Pull Credit Report on Spouse Not on Loan

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Question:

If an individual applies for a loan and the lender pulls credit on both him and his spouse (spouse is not on the application or affiliated with the loan) is this a violation to the spouse?

Answer:

In a community property state - maybe. In a non-community property state - yes.

A creditor has a permissible purpose to obtain a consumer report on an applicant's spouse if that spouse will be permitted to use the account or will be contractually liable upon the account, or if the applicant is relying on the spouse's income as a basis for repayment of the credit requested. In addition, a creditor may obtain a consumer report on an applicant's spouse if (i) the state law doctrine of necessaries (which may make a consumer liable for certain debts of a spouse) applies to the transaction, (ii) the applicant resides in a community property state, (iii) the property upon which the applicant is relying as a basis for repayment of the credit requested is located in such a state, or (iv) the applicant is acting as the agent of the nonapplicant spouse.