How Long Do Negative Items Stay on Your Credit Report?

Negative marks don’t last forever. Here’s how long each kind actually stays on your credit report — and the one date that controls the countdown.

One of the most common questions after a credit setback is simply: when does this go away? The answer is set mostly by federal law, and it’s more predictable than most people think.

Here’s the timeline for each type of negative item, plus a crucial distinction that trips up a lot of people.

The general rule: about seven years

Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), most negative information stays on your credit report for about seven years. The clock almost always runs from the original delinquency date — the date the account first went late and was never brought current — not the date a collector bought it or the date you finally paid.

That single date matters more than any other, because it’s what every countdown below is measured from.

Late payments

A payment reported 30 or more days late stays for seven years from the date of that missed payment. The account itself can remain (in good standing if you bring it current), but each individual late mark ages off on its own seven-year schedule — and its impact fades well before then.

Collections (and the medical exceptions)

A collection account stays for seven years from the original delinquency date of the underlying debt. Selling or transferring a debt to a new collector doesn’t restart that clock, so a “new” collection for an old debt shouldn’t reset the date.

Medical collections get gentler treatment. The national bureaus now keep paid medical collections off reports entirely, remove those under $500, and wait about a year before an unpaid one can appear — details in do medical bills affect your credit.

Charge-offs

When a creditor writes an account off as a loss, that charge-off also reports for seven years from the original delinquency date. Paying it changes the status to “paid charge-off,” which looks better to a human reviewer, but it generally doesn’t erase the entry before its seven years are up.

Bankruptcies

Bankruptcy is the main exception to the seven-year rule, and it depends on the chapter:

• Chapter 7 — up to 10 years from the filing date.
• Chapter 13 — typically 7 years from the filing date, reflecting its repayment structure.

Hard inquiries

A hard inquiry from applying for credit stays on your report for two years, but it typically only affects your FICO score for about 12 months — and usually by just a few points. Soft inquiries, including checking your own credit, don’t affect your score at all (see soft vs. hard inquiries).

Why the clock isn’t the statute of limitations

This is the big one. Two different clocks run on an old debt, and confusing them is costly:

• The credit-reporting period (above) is how long an item can appear on your report — set by the FCRA.
• The statute of limitations is how long a creditor can sue you to collect — set by state law, and a different length.

They don’t move together, and making a payment or even acknowledging an old debt can sometimes restart the statute of limitations in your state. Before you act on an old debt, understand both clocks — see the statute of limitations for how this plays out.

What to do while you wait

Time helps, but you don’t have to be passive:

• Confirm the dates are right. An item reporting past its window, or with a re-aged delinquency date, is an error you can dispute.
• Add positive history so good accounts outweigh the aging negatives.
• Keep everything current, since new late marks start their own seven-year clocks.

The negatives lose weight as they age long before they disappear — so a report that’s trending the right way can help you well before year seven.