2501)

NRS 598C.040 “Consumer” defined. “Consumer” means a person who uses economic goods.

(Added to NRS by 1993, 2460)

NRS 598C.050 “Consumer credit” defined. “Consumer credit” means credit granted to a natural person to finance the purchase of goods that directly satisfy human wants or to defray personal or family expenses.

(Added to NRS by 1993, 2460)

NRS 598C.060 “Consumer report” defined.

1. “Consumer report” means any communication, written or oral, by a reporting agency regarding the payment history of a particular consumer, including information regarding his or her credit worthiness, credit standing or credit capacity, which is intended for present or future use in whole or in part to serve as a factor in determining the consumer’s eligibility for:

(a) Credit or insurance to be used primarily for personal, family or household purposes;

(b) Purposes relating to employment; or

2. The term does not include:

(a) A report containing information solely as to transactions or experiences between the consumer and the person making the report;

(b) An authorization or approval of a specific extension of credit directly or indirectly by the issuer of a credit card or similar device;

(c) A report in which a person who has been requested by a third party to make a specific extension of credit directly or indirectly to a consumer conveys his or her decision with respect to the request, if the third party advises the consumer of the name and address of the person to whom the request was made and the person makes the disclosures required pursuant to NRS 598C.170;

(d) A report solely conveying a decision whether to guarantee a check in response to a request by a third party; or

(e) A report created or issued by or to a person licensed pursuant to chapter 463 of NRS relating to any extension of credit by the licensee.

(Added to NRS by 1993, 2460)

NRS 598C.070 “File” defined. “File” includes all of the information on the consumer which is recorded and retained by a reporting agency regardless of how the information is stored.

(Added to NRS by 1993, 2460)

NRS 598C.080 “Medical information” defined. “Medical information” means information or records relating to medical treatment or condition which is obtained from a licensed provider of health care or medical facility.

(Added to NRS by 1993, 2460)

NRS 598C.090 “Person” defined. “Person” includes a governmental entity.

(Added to NRS by 1993, 2460)

NRS 598C.100 “Reporting agency” defined.

1. “Reporting agency” means a person who, for fees, dues or on a cooperative nonprofit basis, regularly engages in whole or in part in the business of assembling or evaluating information regarding the credit of or other information regarding consumers to furnish consumer reports to third parties, regardless of the means or facility of commerce used to prepare or furnish the consumer reports.

2. The term does not include:

(a) A person solely for the reason that he or she conveys a decision regarding whether to guarantee a check in response to a request by a third party;

(b) A person who obtains or creates a consumer report and provides the report or information contained in it to a subsidiary or affiliate; or

(Added to NRS by 1993, 2460)

NRS 598C.105 “Security freeze” defined. “Security freeze” means a notice that is placed in the file of a consumer at the request of the consumer pursuant to NRS 598C.300.

(Added to NRS by 2005, 1519)

GENERAL RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS

NRS 598C.110 Duties of reporting agency. A reporting agency:

1. Shall include with any written disclosure to a consumer a summary of his or her rights under this chapter.

2. Shall not include medical information in its files.

3. Shall include in any consumer report information concerning a consumer’s delinquency in paying support for a child, to the extent that this information is provided in a format acceptable to the reporting agency by the Division of Welfare and Supportive Services of the Department of Health and Human Services or from the district attorney of the county in which the consumer resides or resided when the delinquency occurred.

(Added to NRS by 1993, 2461)

NRS 598C.120 Person shall not procure consumer report to resell or disclose information in report; exception. A person shall not procure a consumer report to resell or disclose the report or the information contained in the report unless the person discloses to the reporting agency which originally furnished the report:

1. The identity of the intended ultimate user of the report or information; and

2. The only purposes for which the information will be used.

(Added to NRS by 1993, 2461)

NRS 598C.130 Disclosures to consumer regarding consumer report. Upon request and information sufficient to identify a consumer, a reporting agency shall:

1. Clearly and accurately disclose to the consumer the nature and substance of the consumer report in its files which relates to him or her at the time of the request, and disclose the names of the institutional sources of information. If the consumer requests, the reporting agency shall provide a readable copy of the consumer report.

2. Disclose the name of each person who has received from the reporting agency information concerning him or her:

(a) Within the preceding 2 years for purposes of employment, promotion, reassignment or retention as an employee; or

(b) Within the preceding 6 months for any other purpose.

(Added to NRS by 1993, 2461)

NRS 598C.140 Furnishing consumer report for determination of whether to extend credit.

1. A reporting agency may furnish a consumer report concerning a consumer for an extension of credit which he or she did not initiate only if:

(a) The contemplated transaction represents a firm offer of credit to those consumers who meet specific criteria determined by the person; or

(b) He or she has not requested that his or her name and address be excluded from any list to be provided for such a purpose.

2. This section does not prohibit a reporting agency from furnishing information to review an account or collect an account if there is an existing business relationship or the account has been assigned to a third party for collection.

3. As used in this section, “firm offer of credit” means an offer of credit based on a consumer report provided by the reporting agency, either directly to the creditor or through a third party, that cannot be rescinded or changed by the creditor unless the information provided by the reporting agency has materially changed as of the time the creditor received the accepted offer and the creditor is able to revoke the accepted offer or renew the offer on different terms.

(Added to NRS by 1993, 2461)

NRS 598C.150 Purging of information from files of reporting agency; disclosure of purged information. A reporting agency shall periodically purge from its files and after purging shall not disclose:

1. Except as otherwise provided in NRS 463.334, bankruptcies whose dates of adjudication precede the report by more than 10 years. A report of adjudication must include, if known, the chapter of Title 11 of the United States Code under which the case arose.

2. Except as otherwise provided by a specific statute, including, without limitation, NRS 463.334, any other civil judgment, a report of criminal proceedings, or other adverse information, excluding a record of a conviction of a crime, which precedes the report by more than 7 years.

(Added to NRS by 1993, 2462; A 2015, 2719)

NRS 598C.160 Duties of reporting agency when consumer disputes accuracy of information in its files.

1. If a consumer disputes the accuracy of any information in the files of a reporting agency which relates to him or her, and the reporting agency is made aware of the dispute by him or her, the reporting agency shall, within 5 business days after becoming aware of the dispute, notify any institutional sources of the information and, as soon as is reasonably possible but not later than 30 days, complete a reinvestigation of the accuracy of the information unless the dispute is determined by the reporting agency to be frivolous or irrelevant.

2. If the reporting agency concludes that the dispute is frivolous or irrelevant, it shall so notify the consumer. If it determines that the information is incorrect or can no longer be verified, it shall correct its files accordingly and notify the consumer.

3. No information deleted pursuant to this section may be reinserted unless:

(a) The person furnishing the information uses reasonable procedures to ensure the maximum possible accuracy of the information; and

(b) The reporting agency notifies the consumer within 5 business days after the reinsertion and offers him or her the opportunity to add to its file his or her own brief statement disputing or adding to the information.

(Added to NRS by 1993, 2462)

NRS 598C.170 Person who takes adverse action based on consumer report to provide certain information to consumer. If a person takes adverse action with respect to a consumer which is based on a consumer report from a reporting agency, the person shall:

1. Notify the consumer of the action taken;

2. Furnish him or her with the name and address of the reporting agency; and

3. Inform him or her of his or her right to obtain a copy of the consumer report from the agency.

(Added to NRS by 1993, 2462)

ADMINISTRATION AND ENFORCEMENT

NRS 598C.180 Commissioner of Consumer Affairs to administer chapter; duties of Attorney General.

1. The provisions of this chapter must be administered by the Commissioner of Consumer Affairs.

2. The Attorney General shall provide opinions for the Commissioner on all questions of law relating to the construction, interpretation or administration of this chapter.

3. The Attorney General shall represent the Consumer Affairs Unit of the Department of Business and Industry in any action or proceeding brought by or against the Commissioner pursuant to any of the provisions of this chapter.

(Added to NRS by 1993, 2462; R temp. 2009, 2732; R temp. 2011, 2652; R temp. 2013, 1054; R temp. 2015, 3653; R temp. 2017, 2254; R temp. 2019, 2501; A 2021, 2745)

NRS 598C.190 Remedies of consumer for willful failure of reporting agency to comply with provisions of chapter. If a reporting agency or user of information willfully fails to comply with any provision of this chapter with respect to any consumer, the reporting agency is liable to that consumer in an amount equal to the sum of:

1. Any actual damages sustained by the consumer as a result of the violation;

2. Such amount of punitive damages as the court may allow; and

3. The costs of the action plus reasonable attorney’s fees.

(Added to NRS by 1993, 2462)

NRS 598C.200 Remedies of consumer for negligent failure of reporting agency to comply with provisions of chapter. If a reporting agency or user of information negligently fails to comply with any provision of this chapter with respect to any consumer, the reporting agency is liable to that consumer in an amount equal to the sum of:

1. Any actual damages sustained by the consumer as a result of the violation; and

2. The costs of the action plus reasonable attorney’s fees.

(Added to NRS by 1993, 2463)

SECURITY FREEZES

1. A consumer may place a security freeze in his or her file by making a request in writing by certified mail to the reporting agency. At the time of the request, the consumer must provide to the reporting agency sufficient identification to establish the identity of the consumer.

2. A reporting agency shall place a security freeze in the file of a consumer not later than 5 business days after the reporting agency receives a request from the consumer to place the security freeze in his or her file.

3. Not later than 10 business days after the placement of the security freeze in the file of the consumer, the reporting agency shall send written confirmation to the consumer of the placement of the security freeze in his or her file and provide the consumer with:

(a) A unique personal identification number or password, which is not the social security number of the consumer, to be used by the consumer to authorize the temporary release of the consumer report pursuant to NRS 598C.350 or the removal of a security freeze from the file pursuant to NRS 598C.360;

(b) Information explaining the procedures by which a consumer may contact the reporting agency to authorize the temporary release of his or her consumer report pursuant to NRS 598C.350 or the removal of a security freeze from his or her file pursuant to NRS 598C.360; and

4. A consumer may request in writing a replacement personal identification number or password. At the time of the request, the consumer must provide to the reporting agency sufficient identification to establish the identity of the consumer. Not later than 10 business days after receiving the request, the reporting agency shall provide the consumer with a new, unique personal identification number or password, which is not the social security number of the consumer, to be used by the consumer instead of the number or password that was provided pursuant to paragraph (a) of subsection 3.

5. Except as otherwise provided in NRS 598C.350, 598C.360 and 598C.370, a reporting agency shall not remove a security freeze placed in the file of a consumer.

6. The presence of a security freeze in the file of a consumer must not be considered to be an adverse factor in the consumer’s credit worthiness, credit standing or credit capacity.

(Added to NRS by 2005, 1519)

NRS 598C.310 Duty of reporting agency to provide written disclosure of rights of consumer regarding security freeze; form of written disclosure. If a consumer requests that a security freeze be placed in his or her file, a reporting agency shall provide a written disclosure of the rights of the consumer. The written disclosure is sufficient if it is in substantially the following form:

You have a right to place a security freeze in your file which will prohibit a reporting agency from releasing any information in your file without your express authorization. A security freeze must be requested in writing by certified mail. The security freeze is designed to prevent a reporting agency from releasing your consumer report without your consent. However, you should be aware that using a security freeze to take control over who is allowed access to the personal and financial information in your file may delay, interfere with or prohibit the timely approval of any subsequent request or application you make regarding a new loan, credit, mortgage, insurance, government services or payments, rental housing, employment, investment, license, cellular telephone, utilities, digital signature, Internet credit card transaction or other services, including an extension of credit at point of sale. When you place a security freeze in your file, you will be provided a personal identification number or password to use if you choose to remove the security freeze from your file or to authorize the temporary release of your consumer report for a specific person or period after the security freeze is in place. To provide that authorization, you must contact the reporting agency and provide all the following:

1. Sufficient identification to verify your identity.

2. Your personal identification number or password provided by the reporting agency.

3. A statement that you choose to remove the security freeze from your file or that you authorize the reporting agency to temporarily release your consumer report. If you authorize the temporary release of your consumer report, you must name the person who is to receive your consumer report or the period for which your consumer report must be available.

A reporting agency must remove the security freeze from your file or authorize the temporary release of your consumer report not later than 3 business days after receiving the above information.

A security freeze does not apply to certain persons, including a person, or collection agencies acting on behalf of a person, with whom you have an existing account that requests information in your consumer report for the purposes of reviewing or collecting the account.

(Added to NRS by 2005, 1520)

NRS 598C.320 Fees; exception to payment of fees for certain consumers.

1. Except as otherwise provided in this section, a reporting agency may charge a consumer a fee, not to exceed $10, to place, remove or temporarily release a security freeze on his or her file.

2. A reporting agency may not charge a consumer the fee set forth in subsection 1 to place a security freeze in his or her file, to temporarily release his or her consumer report for a specific period or to a specific person, or to remove a security freeze from his or her file if:

(a) The consumer is 65 years of age or older; or

(b) The consumer is a victim of identity theft and the consumer submits, at the time the security freeze is requested, a valid copy of a police report, investigative report or complaint which the consumer has filed with a law enforcement agency regarding the unlawful use of the personal information of the consumer by another person.

3. On January 1 of each year, a reporting agency may increase the fees set forth in subsection 1 based proportionally on changes to the Consumer Price Index of All Urban Consumers, as determined by the United States Department of Labor, with fractional changes rounded to the nearest 25 cents.

(Added to NRS by 2005, 1520; A 2007, 61)

NRS 598C.330 Duty of reporting agency to provide notice of changes made to consumer file; exceptions.

1. After a security freeze has been placed in the file of a consumer, a reporting agency shall not make any changes to the file of the consumer relating to:

(a) The name of the consumer;

(b) The date of birth of the consumer;

(d) The address of the consumer,

Ê unless the reporting agency sends written confirmation of the change to the consumer not later than 30 calendar days after the change is posted to the file of the consumer.

2. If the reporting agency changes the address of the consumer, the reporting agency must send written confirmation of the change of address to both the new address and the former address of the consumer.

3. The provisions of this section do not require a reporting agency to send written confirmation to a consumer concerning technical corrections made by the reporting agency to information in the file of the consumer, including, without limitation, technical corrections involving the abbreviation of a name or street, the transposition of numbers or letters, or the misspelling of a word.

(Added to NRS by 2005, 1521)

NRS 598C.340 Reporting agency prohibited from providing consumer report when security freeze in effect; third party may deem credit application incomplete under certain circumstances.

1. Except as otherwise provided in NRS 598C.350 to 598C.380, inclusive, if a security freeze has been placed in the file of a consumer, a reporting agency shall not provide a consumer report of that consumer to any person.

2. If, in connection with an application for credit or any other use, a third party requests access to a consumer report on which a security freeze is in effect and the consumer does not allow his or her consumer report to be accessed for that specific third party or period of time, the third party may treat the application as incomplete.

(Added to NRS by 2005, 1521)

NRS 598C.350 Temporary release of consumer report upon request of consumer.

1. To authorize the temporary release of a consumer report after a security freeze has been placed in the file of the consumer, the consumer must contact the reporting agency and request that his or her consumer report be temporarily released to a specific person or for a specific period. At the time of the request, the consumer must provide to the reporting agency:

(a) Sufficient identification to establish the identity of the consumer;

(b) The personal identification number or password provided by the reporting agency pursuant to paragraph (a) of subsection 3 of NRS 598C.300; and

(c) Information regarding the specific person or the specific period for which the consumer report must be temporarily released.

2. A reporting agency that receives a request from a consumer pursuant to subsection 1 shall, not later than 3 business days after receiving the request, temporarily release the consumer report to the specific person or for the specific period requested by the consumer.

3. A reporting agency shall develop procedures for a consumer to contact the reporting agency to authorize the temporary release of his or her consumer report pursuant to subsection 1. These procedures may include, without limitation, the use of the telephone, facsimile machine, the Internet or other electronic media by a consumer to authorize the temporary release of his or her consumer report in an expedited manner.

(Added to NRS by 2005, 1522)

NRS 598C.360 Removal of security freeze upon request of consumer.

1. To authorize the removal of a security freeze that has been placed in the file of a consumer, the consumer must contact the reporting agency and request that the security freeze be removed. At the time of the request, the consumer must provide to the reporting agency:

(a) Sufficient identification to establish the identity of the consumer; and

(b) The personal identification number or password provided by the reporting agency pursuant to paragraph (a) of subsection 3 of NRS 598C.300.

2. A reporting agency that receives a request from a consumer pursuant to subsection 1 shall, not later than 3 business days after receiving the request:

(a) Remove the security freeze from the file of the consumer; and

(b) Send written notice to the consumer that the security freeze has been removed from the file of the consumer.

3. A reporting agency shall develop procedures for a consumer to contact the reporting agency to authorize the removal of a security freeze pursuant to subsection 1. These procedures may include, without limitation, the use of a telephone, a facsimile machine, the Internet or other electronic media by a consumer to authorize the removal of a security freeze in an expedited manner.

(Added to NRS by 2005, 1522)

NRS 598C.370 Removal of security freeze by reporting agency; notice to consumer.

1. A reporting agency may remove a security freeze from the file of a consumer if the reporting agency has a reasonable belief that:

(a) The security freeze was placed in the file of the consumer because of a material misrepresentation of fact by the consumer; or

(b) The consumer placed the security freeze in his or her file for the purposes of:

(1) Committing fraud;

(2) Committing any other act prohibited by law; or

(3) Aiding and abetting any act prohibited by law.

2. If a reporting agency intends to remove a security freeze from the file of a consumer pursuant to subsection 1, the reporting agency shall send written notice to the consumer before removing the security freeze.

(Added to NRS by 2005, 1522)

NRS 598C.380 Release of consumer report by reporting agency to authorized persons. Notwithstanding that a security freeze has been placed in the file of a consumer, a reporting agency may release the consumer report of the consumer to:

1. A person with whom the consumer has an existing business relationship, or the subsidiary, affiliate or agent of that person, for any purpose relating to that business relationship.

2. A licensed collection agency to which an account of the consumer has been assigned for the purposes of collection.

3. A person with whom the consumer has an account or contract or to whom the consumer has issued a negotiable instrument, or the subsidiary, affiliate, agent, assignee or prospective assignee of that person, for purposes relating to that account, contract or negotiable instrument.

4. A person seeking to use information in the file of the consumer for the purposes of prescreening pursuant to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, 15 U.S.C. §§ 1681 et seq.

5. A subsidiary, affiliate, agent, assignee or prospective assignee of a person to whom access has been granted pursuant to NRS 598C.350 for the purposes of facilitating the extension of credit.

6. A person seeking to provide the consumer with a copy of the consumer report or the credit score of the consumer upon the request of the consumer.

7. A person administering a credit file monitoring subscription service to which the consumer has subscribed.

8. A person requesting the consumer report pursuant to a court order, warrant or subpoena.

9. A federal, state or local governmental entity, agency or instrumentality that is acting within the scope of its authority, including, without limitation, an agency which is seeking to collect child support payments pursuant to Part D of Title IV of the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 651 et seq.

10. A person holding a license issued by the Nevada Gaming Commission pursuant to title 41 of NRS, or the subsidiary, affiliate, agent, assignee or prospective assignee of that person, for purposes relating to any activities conducted pursuant to the license.

11. An employer, or the subsidiary, affiliate, agent, assignee or prospective assignee of that employer, for purposes of:

(a) Preemployment screenings relating to the consumer; or

(b) Decisions or investigations relating to the consumer’s current or former employment with the employer.

(Added to NRS by 2005, 1523)

NRS 598C.390 Companies not required to place security freeze in file of consumer. The following companies are not required to place a security freeze in the file of a consumer:

1. A check services or fraud prevention services company which issues reports on incidents of fraud or authorizations for the purpose of approving or processing negotiable instruments, electronic funds transfers or similar methods of payments.

2. A deposit account information service company which issues reports regarding account closures because of fraud, substantial overdrafts, abuse of automatic teller machines or similar negative information regarding a consumer to inquiring banks or other financial institutions for use only in reviewing a consumer request for a deposit account at the inquiring bank or financial institution.

3. A reporting agency which acts only as a reseller of credit information by assembling and merging information contained in the database of another reporting agency or in the databases of multiple reporting agencies and which does not maintain a permanent database of consumer credit information from which new consumer reports are produced. Such a reporting agency shall honor any security freeze placed on a consumer report by another reporting agency.

(Added to NRS by 2005, 1523)