Agrahayana 18, 1938

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has directed that with effect from January 1, 2017, all Credit Information Companies (CICs) shall provide, upon request and after due authentication of the requester, a Free Full Credit Report (FFCR) containing all the details that figure in a full credit report that is accessed by the credit Institutions while considering the request for fresh credit facilities, including credit score, in electronic format, once in a calendar year to individuals whose credit history is available with the CICs.

RBI vide circular dated June 27, 2014 had advised banks and financial institutions that Banks/Fls to include in their credit appraisal processes/loan policies, suitable provisions for obtaining Credit Information Reports (CIR) from one or more Credit Information Companies (CICs) so that the credit decisions are based on information available in the system. The information contained in the CIR (which contains credit score) would be one of the factors that banks would consider before granting any credit facility to a prospective borrower. The concerned credit institution would take a decision regarding grant of loan based on its commercial judgement and their Board approved policies.

In terms of Sec 21 (2) of Credit Information Companies (Regulation) Act, 2005, any person who applies for grant or sanction of credit facility from any credit institution, may request such institution to furnish a copy of credit information obtained by the institution from CIC, against a charge not more than ₹ 50/- (Regulation 12 (3) of CIC Regulations, 2006). FFCR will be available to individuals from January 1, 2017 onwards.

This was stated by Shri Santosh Kumar Gangwar, Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance in written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today.

Free Full Credit Report: annual electronic access to full credit file and score upon authenticated request. Reserve Bank directive requires Credit Information Companies to provide, upon authenticated request, a Free Full Credit Report in electronic form to individuals once per calendar year, containing all elements of the full credit report accessed by credit institutions, including the credit score; banks should use Credit Information Reports and the credit score as one factor in credit appraisal, while applicants may request from credit institutions a copy of credit information obtained from CICs against a limited regulatory charge.