The Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act takes effect on Friday, September 21. The act modifies the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act in a variety of ways, including with important changes in the area of consumer protection.

In particular, Section 301 of the act is aimed at reform of fraud alerts and credit freezes. Under Section 301, credit bureaus are required to provide fraud alerts for at least one year to any individual who notifies the bureau of potential fraud or identity theft. This amends the 90-day requirement previously in place in the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

Section 301 also creates a right to place and remove a security freeze on consumer credit reports – including those of minors – free of charge, overriding some state laws that dictate or allow fees associated with credit freezes. Companies such as Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion must now have a webpage specifically for requesting fraud alerts and credit freezes. Freezing a minor’s credit may involve providing proof of identity and proof of parental status or guardianship. An example of a current Minor Freeze Request Form can be found here. You can find additional links to these webpages on IdentityTheft.gov.

The Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act also addresses mortgage lending, as well as regulatory relief for community banks, large banks, and capital formation. You can learn more about it here.

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