How to request the method of verification
Last updated: Sources checked: September 2026
After a dispute, you can ask the bureau to describe the procedure it used to check the information. The bureau must provide that description within 15 days of your request. It is a statutory right in section 611 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, and your results letter should tell you about it.
It is called the method of verification because it asks how the item was verified. It is not a way to force a deletion. It is a way to learn who the bureau asked and what it relied on.
What the bureau must tell you
The description of the procedure should include the business name and the address of any furnisher the bureau contacted, and a telephone number if one is reasonably available. That tells you who confirmed the information. You can then dispute directly with that furnisher.
What it is not
- It is not proof of the debt. You are not entitled to the furnisher’s original documents under this section.
- It is not a “609 request.” See the truth about 609 letters.
- It does not restart or extend your dispute.
When to use it
Use it after a dispute comes back verified, and especially when:
- the results letter does not address your proof,
- you do not know who the bureau contacted, or
- you want a furnisher’s name and address for a direct dispute.
What the request says
Keep it short. Write to the bureau, by certified mail if you can, and include:
- Your name, address, and date of birth.
- The dispute: the date you filed, the confirmation number, and the item.
- The result you received and its date.
- A request that the bureau provide a description of the reinvestigation procedure it used, including the name and address of each furnisher it contacted and a telephone number if available, as required by section 611(a)(7).
- A request that the response come within 15 days.
Keep a copy and your return receipt.
What to do with the answer
- Read who the bureau says it checked with.
- Dispute directly with that furnisher, sending your proof. See how to dispute directly with the creditor.
- If the bureau did not contact a furnisher at all, or its answer does not describe a procedure, note that and keep the record.
- If the matter remains unresolved, consider a CFPB complaint.
If the bureau does not answer
If 15 days pass with no response, follow up in writing and keep the record. A missed deadline is a fact worth including in a CFPB complaint, and one that a consumer attorney would want to see.
Do this today
Find your results letter and write down the date of the result. The method of verification request refers to it.