Section 20.038 - [Effective 4/1/2025] Exemption From Security Freeze A security freeze does not apply to a consumer report provided to:
(1) a state or local governmental entity, including a law enforcement agency or court or private collection agency, if the entity, agency, or court is acting under a court order, warrant, subpoena, or administrative subpoena;(2) a child support agency as defined by Section 101.004, Family Code, acting to investigate or collect child support payments or acting under Title IV-D of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. Section 651 et seq.);(3) the Health and Human Services Commission acting under the following provisions of the Government Code: (I) Sections 544.0109(b) and (d);(T) Section 544.0303; and(4) the comptroller acting to investigate or collect delinquent sales or franchise taxes;(5) a tax assessor-collector acting to investigate or collect delinquent ad valorem taxes;(6) a person for the purposes of prescreening as provided by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. Section 1681 et seq.), as amended;(7) a person with whom the consumer has an account or contract or to whom the consumer has issued a negotiable instrument, or the person's subsidiary, affiliate, agent, assignee, prospective assignee, or private collection agency, for purposes related to that account, contract, or instrument;(8) a subsidiary, affiliate, agent, assignee, or prospective assignee of a person to whom access has been granted under Section 20.037(b);(9) a person who administers a credit file monitoring subscription service to which the consumer has subscribed;(10) a person for the purpose of providing a consumer with a copy of the consumer's report on the consumer's request;(11) a check service or fraud prevention service company that issues consumer reports: (A) to prevent or investigate fraud; or(B) for purposes of approving or processing negotiable instruments, electronic funds transfers, or similar methods of payment;(12) a deposit account information service company that issues consumer reports related to account closures caused by fraud, substantial overdrafts, automated teller machine abuses, or similar negative information regarding a consumer to an inquiring financial institution for use by the financial institution only in reviewing a consumer request for a deposit account with that institution; or(13) a consumer reporting agency that: (A) acts only to resell credit information by assembling and merging information contained in a database of another consumer reporting agency or multiple consumer reporting agencies; and(B) does not maintain a permanent database of credit information from which new consumer reports are produced.Tex. Bus. and Comm. Code § 20.038
Amended by Acts 2023 , Texas Acts of the 88th Leg.- Regular Session , ch. 769, Sec. 2.01, eff. 4/1/2025.Added by Acts 2003 , 78th Leg., ch. 1326, Sec. 3, eff. 9/1/2003.This section is set out more than once due to postponed, multiple, or conflicting amendments.