Nonprofit Access to Credit Reports

Nonprofits who are lending, HUD-certified or accredited as a credit counseling agency can pull credit reports. Learn more about why and the work that CBA is doing.

What nonprofits can access reports?

Nonprofits, like other businesses, need a Permissible Purpose to pull credit reports. Nonprofits providing financial services to clients may have one of the following three permissible purposes:

Nonprofits that offer direct loans have the same permissible purpose as other creditors.

Nonprofits that make loans may include a clause in their loan application requesting permission to pull the client's credit reports as a Hard Inquiry as part of the undewriting process. The nonprofit may review the credit report information with their prospective borrower (see Consumer Access to Credit Reports ) as well as use the information in their analysis of whether to extend a loan to the consumer or entrepreneur's business.

CBA encourages nonprofits involved with financial education and asset building to consider offering small dollar value loans. This can help a nonprofit maximize its stratgies by asking its clients to immediately demonstrate good credit behavior through on-time monthly payments. And if the loan is reported the CBA Reporter, the asset builder may see significant changes in their credit report and credit score. If you are not currently making loans but recognize the importance of credit building to your organization's mission, you may want to consider starting a small Credit Builder Loan product. Learn more how a $150 loan reported to a credit bureau can make a significant difference to the credit and asset building goals of your clients.

HUD-certified Housing Counseling Agencies

HUD certified agencies have special Permissible Purpose to access credit reports of clients in their homebuyer programs. In addition to being able to access Hard Inquiry reports, counseling agencies may also pay a premium to purchase Soft Inquiry reports. Generally counseling agencies review reports with their clients early in the homebuyer process to help them build credit and prepare themselves for a prime mortgage product.

Learn how to become a HUD-certifiedhousing counseling agency

Certified Credit Counseling Agencies

Certified Credit Counseling Agencies also have special Permissible Purpose to pull credit reports, including Soft Inquiry reports. Credit counseling agencies review reports with their clients and often use the reports to help their clients negotiate debt management plans with their outstanding creditors.

There are two independent bodies that can accredit and certify an agency as a credit counseling agency:

Both companies charge for accreditation based on the size of your organization. The basic costs for COA accreditation appears to be less for a small agency while the basic costs for ISO accreditation appears to be considerably less for a large agency.

In addition to accreditation, a good way to ensure the reputability and accountability of a credit counseling agency is to verify that they are a also member of either the Association of Independent Consumer Credit Counseling Agencies (AICCCA), or the National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC).

What if my organization does not meet one of the above criteria?

Currently nonprofit organizations offering financial education, credit education and asset building products and services without one of the Permissible Purposes described above does not have access to pulling credit reports. CBA is working closely with its credit bureau partners to identify opportunities for greater access to government-funded non-profits to access credit reports.

Meanwhile, your organization may want to find a community partner that can provide credit reports for your clients. Good community partners include CDFIs, credit unions, banks, HUD-certified housing programs and certified credit counseling agencies. Here are some govvenment and non-profit directories to help you identify a partner in your community:

From whom can nonprofits buy credit reports?

Credit reports are sold by each of the Credit Bureaus as well as from independent companies called Data Resellers.

Credit Bureaus each sell their own credit reports and scores. CBA currently has business partnerships with Experian and TransUnion credit bureaus.

Data Resellers sell reports with data and scores pulled from any or all of the bureaus, i.e. a tri-merge report. CBA has a partnership with CoreLogic (formerly known as First Advantage Credco), a large and credible re-seller.

Please contact CBA if you are interested in purchasing reports and/or re-assessing your current set-up for purchasing credit reports. We would be happy to work with you and help you access our credit report partnerships and our other membership benefits.