Which of the following is a permissible purpose to obtain a consumer report?

• A. Marketing to solicit customers
• B. Employment screening
• C. Mortgage underwriting without consent
• D. Personal use

Answer: (B)

Permissible purposes for obtaining a consumer report under the Fair Credit Reporting Act must align with a legitimate, clearly defined use and usually require the consumer’s authorization when someone else is requesting the report. Employment screening fits perfectly here because an employer may pull a credit report to help decide whether to hire, promote, or retain a candidate, and the candidate provides written authorization for that purpose.

Marketing to solicit customers is not a permissible purpose because using a consumer report to target marketing activities is restricted and requires separate, explicit authorization beyond what’s needed for employment or credit decisions.

Mortgage underwriting without consent is not allowed. Even though underwriting involves a credit decision, you must have the consumer’s written permission to pull a report for that purpose.

Personal use is not aligned with third-party access in a hiring or similar decision context; a consumer can request their own report, but that’s a different scenario from a third party obtaining a report for employment or other purposes.