FCRA two-step notices: what pre-adverse and adverse letters must say
Send the pre-adverse packet, wait, then send the adverse notice
As of September 3, 2026, the step employers still miss is the pre-adverse packet. A Glider note restated it that day: report, rights summary, agency contact, and a statement of the right to dispute, then a pause, then the final notice. The Federal Trade Commission said on June 27, 1997 that section 604 and section 615 both apply to employers. Section 604 is the before letter. Section 615 is the after letter, and it must name the consumer reporting agency, state that the agency did not make the decision, and tell the person about a free report copy within 60 days. Hawkey, on December 18, 1997, said the law is silent on the exact wait and told employers to ask counsel. The same Glider note calls at least five business days the widely cited practice, and some employers use seven calendar days. A mail, telephone, or computer application has its own clock: notice within 3 business days.
The Situation
Reject a driver from a background report and skip the first letter, and you are already late. The second letter cannot stand in for the first.
The employer has to hand the person a copy of the report and a written description of rights before any adverse action that uses that report. Only after the decision does the adverse notice go out. The statute never says how many days the pause lasts. It does say some time has to pass, so the person can tell you the file is wrong.
The Facts
Before the action: a copy of the report and a description of rights under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. After the action: the adverse notice in section 615, including the agency's name, address, and phone, plus the 60-day free-report right and the right to dispute. Jones Walker, on Mondaq, dated 1 October 2026, describes those user-side duties as disclosures, a rights summary, a reasonable interval, and a final notice. The FTC employer guide of October 2016 says the advance copy is what lets the person say the report is wrong.
Business Impact
A carrier that sends only the final letter skips the moment when a mixed file can still be fixed. That is the gap the FTC described in those two opinions. Put the pause in the hiring checklist. Let counsel set the exact number of days, because the code does not.
Key Data Points
- Pre-adverse packet before the rejection.
- Adverse notice after it.
- Wait required, length not set in the statute.
- Cited practice as of September 3, 2026: at least five business days.
- Mail or phone applications: notice within 3 business days.
Key Takeaways
- Report and rights summary first.
- Wait. Then the adverse notice.
- Do not collapse the two letters into one.
Action Steps
- 1.Pull one rejected driver file this week.
- 2.Confirm a pre-adverse packet went out before the final notice.
- 3.Confirm the packet holds the report and the rights summary.
- 4.Ask counsel how long you wait, and do not send both letters on the same day unless counsel has signed that clock.
Competitive Advantage
Fleets that show the driver the report before the no-hire call spend less time undoing a bad file. A shop that still sends one combined letter is the file an auditor will ask for.
Check one rejected file from this month. Confirm the pre-adverse packet went out first. If the two letters share a date, ask counsel to reset the wait before the next hire.
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