Loan Denied: What the Adverse Action Notice Tells You

Published by the Modern Lending Solutions editorial team. Last reviewed: October 30, 2026.

Short answer: if a lender denies your application, Regulation B generally requires a written notice within 30 days of a completed application. It must give the specific reasons or tell you how to ask for them. If a credit report was used, the notice also tells you which credit bureau supplied it and that you can get a free copy within 60 days. Read the reasons first: they show what to work on before you apply again.

When the notice must arrive

Under Regulation B, a lender must tell you what it decided within these time limits (12 CFR 1002.9(a)(1)):

If your application was missing something you can supply, the lender may instead send a written notice that names the missing information and gives you a reasonable time to provide it. If you do not respond in that time, the lender does not have to consider the application further (12 CFR 1002.9(c)).

What the notice must contain

A denial notice must be in writing and include (12 CFR 1002.9(a)(2)):

• A statement of the action taken.
• The name and address of the lender.
• A statement of your rights under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, which bars discrimination on bases such as race, color, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, age and income from public assistance.
• The name and address of the federal agency that oversees the lender.
• Either the specific reasons for the denial, or your right to get them.

If the notice gives your right to the reasons instead of the reasons themselves, you must ask within 60 days of the notice, and the lender must give them within 30 days. The notice must name the person or office to contact, with an address and phone number. If the lender gives the reasons by phone, you can ask for them in writing (12 CFR 1002.9(a)(2)(ii)).

The reasons must be specific and name the principal reasons. A notice that only says you did not meet the lender's internal standards, or did not reach a qualifying score on its scoring system, is not enough (12 CFR 1002.9(b)(2)). These rules are for consumer credit; business credit applications follow a different version of them (12 CFR 1002.9(a)(3)), which the personal vs business loan guide touches on.

The credit report part of the notice

The federal sample notice includes a Fair Credit Reporting Act section for decisions based in whole or in part on a credit report (Regulation B, Appendix C, Form C-1). In that sample, the lender:

• Names the credit bureau that supplied the report, with its address and phone number.
• States that the bureau played no part in the decision and cannot tell you why you were denied.
• Tells you that you can get a free copy of your report from that bureau if you ask no later than 60 days after you receive the notice.
• Tells you that you can dispute information in the report you find inaccurate or incomplete.
• If it used a credit score, lists the score, its date, the range of possible scores and the key factors that hurt the score.

The same sample has a separate line for decisions based on information from an outside source other than a credit bureau. For those, you can make a written request within 60 days of the notice to learn the nature of that information (Form C-1).

The CFPB confirms the free report after a denial based on a credit report, from the company named in the notice, if you request it within 60 days. It also says you can view your reports from the three major credit reporting companies for free once a week (CFPB). The credit report check guide walks through what to look at, and the dispute guide covers how to fix an error.

Reasons you may see, and what to look at

The federal sample notice lists reasons such as these (Form C-1). The table pairs some of them with a guide on the topic. A real notice uses the lender's own wording.

Before you apply again

• Get the specific reasons in writing if the notice did not include them, within the 60 days.
• If a credit report was used, request the free copy from the bureau named in the notice within 60 days and check it for errors.
• If the notice lists a credit score, note the key factors it gives; those are what hurt the score in this decision.
• Each new application can mean a hard inquiry, which can affect your score (CFPB). Fix what the reasons point to before you apply again.
• If you think a lender discriminated against you or broke these notice rules, the notice names the federal agency that oversees it, and you can also file a complaint; see how to file a loan complaint.

Questions to ask the lender

• What are the specific reasons for the denial?
• Was a credit report or credit score used, and from which credit bureau?
• Was the application complete, or was information missing?

This guide explains federal rules in general terms. It is not legal advice.

Start your loan request How our service works

Sources

1. Regulation B, 12 CFR 1002.9: notifications, including adverse action notices and statements of specific reasons
2. Regulation B, Appendix C to Part 1002: sample notification forms, including the Fair Credit Reporting Act disclosure
3. CFPB: How do I get a free copy of my credit reports?
4. CFPB: What is a credit inquiry?

Disclosure: Modern Lending Solutions is not a lender, loan broker or agent for any lender or loan broker, and does not make credit decisions. Any compensation we receive is paid by participating lenders, only for advertising services. This guide is general information, not financial or legal advice.