ACRAnet may appear on your credit report after a landlord, mortgage company, employer, or another business orders a screening report about you. The company is legitimate, but an unfamiliar entry still deserves attention.
The right response depends on why the report was ordered. A housing or mortgage application may create a hard inquiry, while an employment screening normally should not affect your credit score. You may dispute the entry when you did not authorize it, it belongs to someone else, or the information is inaccurate.
This guide explains what ACRAnet does, how to identify the source of the entry, and how to request a correction or removal.
What Is ACRAnet?
ACRAnet is a consumer reporting company based in Spokane, Washington. It provides tenant screening, employment screening, mortgage services, and other background-check products for businesses, landlords, and lenders.
Its reports may include credit information, rental history, criminal records, employment details, or identity verification. ACRAnet supplies the information, while the business that ordered it makes the final decision.
Why Is ACRAnet on Your Credit Report?
An ACRAnet entry often connects to an application that required a credit or background review. Its name may appear even when you dealt only with another business.
Common reasons include:
- Apartment application: A landlord or property manager used ACRAnet to review your credit history, rental background, or both.
- Mortgage application: A mortgage business ordered credit or public-record information through ACRAnet.
- Employment screening: An employer requested a background report after receiving your written permission.
- Unauthorized request: Someone submitted an application with your personal information, or a business accessed your file without a valid reason.
- Reporting mistake: The entry belongs to another consumer or contains incorrect identifying information.
Compare the inquiry date with housing, mortgage, and employment applications from that period. The business that requested the screening may not appear beside ACRAnet.
Is an ACRAnet Entry a Hard Inquiry?
Not every ACRAnet screening has the same effect on your credit score. The type of inquiry depends on the purpose of the report and how the requesting business ordered it.
A rental or mortgage application can result in a hard inquiry that may affect your credit score. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau confirms that credit and leasing applications can create hard inquiries.
Employment screening is different. Employers must obtain written permission before ordering a consumer report, and the inquiry should not normally affect your credit score.
Check the section of your credit report where ACRAnet appears. An entry listed with inquiries shared with lenders may be a hard inquiry. An entry listed only for your review may be a soft inquiry.
Contact the credit bureau or ACRAnet if the classification is unclear.
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Can You Remove ACRAnet From Your Credit Report?
You may be able to remove or correct the entry when it is unauthorized, duplicated, attached to the wrong credit file, or otherwise inaccurate. A valid inquiry usually remains until the normal reporting period ends.
You generally cannot remove an accurate inquiry because you were denied, changed your mind, or forgot that the application included screening authorization.
A dispute should identify a specific error rather than request deletion of every inquiry. Federal law gives you the right to dispute incomplete or inaccurate information, but a credit reporting company does not have to investigate a dispute that it reasonably considers frivolous.
How to Investigate an ACRAnet Inquiry
Find out who ordered the report and why. The details on your credit reports and application records can help you trace the entry.
Review All Three Credit Reports
Check your Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion credit reports. ACRAnet may appear on only one credit report if the requesting business accessed only one credit bureau.
Record these details:
- Exact company name: Copy the entry as written.
- Inquiry date: Compare it with your applications.
- Credit bureau: Note which credit report contains it.
- Inquiry section: Determine whether it appears as a hard or soft inquiry.
- Contact information: Save any address or telephone number listed.
Look for unfamiliar accounts, addresses, employers, or names that may point to a mixed credit file or identity theft.
Review Recent Applications
Check rental applications, mortgage paperwork, employment disclosures, and electronic consent forms for screening authorization.
Federal law generally requires an employer to give you a clear disclosure and obtain written permission before ordering an employment report. Contact the landlord, employer, lender, or property manager if one application seems likely.
Ask whether the business used ACRAnet, what type of report it requested, and whether the request included access to your credit history.
Contact ACRAnet
Ask ACRAnet to identify the business that requested the report, the request date, and its stated purpose. Ask how to obtain a copy of the report and submit a dispute.
ACRAnet currently lists the following contact information:
Phone: 800-304-1249
Address:
521 W. Maxwell Ave.
Spokane, WA 99201
These details match the contact information on ACRAnet’s official website.
Explain that you do not recognize the entry when that is accurate. Ask what information shows that the requesting business had permission or another lawful reason to obtain the report.
Record the date, representative’s name, and any reference number.
How to Dispute an Unauthorized ACRAnet Inquiry
Contact both the credit bureau that displays the inquiry and ACRAnet. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau recommends disputing inaccurate information with the credit reporting company and the business that supplied it.
File a Dispute With the Credit Bureau
Submit a dispute to every credit bureau that shows the incorrect entry. Do not dispute it with a credit bureau where it does not appear.
Include:
- Your identifying information: Follow the credit bureau’s document requirements.
- The disputed entry: List ACRAnet and the inquiry date.
- A credit report copy: Mark the specific entry.
- The reason: State that you did not authorize the inquiry or explain the exact error.
- Supporting records: Include application records, correspondence, or identity theft documents.
- Requested correction: Ask for deletion or correction of the inaccurate entry.
A credit reporting company generally must investigate within 30 days. Some investigations can take up to 45 days. The company must send you the results after it completes the investigation.
Send a Direct Dispute to ACRAnet
Tell ACRAnet that you dispute the inquiry. Request the name of the business that ordered the report and records that support the request.
State the error in direct terms. For example, explain that you never applied with the named landlord or that the inquiry date does not match your application.
Include a copy of the credit report page that shows ACRAnet. Add any records that support your position, such as emails from the landlord, employment paperwork, or written confirmation that no application exists.
Send copies, not original documents, and keep proof of delivery.
Review the Investigation Results
Read the investigation response and check your updated credit report. Confirm whether the entry was removed, corrected, or verified.
Ask what information was used to verify the inquiry if it remains. You may submit new evidence. After you try to resolve the problem directly, you may also submit a complaint to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
What to Do If ACRAnet Was Used for Tenant Screening
A tenant screening report can include rental history, eviction records, criminal records, credit information, and a risk assessment. The report itself may contain an error even when the credit inquiry is accurate.
A landlord must provide an adverse action notice when it denies an application or imposes less favorable terms because of a consumer report. This can include a higher deposit, required cosigner, or higher rent.
The notice should identify the screening company and explain your right to a free copy. Request it and check every section for errors.
Dispute inaccurate tenant-screening information directly with ACRAnet. Removing the inquiry from your credit report will not fix a separate mistake inside the tenant screening report.
Tenant screening companies generally have 30 days to investigate a dispute, although some cases may take 45 days. State law may provide a shorter deadline.
What to Do If ACRAnet Was Used for Employment Screening
An employer must obtain your written permission before it orders a background report from a screening company.
Before an employer takes negative action because of the report, it generally must give you a copy and a summary of your rights. This lets you identify errors before the decision becomes final.
Ask for the employer’s disclosure and authorization records if you do not remember consenting. Request the ACRAnet report and dispute any errors.
An employment screening entry should not normally lower your credit score. Contact the credit bureau when the entry appears as a hard inquiry and ask it to verify the classification.
How Long Does an ACRAnet Inquiry Stay on Your Credit Report?
A hard inquiry can remain on a credit report for up to two years. It should disappear automatically after the reporting period ends.
The effect depends on the credit scoring model and your full credit history. No fixed point loss or exact recovery period applies to everyone.
A soft inquiry can remain visible to you without affecting your credit score. You do not need to dispute an accurate soft inquiry solely because it appears on the copy of your credit report that you can see.
Bottom Line
ACRAnet provides reports for housing, employment, mortgage, and other screening purposes. Its appearance on your credit report does not automatically mean a hard inquiry occurred.
Check the inquiry type, application date, and company that ordered the report. Contact ACRAnet when you do not recognize it. Dispute the entry with ACRAnet and each credit bureau that displays it when the inquiry is unauthorized or inaccurate.
Review any separate tenant or employment screening report as well. Removing a credit inquiry will not correct inaccurate rental, employment, or background information that ACRAnet may have provided elsewhere.
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Rachel Myers is a personal finance writer who believes financial freedom should be practical, not overwhelming. She shares real-life tips on budgeting, credit, debt, and saving, without the jargon. With a background in financial coaching and a passion for helping people get ahead, Rachel makes money management feel doable, no matter where you’re starting from.