Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), employers and end user of consumer reports have a responsibility to inform applicants of any negative decision based on their background check. FCRA compliance dictates specific timing of adverse action notices, which has been explained in a better way in this blog.

1. CHARACTER COMMITMENT COMPETENCE
The Ideal Timing for an Adverse
Action Notice According To FCRA
Compliance

2. C H A R A C T E R C O M M I T M E N T C O M P E T E N C Ew w w . c f i r s t c o r p . c o m
What do Pre-Adverse Action and Adverse
Action Notice mean?
To begin, we must first know the differences between the concepts of pre-adverse action notices
and adverse action notices. Adverse action can be defined as any negative decision which is based
on a request from the applicant like a denial of employment due to the results of a background
check or information revealed in the applicant's report. With that in mind, a clearer definition of
"pre-adverse" versus "adverse" is obvious. Pre-adverse action notices hence is the notification to
the applicant that an adverse action is being considered. Adverse action notices further reveal that
a negative decision has been in regards to the applicant.
www.cfirstbackgroundchecks.com

3. C H A R A C T E R C O M M I T M E N T C O M P E T E N C Ew w w . c f i r s t c o r p . c o m
What should be the timing of an Adverse
Action Notice?
After receiving the background verification report, the pre-adverse action must be sent within
three consecutive business days, any public holiday can be excluded. The applicant can then
have the ability to fight for any allows an applicant 5 business days to review and respond to
the pre-adverse action notice. If the applicant does not agree with the pre-adverse action, an
adverse action notice can be sent within five business days from the date of the issue of pre-
adverse action. Failure to complying with the FCRA rules can lead to litigation and penalties on
the part of the concerned person.
www.cfirstbackgroundchecks.com

4. C H A R A C T E R C O M M I T M E N T C O M P E T E N C Ew w w . c f i r s t c o r p . c o m
What Comprises a Pre-Adverse and Adverse
Action Notice?
As per the rule of Section 604 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, no action can be taken until a copy of the
background verification report has been provided to the applicant. The report should also contain a
written summary which is known as a Pre-Adverse Action Letter, which would detail the potential adverse
action apart from specifying the information that led to the decision. Every applicant will be provided
with a copy of their rights under the FCRA rules along with the allowed time to dispute the findings of the
report.
www.cfirstbackgroundchecks.com

5. randy.yacobozzi@cfirstcorp.com www.cfirstbackgroundchecks.com 513-729-7715