Start here
The free tool below runs entirely in this browser — no account, nothing stored or transmitted. Redact anything you would not want kept before you type it.
Open the companion tool →Why the report itself is the first thing to check
A screening decision can rely on a report with a mixed identity, outdated case, or incomplete record. The employer and reporting company have different roles, so the notice should identify the company that prepared the report.
FTC guidance explains Fair Credit Reporting Act steps for employer background reports, including a free report request after an adverse decision and a way to dispute inaccurate information. State and local protections may add requirements.
The protocol
- Save the job notice, any standalone permission form, pre-adverse or adverse-action notice, and the dates received.
- Use the report company's name and contact details in the notice to request the report; the FTC says to ask within 60 days of the decision for a free copy.
- Compare each disputed item with your own records and describe whether it is not yours, incomplete, outdated, or attached to the wrong person.
- Send the dispute to the reporting company through its documented process and tell the employer that a correction is pending; keep proof of delivery.
- If the report or notice still appears wrong, use the FTC or CFPB complaint route and seek qualified local advice about any separate discrimination concern.
What the tool does
Build an employment background-report correction record. It runs locally in this browser and sends nothing.
Limit first: This is a document-preparation aid, not legal or employment advice. It cannot determine whether an employer broke the law, change a report, or guarantee a hiring outcome.
Open the companion tool →Cost and free path
Cost: Free: one complete local run in this browser, with no account or upload; the tool does not transmit what you enter. Optional $4 one-time convenience unlock for unlimited runs of this tool on this browser; never a subscription. The protective answer and every free-path step remain free.
Automated decision this documents: an automated hiring screen that uses a consumer background report, if the employer used one
Free path, in order (no cost):
- The reporting company named in the employer's notice (free report request when the FTC's conditions apply)
- The reporting company's own free error-dispute route and the employer's written contact
- The FTC or CFPB complaint route; local legal aid if you need help finding state protections
What this cannot do: It cannot determine whether an employer broke the law, change a report, or guarantee a hiring outcome.
Sources checked 2026-10-10 · first-party source pages fetched and reviewed; no separate raw HTTP-status probe.
One human next step
Request the report from the company named in the employer's notice and dispute a factual error with that company in writing. If the employer relied on a report but did not provide the expected notice, the FTC explains how to report the issue.
Research log and safety checks
AI-assist path: no model inference is used to authenticate external material, restore a file, change a record, or decide a rights dispute. The tool structures user-supplied facts and points to independent source channels; a model call would add no verified evidence. §0.5 protection result: the tool does not make an external decision; crisis-adjacent: no; fear/urgency/scarcity toolkit used: no.
§0.5 protection result: category is rights-recourse; crisis-adjacent: no; fear/urgency/scarcity toolkit used: no. The protective function is free and the paid feature is convenience only.