12 CFR §1002.4 — General rules (Regulation B / ECOA)

reg-b-1002-4

Regulation B §1002.4 sets out five general ECOA rules that apply across the entire credit lifecycle: (a) anti-discrimination on a prohibited basis regarding any aspect of a credit transaction; (b) anti-discouragement (no oral or written statement, in advertising or otherwise, that would discourage a reasonable person on a prohibited basis from making or pursuing an application); (c) written-application requirement for dwelling-related types of credit covered by §1002.13(a); (d) form-of-disclosures rules (clear and conspicuous, retainable form, and electronic-disclosure E-Sign Act compliance); and (e) foreign-language disclosure permission.

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source:
  type: regulation
  id: reg-b-1002.4
  authority: 12 CFR §1002.4 — General rules (Regulation B / ECOA)
  description: |
    Regulation B §1002.4 sets out five general ECOA rules that apply
    across the entire credit lifecycle: (a) anti-discrimination on a
    prohibited basis regarding any aspect of a credit transaction;
    (b) anti-discouragement (no oral or written statement, in advertising
    or otherwise, that would discourage a reasonable person on a
    prohibited basis from making or pursuing an application); (c)
    written-application requirement for dwelling-related types of credit
    covered by §1002.13(a); (d) form-of-disclosures rules (clear and
    conspicuous, retainable form, and electronic-disclosure E-Sign Act
    compliance); and (e) foreign-language disclosure permission.
obligations:
  - id: reg-b-1002.4-a-no-discrimination-prohibited-basis
    canonical_id: reg-b-1002.4-a-no-discrimination-prohibited-basis
    section: 12 CFR §1002.4(a) — Discrimination prohibition
    description: |
      [LENDER] shall not discriminate against an applicant on a prohibited
      basis regarding any aspect of a credit transaction. "Prohibited
      basis" is defined in §1002.2(z) (race, color, religion, national
      origin, sex, marital status, age, public-assistance income, or
      good-faith exercise of any right under the Consumer Credit
      Protection Act or any state law upon which an exemption has been
      granted by the Bureau). "Credit transaction" is defined in §1002.2(m)
      to mean every aspect of an applicant's dealings with [LENDER]
      regarding an application or an existing extension of credit
      (information requirements, investigation procedures, standards of
      creditworthiness, terms, credit-information furnishing, revocation,
      alteration, termination, and collection procedures).
    type: refrain
    audit_question: Across the full life of every credit transaction (application intake, information requests, investigation, underwriting, terms-setting, servicing, collection), can [LENDER] evidence that no aspect of the transaction was decided on a §1002.2(z) prohibited basis?
    program_review: Does the program facilitate non-discrimination across every aspect of a credit transaction (intake, information requests, investigation, underwriting standards, terms, furnishing, revocation/alteration/termination, collection) such that prohibited-basis (§1002.2(z)) decisioning is hard to introduce and gets caught — with a fair-lending monitoring backstop for the patterns no single file shows?
    file_review: Start with fair-lending monitoring output (disparity flags, comparative-file pairs, complaint signal); the compliance person judges, on the individual file and across matched pairs, whether any aspect of the transaction turned on a prohibited basis. This is a disparate-treatment judgment, not a checkbox.
    judgment: true
    feeds: []
    workflow_phase: origination
    owner_role: compliance_officer
    secondary_owner_role: loan_officer
    cadence: per-application
    consequence: ''
    tags:
      - round-c
      - regulator-direct
      - reg-b
      - ecoa
      - fair-lending
      - origination
      - discrimination
      - promoted
    primary_source:
      tier: 1
      authority: 12 CFR §1002.4(a)
      source_class: cfpb-regulation
      source_url: https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-12/chapter-X/part-1002/section-1002.4
      snapshot_id: 5c2f9f4ff857d6bf
      fetched_at: '2026-05-24T19:33:35Z'
      content_hash: sha256:4c54ba112aad30a7c997e22bc514ec3cbf2a4e098b46f750d103bf8cd8e7ee48
      paragraph_quote: (a) Discrimination. A creditor shall not discriminate against an applicant on a prohibited basis regarding any aspect of a credit transaction .
      drafter_attestation: |
        Copied verbatim from snapshot 5c2f9f4ff857d6bf (content.txt) at
        2026-05-24T19:41Z. Substring is the full §1002.4(a) operative
        anti-discrimination rule.
    promoted_at: '2026-05-24T20:12:11+00:00'
    promoted_from: reg-b-1002.4-roundc-v1.yaml
  - id: reg-b-1002.4-b-no-discouragement
    canonical_id: reg-b-1002.4-b-no-discouragement
    section: 12 CFR §1002.4(b) — Discouragement prohibition
    description: |
      [LENDER] shall not make any oral or written statement, in advertising
      or otherwise, to applicants or prospective applicants that would
      discourage on a prohibited basis a reasonable person from making or
      pursuing an application.
    type: refrain
    audit_question: Across all advertising, marketing, sales scripts, oral interactions, and other applicant/prospective-applicant communications, can [LENDER] evidence that no oral or written statement would discourage on a §1002.2(z) prohibited basis a reasonable person from making or pursuing an application?
    program_review: Does the program facilitate review of all advertising, marketing, sales scripts, and oral/written applicant communications so it is hard for any statement that would discourage on a prohibited basis a reasonable person from applying to reach the public — with a catch-all review of ad-hoc and oral channels?
    file_review: Review advertising/marketing/script inventory plus any complaint or mystery-shop signal; the compliance person judges whether any statement would discourage a reasonable person on a prohibited basis.
    judgment: true
    feeds: []
    workflow_phase: marketing
    owner_role: compliance_officer
    secondary_owner_role: loan_officer
    cadence: per-communication
    consequence: ''
    tags:
      - round-c
      - regulator-direct
      - reg-b
      - ecoa
      - fair-lending
      - marketing
      - discouragement
      - promoted
    primary_source:
      tier: 1
      authority: 12 CFR §1002.4(b)
      source_class: cfpb-regulation
      source_url: https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-12/chapter-X/part-1002/section-1002.4
      snapshot_id: 5c2f9f4ff857d6bf
      fetched_at: '2026-05-24T19:33:35Z'
      content_hash: sha256:4c54ba112aad30a7c997e22bc514ec3cbf2a4e098b46f750d103bf8cd8e7ee48
      paragraph_quote: (b) Discouragement. A creditor shall not make any oral or written statement, in advertising or otherwise, to applicants or prospective applicants that would discourage on a prohibited basis a reasonable person from making or pursuing an application .
      drafter_attestation: |
        Copied verbatim from snapshot 5c2f9f4ff857d6bf (content.txt) at
        2026-05-24T19:41Z. Substring is the full §1002.4(b) operative
        anti-discouragement rule.
    promoted_at: '2026-05-24T20:12:11+00:00'
    promoted_from: reg-b-1002.4-roundc-v1.yaml
  - id: reg-b-1002.4-c-written-applications-dwelling-credit
    canonical_id: reg-b-1002.4-c-written-applications-dwelling-credit
    section: 12 CFR §1002.4(c) — Written applications for dwelling-related credit
    description: |
      [LENDER] shall take written applications for the dwelling-related
      types of credit covered by §1002.13(a). §1002.13(a) covers consumer
      credit applications for credit primarily for the purchase or
      refinancing of a principal residence of the applicant to be secured
      by that residence — i.e., the population for which Reg B requires
      collection of monitoring-information (race / ethnicity / sex / age /
      marital status).
    type: do
    audit_question: For every consumer credit application primarily for the purchase or refinancing of a principal residence to be secured by that residence (the §1002.13(a) covered population), can [LENDER] evidence that the application was taken in WRITTEN form?
    program_review: Do the P&Ps ensure every §1002.13(a)-covered application (consumer credit primarily to purchase/refinance a principal residence secured by it) is taken in WRITTEN form?
    file_review: Pull the §1002.13(a)-covered population; confirm each application was taken in written form.
    judgment: false
    feeds: []
    workflow_phase: intake
    owner_role: loan_officer
    secondary_owner_role: compliance_officer
    cadence: per-application
    consequence: ''
    tags:
      - round-c
      - regulator-direct
      - reg-b
      - ecoa
      - origination
      - written-application
      - dwelling
      - promoted
    primary_source:
      tier: 1
      authority: 12 CFR §1002.4(c)
      source_class: cfpb-regulation
      source_url: https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-12/chapter-X/part-1002/section-1002.4
      snapshot_id: 5c2f9f4ff857d6bf
      fetched_at: '2026-05-24T19:33:35Z'
      content_hash: sha256:4c54ba112aad30a7c997e22bc514ec3cbf2a4e098b46f750d103bf8cd8e7ee48
      paragraph_quote: (c) Written applications. A creditor shall take written applications for the dwelling -related types of credit covered by § 1002.13(a) .
      drafter_attestation: |
        Copied verbatim from snapshot 5c2f9f4ff857d6bf (content.txt) at
        2026-05-24T19:41Z. Substring is the full §1002.4(c) operative
        written-application rule for dwelling-related credit.
    promoted_at: '2026-05-24T20:12:11+00:00'
    promoted_from: reg-b-1002.4-roundc-v1.yaml
  - id: reg-b-1002.4-d-1-clear-conspicuous-retainable-disclosures
    canonical_id: reg-b-1002.4-d-1-clear-conspicuous-retainable-disclosures
    section: 12 CFR §1002.4(d)(1) — Form of disclosures (clear and conspicuous, retainable)
    description: |
      [LENDER] that provides in writing any disclosures or information
      required by Regulation B must provide the disclosures in a clear
      and conspicuous manner and, except for the disclosures required by
      §§1002.5 (rules concerning information about applicants) and 1002.13
      (information for monitoring purposes), in a form the applicant may
      retain.
    type: do
    audit_question: For every written disclosure [LENDER] provides under Regulation B (other than §§1002.5 and 1002.13 disclosures), can [LENDER] evidence that the disclosure was both (a) clear and conspicuous and (b) in a form the applicant could retain?
    program_review: Do the P&Ps ensure every written Regulation B disclosure is clear and conspicuous and — except for the §§1002.5 and 1002.13 disclosures — provided in a form the applicant may retain?
    file_review: Review the disclosure templates/delivery; confirm clear-and-conspicuous formatting and retainability for all written Reg B disclosures outside the §§1002.5/1002.13 carve-out.
    judgment: false
    feeds: []
    workflow_phase: origination
    owner_role: compliance_officer
    secondary_owner_role: loan_officer
    cadence: per-disclosure
    consequence: ''
    tags:
      - round-c
      - regulator-direct
      - reg-b
      - ecoa
      - origination
      - disclosure-form
      - clear-and-conspicuous
      - promoted
    primary_source:
      tier: 1
      authority: 12 CFR §1002.4(d)(1)
      source_class: cfpb-regulation
      source_url: https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-12/chapter-X/part-1002/section-1002.4
      snapshot_id: 5c2f9f4ff857d6bf
      fetched_at: '2026-05-24T19:33:35Z'
      content_hash: sha256:4c54ba112aad30a7c997e22bc514ec3cbf2a4e098b46f750d103bf8cd8e7ee48
      paragraph_quote: A creditor that provides in writing any disclosures or information required by this part must provide the disclosures in a clear and conspicuous manner and, except for the disclosures required by §§ 1002.5 and 1002.13, in a form the applicant may retain.
      drafter_attestation: |
        Copied verbatim from snapshot 5c2f9f4ff857d6bf (content.txt) at
        2026-05-24T19:41Z. Substring is the full §1002.4(d)(1) operative
        "General rule" for form of written disclosures.
    promoted_at: '2026-05-24T20:12:11+00:00'
    promoted_from: reg-b-1002.4-roundc-v1.yaml
  - id: reg-b-1002.4-d-2-electronic-disclosures-e-sign
    canonical_id: reg-b-1002.4-d-2-electronic-disclosures-e-sign
    section: 12 CFR §1002.4(d)(2) — Electronic disclosures and E-Sign Act compliance
    description: |
      Where [LENDER] provides Regulation B written disclosures in electronic
      form, [LENDER] must comply with the consumer-consent and other
      applicable provisions of the E-Sign Act (15 U.S.C. §7001 et seq.),
      EXCEPT that disclosures under §§1002.5(b)(1), 1002.5(b)(2),
      1002.5(d)(1), 1002.5(d)(2), 1002.13, and 1002.14(a)(2) that accompany
      an application accessed by the applicant in electronic form may be
      provided in electronic form on or with the application form without
      regard to E-Sign consumer-consent or other provisions.
    type: do
    audit_question: For every Regulation B written disclosure [LENDER] delivers electronically, can [LENDER] evidence E-Sign Act consumer-consent and other-applicable-provision compliance — or rely on the §1002.4(d)(2) carve-out for §§1002.5(b)(1)-(2), 1002.5(d)(1)-(2), 1002.13, and 1002.14(a)(2) disclosures accompanying an electronic application?
    program_review: Does the program account for electronic delivery of Reg B written disclosures — complying with E-Sign consumer-consent and other applicable provisions, except relying on the §1002.4(d)(2) carve-out for §§1002.5(b)(1)-(2), 1002.5(d)(1)-(2), 1002.13, and 1002.14(a)(2) disclosures that accompany an electronically-accessed application?
    file_review: Review the e-disclosure flow; confirm E-Sign consent was obtained where required, and that the carve-out disclosures delivered without E-Sign consent are limited to the enumerated sections accompanying an electronic application.
    judgment: false
    feeds: []
    workflow_phase: origination
    owner_role: compliance_officer
    secondary_owner_role: loan_officer
    cadence: per-disclosure
    consequence: ''
    tags:
      - round-c
      - regulator-direct
      - reg-b
      - ecoa
      - origination
      - electronic-disclosure
      - e-sign
      - promoted
    primary_source:
      tier: 1
      authority: 12 CFR §1002.4(d)(2)
      source_class: cfpb-regulation
      source_url: https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-12/chapter-X/part-1002/section-1002.4
      snapshot_id: 5c2f9f4ff857d6bf
      fetched_at: '2026-05-24T19:33:35Z'
      content_hash: sha256:4c54ba112aad30a7c997e22bc514ec3cbf2a4e098b46f750d103bf8cd8e7ee48
      paragraph_quote: The disclosures required by this part that are required to be given in writing may be provided to the applicant in electronic form, subject to compliance with the consumer consent and other applicable provisions of the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act (E-Sign Act)
      drafter_attestation: |
        Copied verbatim from snapshot 5c2f9f4ff857d6bf (content.txt) at
        2026-05-24T19:41Z. Substring is the §1002.4(d)(2) lead-in
        establishing the E-Sign Act compliance condition for electronic
        Regulation B disclosures. The §1002.5/.13/.14 carve-out branch is
        paraphrased in description.
    promoted_at: '2026-05-24T20:12:11+00:00'
    promoted_from: reg-b-1002.4-roundc-v1.yaml
  - id: reg-b-1002.4-e-foreign-language-disclosures-english-on-request
    canonical_id: reg-b-1002.4-e-foreign-language-disclosures-english-on-request
    section: 12 CFR §1002.4(e) — Foreign-language disclosures available in English on request
    description: |
      [LENDER] may make Regulation B disclosures in languages other than
      English, provided they are available in English upon request.
    type: do
    audit_question: Where [LENDER] provides Regulation B disclosures in a language other than English, can [LENDER] evidence that an English-language version was made available to the applicant upon request?
    program_review: Does the program account for non-English Reg B disclosures — permitting them provided an English-language version is available to the applicant on request?
    file_review: Where non-English disclosures are used, confirm an English version is available on request.
    judgment: false
    feeds: []
    workflow_phase: origination
    owner_role: compliance_officer
    secondary_owner_role: loan_officer
    cadence: per-disclosure
    consequence: ''
    tags:
      - round-c
      - regulator-direct
      - reg-b
      - ecoa
      - origination
      - foreign-language
      - lep
      - promoted
    primary_source:
      tier: 1
      authority: 12 CFR §1002.4(e)
      source_class: cfpb-regulation
      source_url: https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-12/chapter-X/part-1002/section-1002.4
      snapshot_id: 5c2f9f4ff857d6bf
      fetched_at: '2026-05-24T19:33:35Z'
      content_hash: sha256:4c54ba112aad30a7c997e22bc514ec3cbf2a4e098b46f750d103bf8cd8e7ee48
      paragraph_quote: (e) Foreign-language disclosures. Disclosures may be made in languages other than English, provided they are available in English upon request.
      drafter_attestation: |
        Copied verbatim from snapshot 5c2f9f4ff857d6bf (content.txt) at
        2026-05-24T19:41Z. Substring is the full §1002.4(e) operative
        foreign-language-disclosures rule.
    promoted_at: '2026-05-24T20:12:11+00:00'
    promoted_from: reg-b-1002.4-roundc-v1.yaml
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    candidate_path: obligations\_remediation\round-c-type-a\reg-b-1002.4-roundc-v1.yaml
    candidates_promoted: 6
    candidates_skipped_existing: 0

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Verbatim regulatory text (6)

Verbatim provisions from 12 CFR §1002.4 — General rules (Regulation B / ECOA) — each quote is a verified substring of the regulator-published source snapshot, not retyped. Quoted for reference; this is not legal advice. The operational layer (P&P updates, prompts) lives in the regulation update kits.

12 CFR §1002.4(a) — Discrimination prohibition

(a) Discrimination. A creditor shall not discriminate against an applicant on a prohibited basis regarding any aspect of a credit transaction .

Source: 12 CFR §1002.4(a) · source URL · snapshot 5c2f9f4ff857d6bf

12 CFR §1002.4(b) — Discouragement prohibition

(b) Discouragement. A creditor shall not make any oral or written statement, in advertising or otherwise, to applicants or prospective applicants that would discourage on a prohibited basis a reasonable person from making or pursuing an application .

Source: 12 CFR §1002.4(b) · source URL · snapshot 5c2f9f4ff857d6bf

12 CFR §1002.4(c) — Written applications for dwelling-related credit

(c) Written applications. A creditor shall take written applications for the dwelling -related types of credit covered by § 1002.13(a) .

Source: 12 CFR §1002.4(c) · source URL · snapshot 5c2f9f4ff857d6bf

12 CFR §1002.4(d)(1) — Form of disclosures (clear and conspicuous, retainable)

A creditor that provides in writing any disclosures or information required by this part must provide the disclosures in a clear and conspicuous manner and, except for the disclosures required by §§ 1002.5 and 1002.13, in a form the applicant may retain.

Source: 12 CFR §1002.4(d)(1) · source URL · snapshot 5c2f9f4ff857d6bf

12 CFR §1002.4(d)(2) — Electronic disclosures and E-Sign Act compliance

The disclosures required by this part that are required to be given in writing may be provided to the applicant in electronic form, subject to compliance with the consumer consent and other applicable provisions of the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act (E-Sign Act)

Source: 12 CFR §1002.4(d)(2) · source URL · snapshot 5c2f9f4ff857d6bf

12 CFR §1002.4(e) — Foreign-language disclosures available in English on request

(e) Foreign-language disclosures. Disclosures may be made in languages other than English, provided they are available in English upon request.

Source: 12 CFR §1002.4(e) · source URL · snapshot 5c2f9f4ff857d6bf