• Age (unless you are under 18)
• Sex
• Marital status
• Race
• Religion
• National origin
• Income derived from public assistance
• Intent to have children
• Birth control practices

You can only be turned down for credit based on:

• Your credit history
• A current or former spouse's credit history
• Other financial information

What You Need to Do

• By law, you are supposed to receive a letter from the financial institution. If you don't understand the letter you received explaining why you were denied credit, call the financial institution and ask for more details.

• If you suspect discrimination by a bank, savings and loan or credit union, ask for the name and address of the federal agency that enforces the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (depending on the institution, this will be either the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Office of Thrift Supervision or the National Credit Union Administration). The Equal Credit Opportunity Act mandates that the creditor must give you this information. Not every institution can act on your individual case, but they can track your complaints, along with other similar ones, in order to find a pattern of discrimination.

• If you suspect discrimination by a retail or department store, finance or mortgage company, utility, state credit union or government lending program, contact:
  Consumer Response Center
  Federal Trade Commission
  Washington, DC 20580
  The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) cannot intervene in individual disputes. However, the information you provide can be used to show a pattern of discrimination on which the FTC can act.

• Check with the office of your state attorney general to see if the creditor violated state equal credit opportunity laws.

• You can also direct complaints against all types of creditors to:
  Department of Justice
  Civil Rights Division
  Washington, DC 20530