The Fair Credit Reporting Act’s Limited Preemption of State Laws
States play an important role in the regulation of consumer reporting. State laws that are not “inconsistent” with the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) are generally not preempted by that statute. The FCRA also expressly preempts certain categories of State laws. This interpretive rule clarifies that FCRA’s express preemption provisions have a narrow and targeted scope. States therefore retain substantial flexibility to pass laws involving consumer reporting to reflect emerging problems affecting their local economies and citizens.