This report tells what information is likely to be in a credit report; how it is collected, filed, and communicated; and how individual rights regarding credit are protected by law. Topics covered include: (1) information generally contained in a credit profile (identification, family status, public record information, credit accounts, and inquiries); (2) information not included due to law or due to the process of reporting credit; (3) a description of the credit reporting process including problems that can be caused by incomplete applications or incomplete information exchange systems; (4) types of reports supplied by credit bureaus (in-file reports and updated reports); (5) the rights of individuals under the Fair Credit Reporting Act of 1971 to see their credit reports and procedures to follow in order to see a report; and (6) actions to take if information in the report is disputed. Addresses and telephone numbers of California offices of federal and state agencies which handle problems with creditors and credit bureaus are included. The information in this report is current at the time of printing, January 1983, but is subject to change. (DC)