Senate bill would help trans, nonbinary people who have changed their names receive accurate credit scores

Senate Democrats on Thursday unveiled legislation that would make it easier for people who have legally changed their names to receive accurate credit information.

The Name Accuracy in Credit Reporting Act, introduced Thursday by Sens. John Fetterman (D-Pa.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.) and Ed Markey (D-Mass.), would amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act to require that all nationwide credit reporting agencies use only a consumer’s current legal name in their credit reports.

The bill has eight Democratic co-sponsors and is endorsed by the American Civil Liberties Union, the Center for LGBTQ Economic Advancement & Research and the National Center for Transgender Equality, among other LGBTQ rights groups.

Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) in March introduced companion legislation in the House to mark Transgender Day of Visibility.

People who have changed their names currently face substantial challenges in obtaining accurate credit reports and scores. Often, credit bureaus will create an entirely new credit file when a person who has changed their name applies for credit using their new legal name, leading to fragmented reporting that can dramatically lower an individual’s credit score and create barriers to accessing loans, housing and employment.

In a statement, Fetterman called the proposal a “commonsense measure” that will benefit anyone who has changed their name, including transgender and nonbinary people and survivors of domestic violence.

Credit reports for transgender and nonbinary people who have changed their name often include their deadname — the name they were given at birth prior to transitioning — which can lead to discrimination or harassment in credit, housing and employment. 

It can also put them in harm’s way by unintentionally “outing” them. Nearly a third of transgender respondents in a 2015 survey said they were verbally harassed, denied service or assaulted when they presented an identity document with a name that did not match their gender presentation.

In an economic survey released last year by the Center for LGBTQ Economic Advancement & Research and the Movement Advancement Project, 27 percent of transgender respondents said they had experienced discrimination specifically in banking or financial services.

“Whether it’s transgender and nonbinary people or survivors of domestic violence, every American should be able to get an accurate credit report and score,” Fetterman said Thursday. The Pennsylvania senator raised the issue during an oversight hearing earlier this year to the heads of the “Big Three” credit reporting agencies — Equifax, Experian and Transunion.

In February, 145 LGBTQ, consumer and employment advocacy organizations sent a letter to the same agencies, as well as the trade association that represents them, calling for swift action to correct credit report problems for transgender and nonbinary consumers.

“Moving slowly to enact a real fix causes profound harm to a significant number of people,” the letter said. “Mistakes in credit reports are replicated endlessly and have resulted in cascading problems in other areas that are based on identification.”

Each of the three major credit bureaus has taken steps to remove obstacles faced by transgender and nonbinary consumers. In February, Equifax, Experian and Transunion offered guidance for transgender and nonbinary people who have legally changed their names to preserve their credit history.

But policies vary between agencies. Experian, for example, is the only major credit reporting agency that has explicitly pledged to remove a person’s deadname from their credit report.

“Nobody should face unnecessary burdens to receive a mortgage or a car loan, but transgender and nonbinary Americans have to deal with credit agencies that can’t even get their name right,” Smith said Thursday.