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Congress·In Committee·S. 4144

ESCRA Act

Sen. Coons and Sen. Murkowski Introduce the ESCRA Act to Crack Down on Credit Repair Scams

7 days ago·View on Congress.gov·Read full text

The ESCRA Act is currently in the early stages of the legislative process after being introduced in the Senate. It has been sent to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs for review, where it is currently waiting for further action. There are no upcoming votes scheduled at this time.

Legislative Progress

Senate
House
President
Law

Key Points

  • Credit repair companies can no longer charge customers upfront. They must wait at least 180 days and provide a new credit report proving the promised improvements were actually made before collecting any payment.

    From policy text

    “No credit repair organization may request or receive payment of any fee or consideration from a consumer for services represented to remove derogatory or inaccurate information from, or improve, the credit history of such consumer's credit history, credit record, or credit rating, or services related to such a representation, until the credit repair organization has provided such consumer with documentation in the form of a consumer report, issued not earlier than 180 days after the date on such service is rendered”
    View in full text
  • Companies must now tell consumers upfront that they can do everything a credit repair company does for free on their own, giving people a clearer picture before they sign up.

    From policy text

    “Credit repair organizations do not provide any services that you cannot do yourself for free.”
    View in full text
  • The bill bans 'jamming' — the practice of flooding credit bureaus with duplicate disputes to overwhelm the system. Companies must now wait for investigations to finish and explain specifically what information is still wrong before resubmitting.

    From policy text

    “A credit repair organization may not submit multiple disputes described in section 611 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act of the same information unless all of the following are true”
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  • Starting in 2026, all credit repair companies must be licensed by a state to operate. They also must keep phone call recordings for five years and give consumers copies of every communication sent on their behalf.

    From policy text

    “On or after January 1, 2026, no person may act as a credit repair organization unless such person is licensed by a State.”
    View in full text
  • Consumers gain a new tool to hold bad actors accountable: a $500 penalty per violation, giving individuals and regulators stronger leverage to sue companies that break the rules.

    From policy text

    “damages of $500 for each violation of this title.”
    View in full text
Economy FinanceCriminal Justice

Impact Analysis

Personal Impact

Scores: 1 = low, 5 = highSentiment: -5 to +5 (net benefit)

Milestones

2 milestones2 actions
Mar 19, 2026Senate

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.

Mar 19, 2026

Introduced in Senate

Source Information

Document Type

Congressional Bill

Official Title

ESCRA Act

Bill NumberS 4144
Congress119th Congress
ChamberSenate
Latest ActionRead twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
Read Full Bill Text

Sponsor

Cosponsors

(1)
R: 1

Analysis generated by AI. Always verify with official sources.