Background Reports: Credit Report

Recommendation, 2006 Feb 28

Editors: Craig Corner, HireCheck; Chuck Allen, HR-XML Consortium, Inc.

Contributors:

Brad Whitney, American Background; Sue Morgan, HireCheck; Paul Kiel, HR-XML Consortium, Inc.; Mark Sulimirski, ChoicePoint; Charles Rieckhoff, HireRight; Owen Wilson, Total Information Services, Inc.

©2006 HR-XML. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Abstract

This document contains the element definitions for the HR-XML Consortium’s Credit Report schema (Credit.xsd). The schema is a component of HR-XML’s Background Checking specification. For further information on the Background Checking Specification, see:
http://ns.hr-xml.org/2_5/HR-XML-2_5/Screening/US/BackgroundChecking.html

Status of this Document

The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT", "SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "MAY", and "OPTIONAL" in this document are to be interpreted as described in RFC 2119.

Table of Contents

1 Overview.. 4

1.1 Objective. 4

1.2 Terminology. 5

2 Business Process Supported. 5

3 Schema Design. 6

3.1 Design Requirements: Interoperability With Credit Bureau Formats. 6

3.2 Schema Element Descriptions. 6

3.2.1 Credit Report 6

3.2.2 ProcessedDate. 7

3.2.3 CreditFile. 8

3.2.4 PersonalData. 9

3.2.5 DemographicDetail 12

3.2.6 EmploymentInformation. 13

3.2.7 ReportedAliases. 15

3.2.8 CreditConsumerReferal 17

3.2.9 CreditLiability. 19

3.2.10 Creditor 22

3.2.11 AccountOwnershipType. 23

3.2.12 AccountStatusType. 24

3.2.13 AccountType. 25

3.2.14 CreditLoanType. 26

3.2.15 CurrentRating. 27

3.2.16 HighestAdverseRating. 27

3.2.17 MostRecentAdverseRating. 28

3.2.18 PaymentPattern. 29

3.2.19 PriorAdverseRating. 29

3.2.20 PaymentStatus. 30

3.2.21 InformationalMessage. 31

3.2.22 PublicRecord. 32

3.2.23 InformationalMessage. 37

3.2.24 CreditInquiry. 38

3.2.25 CreditSummary. 41

3.2.26 BalanceAmount 43

3.2.27 DelinquencyCounters. 44

3.2.28 HightCreditAmount 44

3.2.29 PastDueBalance. 45

3.2.30 PaymentAmount 45

3.2.31 TotalCreditLimit 46

3.2.32 TradeRatings. 46

3.2.33 InformationalMessage. 47

3.2.34 CreditScore. 47

3.2.35 Global Simple Types. 49

4 Implementation Considerations. 56

4.1 Data Privacy. 56

4.2 Laws Governing Credit Checks. 56

5 Appendix A – Document Version History. 57

6 Appendix B – Related Documents. 57

1 Overview

Credit reports are frequently used as part of a background check. Credit reports can help verify basic facts about the search subject, including prior employers, addresses, and other names the search subject may have used. This information may be be used as input for other screenings, such as employment verification and criminal records searches. For example, identifying prior addresses can be important for deciding which courts to target for a criminal records search. Of course, credit reports also provide valuable insight into a job applicant’s financial responsibility. This may be particularly important if a position involves handling cash, responsibility for managing money, or similar fiduciary responsibilities.

1.1 Objective

There are several private “bureaus” that provide credit reports for employment screening purposes. Within the United States, Experian’s Employee Insight™, Equifax’s Persona™, and Trans Union’s PEER™ are the most widely used services. Each service makes its data available in its own proprietary format.

The HR-XML Consortium’s Credit Report schema is intended to be granular and sufficiently detailed to capture all of the credit data relevant to employment screening. In designing the schema, members of the HR-XML Consortium’s Screening workgroup reviewed the reports produced by each of the credit bureaus. They were careful to ensure that the HR-XML Consortium Credit Reports schema could accommodate all the relevant data fields from the credit bureau report formats. The HR-XML Consortium schema has been designed so that where necessary, the credit bureau’s codes, scoring, and scoring model identifiers can be passed through within an HR-XML Credit Report instance document.

Implementors should note that the Consortium’s Credit Report schema is not necessarily suitable for purposes other than employment screening. Consider that the Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization (see http://www.mismo.org) has developed an XML specification for the capture of credit-report details necessary for the processing of mortgage applications. The MISMO specification captures the set of credit-report data pertinent to mortgage processing in the same way that the HR-XML specification captures credit report data pertinent to employment screening.

1.2 Terminology

Credit Bureau. An agency that provides credit and collection data on consumers within a particular time frame (usually measured in years). This data includes people's credit histories, and can be released in the form of credit reports.

Credit score. This term is used to refer to credit bureau risk scores. It broadly refers to a number generated by a statistical model that is used to objectively evaluate information that pertains to making a credit decision.

Equifax. One of the three major credit bureaus.

Experian. One of the three major major credit bureaus, formerly known as TRW.

Inquiry. Every time a lender requests a credit report, a notation is made on the consumer's record describing the lender, the type of request, and the date. The request is called an “inquiry” and is used to moniter consumer requests for credit.

Installment Loan. A credit account in which the amount of the payment and the number of payments are predetermined or fixed.

Public Record. Information obtained by the credit bureau from public court records, such as liens, bankruptcy filings, and judgments. Public records are open to any person who requests them.

Revolving Account. An account which requires at least a specified minimum payment each month plus a service charge on the balance. As the balance declines, the amount of the service charge, or interest, also declines.

Trans Union. One of the three major credit bureaus.

2 Business Process Supported

The HR-XML Consortium’s Credit Report schema was designed as a component of the HR-XML Consortium’s Background Checking specification. For a description and illustration of supported business processes, see:
http://ns.hr-xml.org/2_5/HR-XML-2_5/Screening/US/BackgroundChecking.html

The Credit Reporting schema also could be used on a “stand-alone” basis. For example, the schema might be useful in building interfaces between “credit reporting engines” and employment screening service providers.

3 Schema Design

3.1 Design Requirements: Interoperability With Credit Bureau Formats

The HR-XML Consortium Credit schema was designed as much as possible to be interoperable with data formats used by major credit bureaus. The HR-XML Consortium’s Sreening workgroup tried to ensure that all data fields relevant to employment screening could be mapped from credit-bureau formats to the HR-XML Consortium’s interchange format. The schema is designed so that where necessary, credit bureau’s codes, scoring, and scoring model identifiers can be passed through within an HR-XML Credit Report instance document. Consequently, a full understanding of how to implement the HR-XML Credit Report schema may require some understanding of the source credit-bureau formats and codes. Implementers should contact the credit bureaus directly for technical details on their data formats and code sets.

3.2 Schema Element Descriptions

The following sections provide diagrams and element descriptions for each major section of the HR-XML Consortium’s Credit Reporting schema.

3.2.1 Credit Report

Component Name

[Global types listed at the end of the table.]

ContentModel*
Data type
Occurrence:
Sequence | Choice | All (minOccurs/maxOccurs)
Attributes

Definition

/
CreditReport

- CreditReportType - (1/1)

Contains a report on the credit status/history of the search subject. A credit report is the result of a credit screening request.

3.2.2 ProcessedDate

/ CreditReport/
ProcessedDate

- FlexibleDatesType - S (0/1)

The date the report was processed or generated. This uses FlexibleDatesType, which can accommodate date information in a variety of formats, including a string. For example “Spring 2003.” This flexibility is necessary since source data often does not conform to a formal or complete date format. This type is used throughout the schema.

3.2.3 CreditFile

/ CreditReport/ CreditFile	- CreditSSNVerifiedType - S (0/*)	Personal and identifying data used as input to the credit search.
/ CreditReport/ CreditFile/ FileDate	- FlexibleDatesType - S (0/1)	Date that credit file was established.
/ CreditReport/ CreditFile/ LastActivityDate	- FlexibleDatesType - S (0/1)	Date of last activity reported.
/ CreditReport/ CreditFile/ FileReference	- EntityIdType - S (0/1)	File reference number as assigned by Credit Bureau.

3.2.4 PersonalData

CreditFile/ PersonalData	- CreditPersonalDataType - S (1/) type xsd:restriction base: xsd:string [Enumerations]: Alias, Other, Current, Prior, NotSpecified - - optional idReference - xsd:string - optional idSource - xsd:string - optional enteredOnInquiry - xsd:boolean - optional sequence - xsd:positiveInteger - optional EffectiveDate - EffectiveDateType - S (0/1) PersonName - PersonNameType - S (0/) PostalAddress - CreditPostalAddressType - S (0/) ContactMethod - ContactMethodType - S (0/) DemographicDetail - DemographicDetailType - S (0/1) ReportedDate - ReportedDateType - S (0/1) LastReportedBy - xsd:string - S (0/1) UserArea - [see include/import] - S (0/1)	A collection of information containing descriptive elements, demographic and contact information about the search subject.
/ [CreditPersonalDataType] / type	xsd:restriction base: xsd:string [Enumerations]: Alias, Other, Current, Prior, NotSpecified	Further defines the associated element in the context provided. [BusinessRule(s): Additional values are permitted if preceded by an x: ] [Example(s): PersonName/Affix context examples: type=”aristocraticTitle”..type=”formOfAddress”, type=”generation”, type=”qualification”. Contains the letters used to describe academic or other type qualifications held by a person and/or the distinctions conferred. ]
/ [CreditPersonalDataType] / idReference	- xsd:string -	May contain a reference number of the company, and name if the member company that provided the Personal data to the repository. [BusinessRule(s): Screening: This is primarily used for the Credit and SSN reports (but not limited to them). ]
/ [CreditPersonalDataType] / idSource	- xsd:string -	The actual source that is reporting the ID. [BusinessRule(s): The idOwner typically indicates the owner of the ID which in most cases is the same as the issuing authority, but is not necessarily the same. In the case of the credit repositories, it is not unusual to have an SSN associated with the primary SSN on th ] [Example(s): A credit bureau is reporting an SSN that was provided by xyz mastercard company. ]
/ [CreditPersonalDataType] / enteredOnInquiry	- xsd:boolean -	Information captured by the credit repository. [BusinessRule(s): This differs from data that is received from a current liability holder. Information from a liability holder is normally received via a different process at the repository. ] [Example(s): An individual applies for a car loan and the address information is sent to the credit bureau when the inquiry for the individuals credit report is made. ]
/ [CreditPersonalDataType] / sequence	- xsd:positiveInteger -	Used within the FlexibleDetailType to identify the sequence of items. [BusinessRule(s): Screening: This is required in the case of the credit reports as the sequencing is critical. ]
/ CreditFile/ PersonalData/ EffectiveDate	- EffectiveDateType - S (0/1)	Date or time interval on or during which information or events are effective. [BusinessRule(s): It is recommended that all EffectiveDate elements contain at least a StartDate subelement. This date is inclusive. Dates are represented in accordance with ISO 8601. ]
/ CreditFile/ PersonalData/ PersonName	xsd:extension base: PersonNameType type - PersonNameTypeType - optional	The name of a person.
/ CreditFile/ PersonalData/ PersonName/ type	- PersonNameTypeType -	Further defines the associated element in the context provided. Contextual: The type of PersonName. Enumerated values include Subject, Alias, Other, Contact. [BusinessRule(s): Additional values are permitted if preceded by an x: ]
/ CreditFile/ PersonalData/ PostalAddress	- CreditPostalAddressType - S (0/*)	A mailing address. Describes a postal address used for delivery of mail. The address may include the country code, postal code, a region, municipality, delivery address, and the recipient. [BusinessRule(s): See PostalAddress Recommendation for further information. ]
/ CreditFile/ PersonalData/ PostalAddress/ ReportedDate	- ReportedDateType - S (0/1)	The date the information was recorded or reported. [Example(s): Date information was added to a credit file. ]
/ CreditFile/ PersonalData/ PostalAddress/ LastReportedBy	- xsd:string - S (0/1)	Entity last reporting the information.
/ CreditFile/ PersonalData/ ContactMethod	- ContactMethodType - S (0/*)	Defines the methods of contacting a person or organizations. [Example(s): Postal Address, E-mail, Mobile Number, Fax Number, Business Telephone Number, Business Mobile Number ]
/ CreditFile/ PersonalData/ DemographicDetail	- DemographicDetailType - S (0/1)	A collection of government related and demographic information about the person.
/ CreditFile/ PersonalData/ ReportedDate	- ReportedDateType - S (0/1)	The date the information was recorded or reported. [Example(s): Date information was added to a credit file. ]
/ CreditFile/ PersonalData/ LastReportedBy	- xsd:string - S (0/1)	Entity last reporting the information.

3.2.5 DemographicDetail

/ CreditReport/ CreditFile/ PersonalData/
DemographicDetail

- DemographicDetailType - S (0/1)

GovernmentId - PersonalIdType - S (0/*)
OtherId - PersonalIdType - S (0/*)
DateOfBirth - LocalDateNkNaType - S (0/1)
Race - xsd:string - S (0/1)
GenderCode - GenderCodeType - S (0/1)
VeteranStatus - xsd:string - S (0/1)
MilitaryStatus - xsd:string - S (0/1)
Disability - xsd:string - S (0/*)
Ethnicity - xsd:string - S (0/1)
Religion - xsd:string - S (0/1)
Nationality - CountryCodeType - S (0/1)
VisaStatus - xsd:string - S (0/1)
Language - LanguageCodeType - S (0/*)
EyeColor - ExtendedPersonEyeColorQualifiers - S (0/1)
HairColor - ExtendedPersonHairColorQualifiers - S (0/1)
Height - xsd:string - S (0/1)
Weight - xsd:string - S (0/1)
IdentifyingMarks - xsd:string - S (0/*)
BirthPlace - xsd:string - S (0/1)
Age - xsd:nonNegativeInteger - S (0/1)
HomeOwner - xsd:boolean - S (0/1)
Other - xsd:string - S (0/1)

Demographic information for the subject upon which the screening will be performed upon. Primarily the GovernmentId, DateofBirth, Race and GenderCode unless otherwise specified by the organization performing the screening. Note that DemographicDetailType is defined within DemographicDetail.xsd, a CPO schema included within ScreeningTypes.xsd.

3.2.6 EmploymentInformation

/ CreditReport/ CreditFile/ EmploymentInformation	OrganizationName - xsd:string - S (1/1) Title - xsd:string - S (0/1) PostalAddress - CreditPostalAddressType - S (0/1) Telephone - TelcomNumberType - S (0/) ReportedDate - ReportedDateType - S (0/1) VerifiedDate - FlexibleDatesType - S (0/1) EmploymentDate - EffectiveDateType - S (0/1) Compensation - PositionCompensationType - S (0/) type xsd:restriction base: xsd:string [Enumerations]: Current, Prior, Spouse, Other, Unknown - - required	A collection of information about a current or former employer of the person who is the subject of the credit report.
/ CreditReport/ CreditFile/ EmploymentInformation/ type	xsd:restriction base: xsd:string [Enumerations]: Current, Prior, Spouse, Other, Unknown	Indicates the type employment information being reported.
/ CreditReport/ CreditFile/ EmploymentInformation/ OrganizationName	- xsd:string - S (1/1)	The name by which an organization or enterprise is known as established under the laws of a country, state, province or ruling governmental body for the purpose of conducting business transactions.
/ CreditReport/ CreditFile/ EmploymentInformation/ Title	- xsd:string - S (0/1)	The title of the position held by the human resource.
/ CreditReport/ CreditFile/ EmploymentInformation/ PostalAddress	- CreditPostalAddressType - S (0/1)	CPO's PostalAddress 1.2 version. Defines the mailing address of the worksite.
/ CreditReport/ CreditFile/ EmploymentInformation/ PostalAddress/ ReportedDate	- ReportedDateType - S (0/1)	The date the information was added to the credit file.
/ CreditReport/ CreditFile/ EmploymentInformation/ Telephone	xsd:extension base: TelcomNumberType type - xsd:string -	A telephone number.
/ CreditReport/ CreditFile/ EmploymentInformation/ Telephone/ type	- xsd:string -	The type or classification for the related component.
/ CreditReport/ CreditFile/ EmploymentInformation/ ReportedDate	- ReportedDateType - S (0/1)	The date the information was added to the credit file.
/ CreditReport/ CreditFile/ EmploymentInformation/ VerifiedDate	- FlexibleDatesType - S (0/1)	The date on which the reported information was last verified
/ CreditReport/ CreditFile/ EmploymentInformation/ EmploymentDate	- EffectiveDateType - S (0/1)	Dates of employment.
/ CreditReport/ CreditFile/ EmploymentInformation/ Compensation	- PositionCompensationType - S (0/*)	Details on the compensation package offered to a human resource.
/ CreditReport/ CreditFile/ EmploymentInformation/ type	xsd:restriction base: xsd:string [Enumerations]: Current, Prior, Spouse, Other, Unknown	The type or classification for the related component.

3.2.7 ReportedAliases

/ CreditReport/ CreditFile/ ReportedAliases	- CreditPersonalDataType – S (0/*)	Any other names or aliases reported for the search subject.
/ CreditReport/ CreditFile/ ReportedAliases/ EffectiveDate	- EffectiveDateType - S (0/1)	Date or time interval on or during which information is effective or known to be correct.
/ CreditReport/ CreditFile/ ReportedAliases/ PersonName	xsd:extension base: PersonNameType type - PersonNameTypeType - optional	The name of a person.
/ CreditReport/ CreditFile/ ReportedAliases/ PersonName/ type	- PersonNameTypeType -	The type of PersonName. Enumerated values include Subject, Alias, Other, Contact. Other values are permitted if pre-fixed with “x:”.
/ CreditReport/ CreditFile/ ReportedAliases/ PostalAddress	- CreditPostalAddressType - S (0/*)	CPO's PostalAddress 1.2 version. Defines the mailing address of the worksite.
/ CreditReport/ CreditFile/ ReportedAliases/ PostalAddress/ ReportedDate	- ReportedDateType - S (0/1)	The date the information was added to the credit file.
/ CreditReport/ CreditFile/ ReportedAliases/ ContactMethod	- ContactMethodType - S (0/*)	Contact information, such as work or home telephone number.
/ CreditReport/ CreditFile/ ReportedAliases/ DemographicDetail	- DemographicDetailType - S (0/1)	A collection of government related and demographic information about the person.
/ CreditReport/ CreditFile/ ReportedAliases/ ReportedDate	- ReportedDateType - S (0/1)	The date the information was recorded or reported. [Example(s): Date information was added to a credit file. ]
/ CreditReport/ CreditFile/ ReportedAliases/ LastReportedBy	- xsd:string - S (0/1)	Entity last reporting the information.

3.2.8 CreditConsumerReferal

The credit repository bureaus can identify the type of business of the liability holder. This information is needed for an automated scoring application. This data is available for liability and inquiry records from Equifax, Experian and Trans Union.

/ CreditReport/ CreditConsumerReferal	- CreditConsumerReferralType - S (0/*)	Contains contact information for the credit bureau(s) and/or other organization responsible for reporting the information in the credit report.
/ CreditReport/ CreditConsumerReferal/ CreditBusinessType	- CreditBusinessTypeType - S (0/1)	The credit repository bureaus can identify the type of business of the liability holder. This information is needed for an automated scoring application. This data is available for liability and inquiry records from Equifax, Experian and Trans Union.
/ CreditReport/ CreditConsumerReferal/ CreditBusinessType/ Value	- CreditBusinessTypeQualifiers - S (0/1)	Container for the value required by the current context.
/ CreditReport/ CreditConsumerReferal/ CreditBusinessType/ RepositoryCode	- xsd:string - S (0/1)	A code provided by the credit bureau repository.
/ CreditReport/ CreditConsumerReferal/ CreditBusinessType/ RepositoryValue	- xsd:string - S (0/1)	RepositoryCode and RepositoryValue have a "name-value pair" relationship. RepositoryCode is a code assigned by the repository. RepositoryValue is the corresponding descriptive field for RepositoryCode.

3.2.9 CreditLiability

/ CreditReport/ CreditLiability	- CreditLiabilityType - S (0/*)	A collection of information regarding a credit liability -- e.g., loan, revolving credit line, etc. -- associated with the search subject.
/ CreditReport/ CreditLiability/ FurtherReviewRequired	- xsd:boolean - S (0/1)	A boolean indicating whether further review may be required.
/ CreditReport/ CreditLiability/ AccountClosedDate	- FlexibleDatesType - S (0/1)	The date that the credit liability account was closed by the liability holder.
/ CreditReport/ CreditLiability/ AccountIdentifier	- xsd:string - S (0/1)	The account number assigned to the liability account as provided by the credit repository bureau.
/ CreditReport/ CreditLiability/ AccountOpenedDate	- FlexibleDatesType - S (0/1)	The date that the credit liability account was opened by the liability holder.
/ CreditReport/ CreditLiability/ AccountPaidDate	- FlexibleDatesType - S (0/1)	The date that the credit liability was reported paid to zero by the liability holder.
/ CreditReport/ CreditLiability/ AccountReportedDate	- FlexibleDatesType - S (0/1)	The date that the credit liability data was reported by the liability holder.
/ CreditReport/ CreditLiability/ AccountStatusDate	- FlexibleDatesType - S (0/1)	The AccountStatusDate is the date that the account's CurrentRating was last changed by the liability holder. If the CurrentRating status is Bankruptcy, for example, the StatusDate would be when the account first went into bankkruptcy.
/ CreditReport/ CreditLiability/ ChargeOffAmount	- CurrencyAmountType - S (0/1)	The amount charged off by a liability holder, usually for an account in collection.
/ CreditReport/ CreditLiability/ CollateralDescription	- xsd:string - S (0/1)	A description of any property or other collateral securing the loan.
/ CreditReport/ CreditLiability/ ConsumerDisputeIndicator	- xsd:boolean - S (0/1)	A boolean to indicate whether or not the consumer (borrower) disputes information reported for this account and has filed a FCRA dispute form.
/ CreditReport/ CreditLiability/ DerogatoryDataIndicator	- xsd:boolean - S (0/1)	A boolean that indicates whether or not the liability account contains adverse or derogatory information.
/ CreditReport/ CreditLiability/ DeferredAccountTerms	xsd:extension base: xsd:string type - DeferredLoanTermsType - optional	Terms of the deferred acount.
/ CreditReport/ CreditLiability/ DeferredAccountTerms/ type	- DeferredLoanTermsType -	Type of loan terms. Allows Experian value – “D” – or additional values if pre-fixed with “x:”.
/ CreditReport/ CreditLiability/ HighBalanceAmount	- CurrencyAmountType - S (0/1)	The highest balance recorded for the account by the liability holder.
/ CreditReport/ CreditLiability/ HighCreditAmount	- CurrencyAmountType - S (0/1)	The highest credit limit established for the account by the liability holder. It could be higher than the current credit limit.
/ CreditReport/ CreditLiability/ LastActivityDate	- FlexibleDatesType - S (0/1)	Date of last activity reported.
/ CreditReport/ CreditLiability/ MannerOfPayment	- xsd:string - S (0/1)	The current manner of payment for the liability account.
/ CreditReport/ CreditLiability/ LateCount	- LateDelinquentCountType - S (0/*)	The number of times the liability account was reported late by the liability holder.
/ CreditReport/ CreditLiability/ OriginalLoanAmount	- CurrencyAmountType - S (0/1)	The original amount of the loan.
/ CreditReport/ CreditLiability/ ActualPaymentAmount	- CurrencyAmountType - S (0/1)	The monthly amount the consumer has paid or is scheduled to pay.
/ CreditReport/ CreditLiability/ EstimatedPaymentAmount	- CurrencyAmountType - S (0/1)	The estimated monthly amount the consumer will pay or is scheduled to pay.
/ CreditReport/ CreditLiability/ ScheduledPaymentAmount	- CurrencyAmountType - S (0/1)	The monthly amount the consumer is scheduled to pay.
/ CreditReport/ CreditLiability/ MonthsReviewedCo