People who disputed a hard inquiry on their Equifax credit report between October 2016 and March 2026. About three million people may be eligible for the settlement.
Equifax agreed to a $30 million settlement of four class actions over how it handled inquiry disputes. The claim deadline is November 29, 2026 and the final approval hearing is December 10, 2026.
Estimated payments are about $100 for the general dispute group, about $300 for the certified group and about $400 for the New York subclass. Actual amounts depend on how many valid claims are filed.
Yes. If you fit a settlement group, you can file a free claim by November 29, 2026. You may also be able to sue on your own under the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
Filing a settlement claim is free. For your own lawsuit, many consumer lawyers work on contingency, and the law can make Equifax pay your attorney fees if you win.
When you dispute something on your credit report, federal law says Equifax must investigate it. Several lawsuits claimed Equifax did not do that when people disputed hard inquiries they did not recognize. Those cases are now settling for $30 million. This page explains who qualifies, what you could get, how to tell a real Equifax settlement email from a scam, and when you can sue Equifax yourself.
The investigation rules come from the Fair Credit Reporting Act, which you can read in 15 U.S.C. 1681i. Equifax has more than one active settlement, and our Equifax settlement page covers both. This page is general information and not legal advice.
Important Equifax update
The $30 million inquiry dispute settlement is open now. The exclusion and objection deadline is November 20, 2026 and the claim deadline is November 29, 2026. Claims for the 2017 Equifax data breach settlement closed on January 22, 2024, so new claims for that one are no longer accepted. Be careful with any message that asks you to pay a fee or share bank details.
The settlement resolves four cases: Hines, Rivera, Oblack and Neubauer, all against Equifax Information Services LLC. They claim Equifax broke the Fair Credit Reporting Act and similar New York and New Jersey laws. In Rivera, filed on October 4, 2018, the plaintiff said he disputed an unfamiliar inquiry several times and was told each time to contact the company that pulled his report, instead of Equifax investigating it. You can read the case summary at ClassAction.org.
You must live in the United States or a U.S. territory and fall into at least one of three groups. Equifax’s own records decide which group you are in, so you do not need to prove your dispute with documents.
If Equifax had your contact details, you should have received a notice with a claim number and PIN. You can enter them on the settlement website at EquifaxDisputeClassAction.com to see your group and file your claim. If you did not get a notice but think you disputed an inquiry, check the website or call the administrator at 833-244-4150. Only file if you truly qualify, because claims are made under penalty of perjury.
The $30 million fund is shared among valid claims, so the final amount can be higher or lower than these estimates. People who cash their first payment may receive a second payment of at least $10 if money remains. Payment is by paper check unless you choose an electronic option.
| Group | Estimated payment | Who it covers |
|---|---|---|
| General dispute group | About $100 | Disputes received from August 31, 2021 to March 27, 2026 |
| Certified group | About $300 | Mailed “not mine” or “unauthorized” disputes from October 4, 2016 to March 27, 2026 |
| New York subclass | About $400 | New York residents with a Cons Comm 664 letter |
A reinvestigation is the free review a credit bureau must do after you dispute an item. Under 15 U.S.C. 1681i, Equifax must either confirm the item is accurate or delete or fix it. If it cannot verify the item, it must remove it.
Yes, the Equifax settlements are real, and they were approved or are under review by federal courts. But scammers copy settlement emails, so check before you click. The FTC says real emails about the 2017 breach settlement come from distribution@equifaxbreachsettlement.com or info@equifaxbreachsettlement.com, and the official site is EquifaxBreachSettlement.com. Anything else deserves caution.
Equifax announced a breach in September 2017 that exposed data on about 147 million people. The global settlement with the FTC, the CFPB and states includes up to $425 million. Claims closed on January 22, 2024, but the administrator is still reviewing identity theft and fraud claims, and free identity restoration help runs until January 2029. The FTC also said the administrator planned to send prepaid cards with extra payments to people who had already been paid, so a prepaid card in the mail can be real. Confirm it on the official site or the FTC page at ftc.gov before you use it.
Yes. You can sue Equifax under the Fair Credit Reporting Act if it reports wrong information and fails to fix it after a proper dispute. You can sue alone, or you can join a class action if one covers you. If you stay in the settlement and accept payment, you give up the right to sue for the same claims, so read the notice first. Our credit reporting lawsuit guide shows another case against the credit bureaus, and our guide on how to sue a company explains the basic steps.
Check your notice today.
Find your claim number and PIN and file before November 29, 2026. If you want to opt out and keep the right to sue, the deadline is November 20, 2026.
These steps take only a few minutes and protect your rights.
Yes. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, a lawsuit generally must be filed within two years after you discover the violation, and no later than five years after it happened. The settlement has its own dates, which are listed here:
Law: Fair Credit Reporting Act
Settlement administrator: 833-244-4150 (Hines v. Equifax)
Official settlement site: EquifaxDisputeClassAction.com
2017 breach settlement: FTC refund page
Equifax is one of the three major credit bureaus and a real company, but that does not mean every message that uses its name is real. Settlement emails and texts are a common scam. Use the official settlement sites and the sender addresses listed above.
EquifaxBreachSettlement.com is the official site for the 2017 data breach settlement, according to the FTC. Claims on that site closed on January 22, 2024. Type the address yourself instead of clicking links in messages.
It can be. The FTC says real breach settlement emails come from distribution@equifaxbreachsettlement.com or info@equifaxbreachsettlement.com. A real email will not ask you to pay anything.
The FTC said the administrator planned to send prepaid cards with extra payments to people who had already been paid in the 2017 breach settlement. If you did not file or expect payment, be careful, and confirm with the official settlement site before activating any card.
Under the $30 million inquiry dispute settlement, estimates are about $100, $300 or $400 depending on your group. The 2017 breach settlement paid different amounts based on each person's claim, and the FTC page does not list one amount for everyone.
Yes. The administrator has been paying cash benefits and reviewing claims for the 2017 breach settlement, and the FTC reported that prepaid cards with additional payments were planned for people already paid.
Yes. If Equifax reports wrong information and does not fix it after a proper dispute, you may be able to sue under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. You can recover actual damages, statutory damages of $100 to $1,000 for willful violations, and attorney fees if you win.
If you qualify for the inquiry dispute settlement, you join by filing a claim by November 29, 2026. The class action for the 2017 breach is closed to new claims. A lawyer can tell you whether you could bring a separate case.
Yes, Equifax is being sued. The $30 million settlement resolves four class actions over inquiry disputes, and a separate $100 million settlement covers credit score errors from March and April 2022.
Equifax announced the breach in September 2017. It exposed data on about 147 million people, and the settlement with the FTC, the CFPB and states includes up to $425 million.
Attackers took advantage of a security flaw in a web application that had not been fixed. Many details came from government reviews after the breach, so read the FTC page for the official account.
Equifax collects data that lenders and other sources report about you, such as your name, addresses, Social Security number, date of birth and account history. That is why a breach or an error on your file can matter so much.
If you froze your Equifax file, you can lift the freeze online through your myEquifax account or by phone. Use only the official Equifax website and have your identity details ready.
Equifax is a publicly traded company, so it is owned by its shareholders. It is one of the three national credit bureaus along with Experian and TransUnion.
There is no fixed cap. The amount depends on your losses and whether the violation was willful. Statutory damages are $100 to $1,000, and actual damages and attorney fees can add to that.