Ontario Consumer Reporting Act updated: consumer score rules, security freezes, and Registrar powers consolidated into force

Plain-language summary · AI-assisted · not legal advice

A large set of amendments to Ontario's Consumer Reporting Act that were previously listed as 'not in force' have now been consolidated into the active text of the law, taking effect together. The definition of 'consumer score' is now a clean, standalone definition in the Act rather than a contingent future addition. Consumers' rights to request disclosure of their file, consumer score, and related information have been consolidated into a single updated section, with the in-person disclosure option removed — agencies must now disclose by telephone/telecommunications, mail, or electronic means. The Registrar's power over consumer reporting agencies has been renamed and refocused from amending inaccurate information to ordering agencies to obtain and produce proof and documentation of file contents during complaints, inspections, or investigations. The security freeze provisions — including a narrowed list of purposes during which a freeze blocks disclosure — are now active law, and a separate Minister's power to set registration fees has been repealed, with that authority moved into the general regulation-making powers. Consumer reporting agencies should review their disclosure procedures, fee structures, security freeze practices, and compliance processes against the updated consolidated text.

Who this affects: consumer reporting agencies · consumers seeking credit file or score disclosure · businesses relying on consumer reports · compliance and legal teams at credit bureaus