FCRA 605B: Block Identity Theft in 4 Days

Section 605B of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, codified at 15 U.S.C. 1681c-2, requires a consumer reporting agency to block fraudulent information in a consumer’s credit file no later than 4 business days after it receives four specific items. A 605B block is not an investigation and the bureau has no discretion once the four items arrive.

Almost nobody uses it. Americans filed 1,135,291 identity theft reports with the FTC’s Consumer Sentinel Network in 2024, which was 17.5 percent of the 6,471,708 total reports in the FTC Consumer Sentinel Network Data Book 2024. Most of those victims send an ordinary dispute letter instead, which gives the credit bureau 30 days and gives the company that reported the account the final word.

This guide covers the text of 15 U.S.C. 1681c-2, the four items that start the 4 business day clock, where to send them, and what to do when a bureau stalls. Every statute and figure below is sourced to the primary document it came from, listed at the end.

What 605B actually says

Section 605B of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, 15 U.S.C. 1681c-2(a), states that “a consumer reporting agency shall block the reporting of any information in the file of a consumer that the consumer identifies as information that resulted from an alleged identity theft, not later than 4 business days after the date of receipt” of four items.

Those four items are the whole mechanism of a 605B block:

1. Appropriate proof of the identity of the consumer
2. A copy of an identity theft report
3. The identification of such information by the consumer
4. A statement by the consumer that the information is not information relating to any transaction by the consumer

Miss one item and the 4 business day clock in 1681c-2 never starts. Send all four and the block is mandatory.

Under 15 U.S.C. 1681a(q)(3), identity theft means “a fraud committed using the identifying information of another person.” A 605B block applies to that and nothing else.

Why this is different from a normal dispute

A Section 611 dispute under 15 U.S.C. 1681i asks a credit bureau a question. A Section 605B block under 15 U.S.C. 1681c-2 gives the credit bureau an instruction. That difference decides the outcome.

Under 15 U.S.C. 1681i(a)(1)(A), a credit bureau that receives a dispute must “conduct a reasonable reinvestigation to determine whether the disputed information is inaccurate” before the end of “the 30-day period beginning on the date on which the agency receives the notice of the dispute,” extendable “for not more than 15 additional days” under 1681i(a)(1)(B). In that reinvestigation the furnisher gets to respond, and a furnisher looking at a thief’s application often sees an account it believes it opened legitimately and verifies it.

	Section 611 dispute (15 U.S.C. 1681i)	Section 605B block (15 U.S.C. 1681c-2)
What it starts	A reasonable reinvestigation	A mandatory block
Deadline	30 days, plus up to 15 more	4 business days
Who decides the outcome	The furnisher, by verifying or not	The statute
Can the creditor push back	Yes, by verifying the account	It may not keep furnishing the information
What the consumer must supply	A reason the item is wrong	The four items in 1681c-2(a)

The gap shows up in federal complaint data. In calendar year 2025, companies closed credit or consumer reporting complaints with non-monetary relief 40 percent of the time, with an explanation 51 percent of the time, and with monetary relief 0.02 percent of the time, per the CFPB 2025 Consumer Response Annual Report. Most consumers who escalate get an explanation, not a fix.

The four items, one at a time

The four items required by 15 U.S.C. 1681c-2(a) are listed in the statute in a fixed order, and a credit bureau treats a package missing any one of them as incomplete.

1. Appropriate proof of identity

Item one under 15 U.S.C. 1681c-2(a)(1) is “appropriate proof of the identity of the consumer.” Each of the three nationwide credit bureaus accepts a copy of a government issued photo ID plus a document tying the consumer to the address in the file, such as a utility bill or bank statement. Send copies, never originals.

If you have moved recently, include proof for both the old address and the new one. An address mismatch is the most common reason a 605B package is returned as incomplete, and an incomplete package means the 4 business day deadline in 1681c-2 never began. The FTC advises sending credit bureau mail “by certified mail” and paying “for a ‘return receipt’ so you have a record the credit bureau got it,” which is what fixes the date of receipt the statute keys to.

2. A copy of an identity theft report

Item two under 15 U.S.C. 1681c-2(a)(2) is “a copy of an identity theft report,” a defined term. Under 15 U.S.C. 1681a(q)(4), an identity theft report alleges an identity theft, “is a copy of an official, valid report filed by a consumer with an appropriate Federal, State, or local law enforcement agency,” and subjects the filer to criminal penalties if the information in it is false.

The Federal Trade Commission runs the federal filing channel at IdentityTheft.gov. The FTC states that the site gives you “a personal recovery plan that walks you through each step,” carries “advice for more than 30 types of identity theft,” and lets you “print pre-filled letters and forms to send to credit bureaus, businesses, and debt collectors.” Spanish language reports are filed at RobodeIdentidad.gov, and the FTC lists 877-438-4338 for phone support in other languages.

A local police report is not automatically required by 15 U.S.C. 1681c-2. Get one anyway if any of these apply:

• You know who the thief is, or you have a named suspect
• A specific company is refusing to act without a police report
• You want an extended fraud alert, which the FTC says “lasts seven years,” rather than an initial fraud alert, which the FTC says “lasts one year, but you can renew it”

See how to file a police report for identity theft and Identity Theft Report vs police report.

3. Identification of the information

Item three under 15 U.S.C. 1681c-2(a)(3) is “the identification of such information by the consumer.” A credit bureau cannot block what a consumer has not pointed at, and “everything fraudulent on my report” is not identification.

For each fraudulent item, list the creditor name, the account number as it appears on the credit report, the date opened, the balance shown, and where it appears. If the account also produced a hard inquiry, name that inquiry separately.

New account fraud is the dominant pattern. The FTC recorded 449,032 credit card identity theft reports in 2024, of which 406,110 involved new accounts, up 7 percent year over year, per the Consumer Sentinel Network Data Book 2024. The same data book recorded 176,400 loan or lease identity theft reports in 2024, including 95,689 business or personal loan reports and 60,188 auto loan or lease reports.

Pull all three credit reports first. A 605B block is filed per bureau, each bureau blocks only what sits in its own file, and fraudulent accounts rarely appear on all three.

4. A statement that the information is not yours

Item four under 15 U.S.C. 1681c-2(a)(4) is “a statement by the consumer that the information is not information relating to any transaction by the consumer.” One sentence, signed, saying exactly that.

This statement is the sworn element of a 605B block. Under 15 U.S.C. 1681a(q)(4), filing an identity theft report subjects the filer to criminal penalties if the information in it is false.

The line you cannot cross

A 605B block is close to automatic, so 15 U.S.C. 1681c-2(c) points the consequences back at the consumer. A credit bureau may decline to block, or may rescind a block already granted, if it reasonably determines that the information was blocked in error, that a material misrepresentation of fact occurred, or that the consumer obtained goods, services or money as a result of the blocked transaction.

When a bureau rescinds a block, 15 U.S.C. 1681c-2(c) routes the consumer notice through the reinsertion procedure in 15 U.S.C. 1681i(a)(5)(B), which requires notice to the consumer within 5 business days, the contact details of the furnisher, and notice of the right to add a statement to the file.

In plain terms, Section 605B is for accounts a thief opened. Accurate negative information cannot be removed from a credit report by any process, and signing the 1681c-2(a)(4) statement about an account that is genuinely yours is a false statement on a federal fraud filing.

If the debt is yours, read how to fix bad credit fast instead.

What happens after the block

Two statutory duties trigger the moment a 605B block takes effect.

The credit bureau must notify the furnisher. Under 15 U.S.C. 1681c-2(b), a consumer reporting agency “shall promptly notify the furnisher of information identified by the consumer under subsection (a)” that the information may result from identity theft, that an identity theft report was filed, that a block was requested, and what the effective dates of the block are.

The furnisher must stop. Under 15 U.S.C. 1681s-2(a)(6)(A), a furnisher must keep “in place reasonable procedures to respond to any notification that it receives from a consumer reporting agency … relating to information resulting from identity theft, to prevent that person from refurnishing such blocked information.” Under 15 U.S.C. 1681s-2(a)(6)(B), once a consumer submits an identity theft report to the furnisher, “the person may not furnish such information that purports to relate to the consumer to any consumer reporting agency, unless the person subsequently knows or is informed by the consumer that the information is correct.”

That pairing is what stops a blocked account reappearing next cycle, the usual failure mode of an ordinary dispute. If it comes back anyway, see what to do when a creditor will not remove a fraudulent account.

Realistic timing, start to finish

The 4 business day deadline in 15 U.S.C. 1681c-2 starts when a complete package arrives at the credit bureau, not when the victim starts work. The legal step is short and the logistics around it are not.

Stage	Typical time	What controls it
Pull all three credit reports, list every fraudulent item	1 day	You
File at IdentityTheft.gov, get the Identity Theft Report	Same day	You
Police report, if you need one	1 to 7 days	Your local department
Assemble and send three packages, certified mail	1 to 2 days	You
Mail transit	3 to 5 days	The post
Statutory block window, 15 U.S.C. 1681c-2(a)	4 business days	The law
Updated reports reflect the block	A few days after	The bureau

The same file handled as a Section 611 dispute runs 30 days under 15 U.S.C. 1681i(a)(1)(A), extendable by up to 15 more. How fast fraudulent accounts can be removed walks the full sequence.

What to do before you send anything

Four moves protect a credit file while a 605B block works through the three bureaus. Do them before the packages go out.

1. Place a fraud alert. One call to any one of the three nationwide bureaus, and that bureau must tell the other two. The FTC states an initial fraud alert “lasts one year, but you can renew it,” and that with an initial fraud alert you “can get a free copy of your credit report from each of the three credit bureaus.” Fraud alerts sit in 15 U.S.C. 1681c-1.
2. Consider a credit freeze. A freeze is stronger than an alert because it stops new credit being opened at all, and it is free. See how to freeze your credit.
3. Get all three credit reports. A 605B block is per bureau, so an account on one file needs a package aimed at that file.
4. Write a dated timeline. Dates you noticed, dates you called, who you spoke to, and certified mail receipt numbers. This is the evidence if the matter reaches the CFPB or an FCRA attorney.

An extended fraud alert also requires the credit bureaus, in the FTC’s words, “to take you off their marketing lists for unsolicited credit and insurance offers for five years, unless you ask them not to.”

When the bureau ignores you

Credit bureaus and information furnishers draw more reports than any other category the FTC tracks. The FTC logged 1,353,175 of them in 2024, the largest of all Other categories in the Consumer Sentinel Network Data Book 2024. When a 605B package is ignored, escalate in this order.

1. Resend by certified mail, return receipt requested. Most 605B failures are a package ruled incomplete under 15 U.S.C. 1681c-2(a). The receipt fixes the date of receipt, which the 4 business day clock runs from.
2. File a CFPB complaint. The CFPB received more than 6.6 million consumer complaints in calendar year 2025, of which approximately 5,806,800, or 88 percent, were about credit or consumer reporting, and approximately 5,102,800 concerned Equifax, Experian and TransUnion, per the CFPB 2025 Consumer Response Annual Report. Companies responded to 99.9 percent of the credit reporting complaints sent to them for review. Expect the process to be slow: the CFPB reports that the nationwide credit reporting agencies are allowed 60 days to respond and that all three recently averaged more than 50 days. See how to file a CFPB complaint against a credit bureau.
3. Keep your own proof of every filing. The CFPB found that while around 90 percent of complaining consumers report having disputed previously, Equifax confirmed a prior dispute about 37 percent of the time and TransUnion about 30 percent, in its December 2025 FCRA Section 611(e)(5) report. Certified mail receipts are the reason that gap does not become your problem.
4. Talk to an FCRA attorney. The FCRA provides for actual damages, statutory damages and attorney fees in successful actions, which is why many consumer attorneys take these cases with no money up front.

After the fraud is gone

Blocking fraudulent accounts under 15 U.S.C. 1681c-2 restores a credit file to the truth. It does not build a credit profile. What remains after a block is real credit history. FICO states that payment history is approximately 35 percent and amounts owed approximately 30 percent of the score calculation, in its April 2025 analysis by Tommy Lee, which also put the national average FICO Score at 715 as of February 2025. Both move with time and behavior, not paperwork. A realistic rebuild is roughly 30 to 60 points over months, and nobody can guarantee a number.

See rebuilding credit after identity theft for what authorized user tradelines can and cannot do.

The short version

• 15 U.S.C. 1681c-2 gives a 4 business day block, not a 30 day investigation
• The clock starts only when the bureau receives all four items in 1681c-2(a)
• Identity theft report is defined at 15 U.S.C. 1681a(q)(4). IdentityTheft.gov is the FTC’s free federal filing channel
• A police report is still worth getting for an extended fraud alert, which the FTC says lasts seven years
• After a block, 15 U.S.C. 1681s-2(a)(6)(B) says the furnisher may not keep furnishing that information
• A bureau may rescind for material misrepresentation of fact under 1681c-2(c), so never use 605B on an account that is yours

Credit Booster AI reviews all three credit reports, flags the items that look fraudulent, and drafts the paperwork each bureau needs, so the package that leaves your hands is complete.

Where to mail a 605B package and who to call

The Federal Trade Commission publishes these mailing addresses and phone numbers for credit bureau mail. Call first to confirm the department handling identity theft blocks, because each bureau routes fraud mail internally.

Credit bureau	Mailing address published by the FTC	Phone
Equifax Information Services LLC	P.O. Box 740256, Atlanta, GA 30348	(866) 349-5191
Experian	P.O. Box 4500, Allen, TX 75013	(888) 397-3742
TransUnion LLC Consumer Dispute Center	P.O. Box 2000, Chester, PA 19016	(800) 916-8800

Send three packages, one per bureau, each containing all four items required by 15 U.S.C. 1681c-2(a), by certified mail with return receipt requested.

Sources

Every deadline, definition and figure on this page comes from the primary source below.

• 15 U.S.C. 1681c-2, Block of information resulting from identity theft
• 15 U.S.C. 1681a, Definitions, including identity theft report at (q)(4)
• 15 U.S.C. 1681i, Procedure in case of disputed accuracy
• 15 U.S.C. 1681s-2, Responsibilities of furnishers of information
• 15 U.S.C. 1681c-1, Identity theft prevention and fraud alerts
• Federal Trade Commission, IdentityTheft.gov
• Federal Trade Commission, What to know about identity theft
• Federal Trade Commission, What to know about credit freezes and fraud alerts
• Federal Trade Commission, Disputing errors on your credit reports, including bureau addresses
• Federal Trade Commission, Consumer Sentinel Network Data Book 2024
• Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, 2025 Consumer Response Annual Report
• Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Annual report of credit and consumer reporting complaints, FCRA Section 611(e)(5), December 2025
• FICO, Student Loan Delinquencies Lower the Average FICO Score to 715, by Tommy Lee
• Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Submit a complaint