The length of time information takes to come off your credit report ranges from two to 10 yearsâor indefinitely if an account remains open. However, that doesnt mean it will impact your credit score for that long, and if a negative mark is inaccurate, you have a right to dispute it with the credit bureaus.
A credit report provides a history of your dealings with creditors, and your open accounts will remain on your reports as long as theyre active. But when it comes to certain types of information related to individual accountsâboth positive and negativeâa credit reports memory may last anywhere from two to 10 years.
That said, an items impact on your credit score over time isnt static. Understanding how long something stays on your credit report and how it influences your credit score can help you make better decisions, particularly if you need to rebuild your credit.
Your credit report contains a wealth of information about your financial history from open accounts to late payments. But it doesn’t keep that information forever. Generally speaking most items stay on your credit report for 7 years before dropping off. However, some items may stick around longer or shorter than 7 years.
What is the 7-Year Rule?
The “7-year rule” refers to the standard length of time credit reporting agencies can report most negative information on your credit report. The rule comes from the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), which sets time limits for how long items can remain on your report.
Specifically, the FCRA states that items generally may be reported for 7 years from the date of first delinquency leading to the negative status. After the 7 years is up, the credit bureaus must remove the negative item from your credit report.
Here are some common negative items and their typical reporting timeframes:
- Late payments – 7 years
- Debt collections – 7 years
- Charge-offs – 7 years
- Bankruptcies – 7 years for Chapter 13, 10 years for Chapter 7
- Foreclosures – 7 years
- Tax liens – 7 years from the date you resolve the lien
Positive information may remain longer, with open accounts reporting indefinitely and closed accounts reporting for 10 years after closure.
Why 7 Years for Credit Report History?
The 7-year timeframe serves an important purpose. It ensures your current creditworthiness is evaluated based on relatively recent information instead of long-past mistakes. Creditors do not want to penalize you forever for errors you made many years ago.
For instance, a financial hardship you experienced in your 20s isn’t necessarily indicative of how you’ll manage credit in your 30s after establishing yourself in a career.
At the same time, 7 years also gives creditors enough history to spot any recurring patterns in your credit management. It strikes a balance between limiting the damage of old negatives and retaining enough history to make informed lending decisions.
When Does the 7-Year Period Start?
The clock starts ticking when the negative event first occurs, not when it gets reported to the credit bureaus. Here are some examples:
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For a late payment, the 7 years begins on the date of the missed payment. For instance if you miss a credit card payment in March 2022 that late will stay on your report until March 2029.
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For a debt collection, the 7 years starts when you initially fell behind on payments with the original creditor. So if you defaulted on a loan in January 2019 and the account was sent to collections in July 2019, the collection would stay on your report until January 2026.
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For a Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy filing, the 7 or 10 years begins on the actual filing date.
When Do Items Come Off Your Credit Report?
Items generally come off your credit report in the month after the 7-year reporting period ends. Credit bureaus update their databases on a monthly basis.
For example, say you filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy in March 2015. That bankruptcy would appear on your credit report until March 2025, the entire 10-year reporting period. But it would likely disappear from your report sometime in April 2025, during the next monthly update after the 10-year mark.
The major credit bureaus – Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion – don’t always update their databases on the same day each month. So a removed item may disappear from one bureau’s report before getting deleted from the others.
What Stays on Your Credit Report Longer Than 7 Years?
While 7 years is the standard, not all items follow the same timeline. Here are some exceptions to the 7-year rule:
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Chapter 7 bankruptcies stay on your credit report for 10 years. They take longer to fall off since filing Chapter 7 completely wipes out eligible debt after liquidating assets.
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Inquiries from lenders who view your credit report (aka “hard inquiries”) remain for 2 years. Soft inquiries that don’t impact your credit score, such as for prescreened offers, may display for 2 years but don’t affect your score.
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Public records like tax liens and civil judgments may report for 7 years from the filing date or longer if still unpaid. Paid tax liens may report for 7 years from the date you resolved the lien.
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Accounts with an unpaid balance may stay on your credit report indefinitely until you repay the amount owed. However, their impact on your scores will decrease over time.
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Derogatory information may reappear if an old debt gets resold and re-reported by another debt collector within the 7-year window.
Overall, the older and less recent an item is, the less it impacts your credit scores. But only by disappearing entirely from your credit report can you be assured the item no longer affects your credit.
Tips for Managing Items on Your Credit Reports
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Check your credit reports regularly so you know what’s being reported and when it will disappear. You can order free annual credit reports from AnnualCreditReport.com.
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Don’t stress too much over items that will soon fall off your report. Focus instead on building healthy credit habits going forward.
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If you have errors on your report, dispute them with the credit bureaus right away to get them corrected or removed.
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Consider credit counseling if unresolved financial issues are haunting your credit history. They can advise you on managing negative items already on your reports.
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Don’t try to artificially age your credit report by keeping old accounts open. Closing accounts in good standing won’t hurt your scores.
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Pay down balances and keep utilization low, as amounts owed are a big factor in your credit scores.
Overall, give negative items time to fade from your credit report. Meanwhile, strengthen your credit profile by practicing good financial habits. With prudent management, those old credit mistakes will eventually become a thing of the past.
How Long Do Inquiries Stay on a Credit Report?
A credit inquiry occurs when an institution, such as a lender, insurance company, utility company or employer, requests to review your credit file. There are two types of credit inquiries, both of which come off your credit reports after two years.
A hard inquiry will appear on your credit report when you apply for credit, such as a loan, credit card or line of credit. One inquiry on its own wont impact your credit score by much, if at all, and if youre rate-shopping for a certain type of loan, such as an auto or home loan, multiple inquiries in a small window of time from different lenders are often combined into one for credit-scoring purposes.
Multiple inquiries in a short period of time unrelated to rate-shopping, however, can have a more significant impact on your credit scoreâthough that influence decreases over time. The good news is that, while theyll stay on your reports for two years, they only affect your FICO® Score for one year.
A soft inquiry can occur in a number of situations, including the following:
- A lender runs your credit (without your express permission) to send you a preapproval offer
- An insurer checks your credit to develop a credit-based insurance score to help determine policy premiums
- An employer runs a credit check when you apply for a job
- A utility company checks your credit before connecting your service to determine whether to require a deposit
While soft inquiries stay on your credit reports for two years, they dont affect your credit scores.
How Long Does Positive Information Remain on Your Credit Reports?
The FCRA doesnt require creditors to remove positive information from your credit reports. As a result, positive information on your open accounts will typically stay on your reports as long as the account remains open.
After you close a credit card account or pay off a loan, its positive information will remain on your credit reports and continue to benefit your credit score for 10 years after the closure or payoff date.
How long Hard Inquiry Stays on YOUR Credit Report (& how long a Hard Pull affects YOUR credit score)
FAQ
Is it true that after 7 years your credit is clear?
How far back does the credit report go?
In most cases, a credit bureau may not report negative information that is more than seven years old or bankruptcies that are more than 10 years old.
Does bad credit go away after 10 years?
Highlights: Most negative information generally stays on credit reports for 7 years. Bankruptcy stays on your Equifax credit report for 7 to 10 years, depending on the bankruptcy type. Closed accounts paid as agreed stay on your Equifax credit report for up to 10 years.
How far back does a credit file go?
Financial account information (such as, credit cards, mortgages, loans): Open accounts that are not in default will show up to 6 years of financial history until settled and closed, financial history older than 6 years will automatically disappear from your credit report.