CFPB says federal law overrides state bans on medical debt reporting

More than a dozen state laws prohibit the reporting of medical debt on consumer credit reports; however, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has issued an interpretive rule stating that the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) generally preempts such state laws, as Congress intended to create uniform national credit reporting standards through the FCRA. This rule replaces a July 2022 interpretive rule issued under the Biden administration, which was withdrawn in May 2025, and gave states greater leeway to regulate credit reporting, including efforts to prohibit the reporting of medical debt. The new guidance is expected to increase litigation challenging these state restrictions. The Biden-era CFPB also issued a rule barring medical debt reporting nationwide, but a Texas judge struck it down in July 2025.