Credit repair laws by state: What you should know

The information provided on this website does not, and is not intended to, act as legal, financial or credit advice. See Lexington Law’s editorial disclosure for more information.

If you need to improve your credit health, you’re not alone. Millions of people have a bad credit score, often due to delinquencies, or late payments. According to a recent report from the New York Federal Reserve, credit card, and auto loan delinquencies are on the rise. Having poor credit can limit your financial options, but credit repair companies may be able to help.

Credit repair companies specialize in helping people fix their credit, but unfortunately, there are some companies that take advantage of people. It’s important to understand the laws of each state so you can protect yourself and choose the right credit repair company.

In this post, we teach you about credit repair laws for each state as well as the federal credit repair laws. Knowing your rights and the credit repair laws is the first step on your credit repair journey.

Credit repair laws for each state

In addition to federal laws, many states have laws that regulate the credit repair industry. The state consumer credit repair laws provide protection from companies that take advantage of people who are experiencing financial hardship. While many states have laws, there are some that don’t. Check the graphic below to see if your state is one of the few that doesn’t have specific laws for credit repair.

It’s helpful to know that the state credit repair laws are based on the state in which the credit repair organization is operating from. Not only must they comply with their state credit repair laws, but they must abide by federal laws as well.

Depending on the state, they may require that the credit repair company has:

A state registration requirement
A surety bond to cover potential damages to consumers
A required cancelation period after the consumer signs the contract
A refund period after the consumer signs the contract

Here is a list of each state and some specifics about their laws.

State	State credit repair laws	Registration requirement?	Surety bond amount	Cancellation period (in days)	Refund period (in days)
Alabama	No state laws	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Alaska	No state laws	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Arizona	Credit Repair Organizations Act (A.R.S. 44-1701 et seq.)	No	$25,000	3	15
Arkansas	Credit Services Organization Act (AR ST § 4-91-201 et seq.)	No	$10,000	5	10
California	Credit Services Act (Civ. Code §§ 1789.10 et seq.)	Yes	$100,000	5	15
Colorado	Credit Services Organization Act (CO Rev. Stat. 5-19-101 et seq.)	No	N/A	5	10
Connecticut	CT. Gen. Stat. § 36a-700 et seq.	No	N/A	N/A	N/A
Delaware	Del. Code. §2401 et seq.	Yes	$15,000	3	10
Florida	Fla. Stat. §817.7001 et seq.	No	$10,000	5	10
Georgia	Credit repair companies are illegal	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Hawaii	HI. Rev. Stat. § 481B-12 et seq.	No	N/A	N/A	N/A
Idaho	Idaho Collection Agency Act (ID. Code. §26-2223 et seq.)	Yes	$15,000	N/A	N/A
Illinois	Credit Services Organizations Act (815 ILCS 605/1 et seq.)	Yes	$100,000	3	10
Indiana	Credit Services Organizations (I.C. 24-5-15 et seq.)	No	$25,000	3	10
Iowa	Credit Services Organizations (IA. Code. §538A et seq.)	Yes	$10,000	3	10
Kansas	Credit Services Organization Act (K.S.A. 50-1116 et seq.)	Yes	$25,000	N/A	10
Kentucky	No state laws	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Louisiana	Credit Repair Services Organizations Act (LA Rev Stat § 9:3573.1 et seq.)	Yes	$100,000	5	10
Maine	Consumer Credit Code – Loan Brokers (ME Rev. Stat. 9-A § 10-101 et seq.)	No	$25,000	N/A	N/A
Maryland	Credit Services Businesses Act (MD. Code. § 19 et seq.)	No	$50,000	3	10
Massachusetts	MA. Gen. Laws. 15-93 § 68 et seq.	No	$10,000	3	10
Michigan	Credit Services Protection Act (MI. Comp. L. § 445.1821 et seq.)	No	N/A	N/A	N/A
Minnesota	MN. Stat. § 332.52 et seq.	Yes	$10,000	5	10
Mississippi	Debt Management Services Act (MS ST § 81-22-1 (Reenacted) et seq.)	Yes	$50,000	N/A	N/A
Missouri	MO. Stat. 407.635 et seq.	Yes	$10,000	3	10
Montana	No state laws	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Nebraska	Credit Services Organization Act (Neb. Rev. Stat. §45-801 et seq.)	Yes	$100,000	3	10
Nevada	NRS 598.741 et seq.	Yes	$100,000	5	10
New Hampshire	Credit Services Regulation Act (N.H. Rev. Stat. § 359 D:1 et seq.)	No	$25,000	5	5
New Jersey	No state laws	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
New Mexico	No state laws	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
New York	Credit Services Business (N.Y. Gen. Bus. 28-BB § 458-a et seq.)	No	N/A	3	N/A
North Carolina	Credit Repair Services Act (N.C. Gen. Stat. § 66-220 et seq.)	No	$10,000	3	10
North Dakota	No state laws	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Ohio	Credit Services Organization Act (OH. Rev. Code. § 4712.01 et seq.)	Yes	$50,000	N/A
Oklahoma	Credit Services Organization Act (§ 36 et seq.)	Yes	$10,000	5	10
Oregon	Debt Management (OR. Rev. Stat. 697.602 et seq.)	Yes	$10,000	3	N/A
Pennsylvania	Credit Services Act (73 P.S. § 2181 et seq.)	No	$5,000 – $25,000	5	15
Puerto Rico	P.R. Laws tit. 7, § 630a et seq.	Yes	$10,000	7	15
Rhode Island	No state laws	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
South Carolina	Consumer Credit Counseling (S.C. Stat. § 37-7-101 et seq.)	Yes	$25,000	10	10
South Dakota	No state laws	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Tennessee	Credit Services Businesses Act (TN ST § 47-18-1001 et seq.)	No	$100,000	5	10
Texas	TX. Fin. Code. § 393.001 et seq.	Yes	$10,000	3	10
US Virgin Islands	Virgin Islands Uniform Debt Services Management (12 V.I.C. § 401 et seq.)	Yes	$50,000	3	N/A
Utah	Credit Services Organization Act (UT. Code. §13-21-1 et seq.)	Yes	$100,000	5	10
Vermont	No state laws	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Virginia	Credit Services Businesses Act (VA. Code. § 59.1-335.1 et seq.)	Yes	$50,000	3	10
Washington	Credit Services Organization Act (R.C.W. § 19.134 et seq.)	No	$10,000	5	10
West Virginia	Consumer Credit and Protection Act (W.V. Code Ch. 46A et seq)	Yes	$15,000	3	10
Wisconsin	Credit Services Organization (WI. Leg. § 422.501 et seq.)	Yes	$25,000	5	15
Wyoming	No state laws	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

Federal credit repair laws

There are many consumer protections for people in the United States, and some involve your credit. The primary credit repair law to familiarize yourself with is the Credit Repair Organizations Act (CROA). In addition to the CROA, you should also know about the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), which is what many credit repair companies use when helping their customers.

Credit Repair Organizations Act (CROA)

CROA dates back to 1996. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) states that this act “prohibits untrue or misleading representations and requires certain affirmative disclosures in the offering or sale of ‘credit repair’ services.” The specifics of CROA state that the following are illegal:

Exaggerating or misrepresenting the service
Submitting false information to credit bureaus and data furnishers
Providing a new identity to clear your credit history
Charging customers up front
Requiring customers to waive their rights

Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) is another federal law that helps ensure fair credit reporting practices for consumers. Credit repair companies work by utilizing the FCRA, so it’s helpful to understand what it says and how it works.

Some of your rights and protections according to the FCRA include:

You have the right to be told what’s in your file.
You must be told if any information in your file is being used against you.
You have the right to ask for your credit score.
Consumer reporting agencies must fix or remove inaccurate information.
Reporting agencies can’t report outdated negative information.

Is credit repair legal?

Credit repair services are completely legal, but you’ll need to find credit repair companies that are operating under state and federal laws. The best credit repair companies follow these laws and can assist you with challenging errors on your credit report.

The following are some signs of a good credit repair company:

They don’t charge you up front
They don’t guarantee results
They don’t ask you to lie about your information to reporting agencies

Credit repair companies charge for their services, so it may be helpful to shop around and look at online reviews. When doing this, keep in mind that although a company may be the least expensive option, it may not provide the best services.

Work with a credit repair company who knows credit law

If you’re looking for a credit repair company that understands state and federal laws when it comes to your credit, work with Lexington Law Firm. We have a team of legal professionals who follow credit repair laws, and we also challenge credit reporting errors on your behalf.

In addition to providing you with regular updates about the credit repair process, we also provide various tools to help you better understand your credit health. To get started, sign up today.

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