Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA)
ABA
Updated 10-31-2026
Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA)
a federal (US) statute which prohibits creditors from requiring information concerning a spouse or former spouse of an applicant, except when: (1) the spouse will be permitted to use the account; (2) the spouse will be contractually liable on the account; (3) the applicant is relying at least partially on the spouse's income as a basis for repayment of the credit requested; (4) the applicant resides in a community property state or is relying on property located in such a state as a basis for repayment of the credit requested; or (5) the applicant is relying at least partially on alimony, child support, or separate maintenance payments from a spouse or former spouse as a basis for repayment of the credit requested. The most commonly known regulation interpreting ECOA is called Regulation B, sometimes called "Reg B."
American Bar Association Glossary of Real Estate Terms
ABA · p. 3
California Association of Realtors
Updated 10-31-2026
Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA)
A federal law requiring lenders and other creditors to make credit equally available without discrimination based on race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, marital status, or receipt of income from public assistance programs.
California Association of Realtors Glossary
California Association of Realtors · p. 5
FTC
Updated 10-31-2026
Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA)
A federal law that requires lenders to make credit equally available without regard to the applicant's race, color, reli-gion, national origin, age, sex, or marital status; the fact that all or part of the ap-plicant's income is derived from a public assistance program; or the fact that the applicant has in good faith exercised any right under the Consumer Credit Protec-tion Act. It also requires various notices to consumers.
FTC Real Estate Terms
FTC · p. 6
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