A reinvestigation is what the Fair Credit Reporting Act requires a consumer reporting agency to conduct when a consumer disputes the completeness or accuracy of an item in their file: a reasonable check, free of charge, of whether the disputed information is inaccurate. The statute doesn't say "credit bureau" or "investigation" — its terms are consumer reporting agency and reasonable reinvestigation.
Where you'll see it
In your own dispute paperwork — the date the agency received your dispute is when the clock starts — and on your next copy of your credit report, where the disputed item either shows its current status or has been deleted.
The rule behind it
Subject to subsection (f) and except as provided in subsection (g), if the completeness or accuracy of any item of information contained in a consumer's file at a consumer reporting agency is disputed by the consumer and the consumer notifies the agency directly, or indirectly through a reseller, of such dispute, the agency shall, free of charge, conduct a reasonable reinvestigation to determine whether the disputed information is inaccurate and record the current status of the disputed information, or delete the item from the file in accordance with paragraph (5), before the end of the 30-day period beginning on the date on which the agency receives the notice of the dispute from the consumer or reseller.
Except as provided in subparagraph (C), the 30-day period described in subparagraph (A) may be extended for not more than 15 additional days if the consumer reporting agency receives information from the consumer during that 30-day period that is relevant to the reinvestigation.
Subparagraph (B) shall not apply to any reinvestigation in which, during the 30-day period described in subparagraph (A), the information that is the subject of the reinvestigation is found to be inaccurate or incomplete or the consumer reporting agency determines that the information cannot be verified.
One thing worth reading carefully: the 15-day extension isn't automatic. It applies only when the agency receives relevant information from the consumer during the 30 days — and not at all when, within that period, the item is found inaccurate or incomplete or the agency determines it cannot be verified. A reinvestigation also isn't a promise of deletion: the agency records the item's current status or deletes it.
Sources last checked: September 23, 2026.
Consumer info, not financial advice.