How Long Negatives Stay on Your Credit
Negative marks don't follow you forever. The federal Fair Credit Reporting Act caps how long each derogatory item can sit on your file — from 24 months for a hard inquiry to 10 years for a Chapter 7 bankruptcy. Here's the exact timeline for every type.
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The 7-year rule under the Fair Credit Reporting Act
Most negative information falls off after seven years from the original date of delinquency — the date you first fell behind and never caught up. Per the FCRA §1681c, this includes late payments (30/60/90+ days), charge-offs, collection accounts, repossessions, and most foreclosures. Paying a collection does not restart the clock, and a debt buyer cannot legally re-age the date.
The complete FCRA negative-item timeline
| Negative item | Years on report | Clock starts |
|---|---|---|
| 30/60/90+ day late payment | 7 years | Date of first delinquency |
| Charge-off | 7 years | Date of original delinquency |
| Collection account | 7 years | Date of original delinquency |
| Repossession | 7 years | Date of first delinquency |
| Foreclosure | 7 years | Date of first delinquency |
| Chapter 7 bankruptcy | 10 years | Filing date |
| Chapter 13 bankruptcy (discharged) | 7 years | Filing date |
| Chapter 13 bankruptcy (dismissed) | 10 years | Filing date |
| Hard inquiry | 2 years (scored 12 mo) | Inquiry date |
| Tax lien / civil judgment | Removed since 2017–2018 | N/A |
How to remove items past the FCRA deadline
Bureaus are supposed to drop expired items automatically, but mistakes happen. Pull your three reports at AnnualCreditReport.com, find anything past its window, and file a dispute online. By law, the bureau has 30 days to investigate and delete unverifiable or outdated data.
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- Daily monitoring & alerts
- Identity theft protection
- Score simulator & insights
- $1 for 15 days trial
- Cancel online anytime
- 3-Bureau credit reports & scores
- Daily monitoring & alerts
- Identity theft protection
- Score simulator & insights
- $1 for 15 days trial
- Cancel online anytime
Removing negatives before the 7-year deadline
Three legal paths exist to remove a negative item early:
- FCRA dispute — if any data point (date, balance, status) is inaccurate, the bureau must delete the entire item when the furnisher can't verify it.
- Pay for delete — negotiate with a third-party collector to delete the tradeline in exchange for payment. Get the agreement in writing before paying. Original creditors rarely agree to this.
- Goodwill removal — for a one-off late on an otherwise perfect account, a written goodwill letter to the original creditor sometimes works, especially after the balance is paid.
What you can do while you wait for the clock
Old negatives lose weight over time even before they fall off. Keep new accounts perfectly current, hold utilization under 10%, and add positive tradelines (a secured card, a credit-builder loan, or rent reporting). Most users see a 40–80 point recovery within 6 months of consistent on-time payments — long before the original derogatory ages off.
Related credit-report guides
- How to dispute credit report errors →
- Credit report explained →
- What hurts your credit score →
- How to improve your credit score →
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Negative credit items — frequently asked questions
How long does a late payment stay on a credit report?
7 years from the original date of delinquency — the date you first fell behind and never caught up. Paying the late off later does not restart the clock under the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
How long does Chapter 7 bankruptcy stay on credit?
10 years from the filing date. Chapter 13 bankruptcy stays 7 years from filing if discharged, 10 if dismissed. Both are removed automatically when the FCRA window closes.
Do paid collections fall off faster?
No. A paid collection still stays the full 7 years from the original delinquency date, but FICO 9, FICO 10, and VantageScore 3.0/4.0 ignore paid collections entirely — so it stops impacting newer scoring models the moment it's marked paid.
How long do hard inquiries stay on a credit report?
Hard inquiries stay on your report for 24 months but only affect your FICO score for the first 12. Each one typically costs 3–5 points.
Can I remove a negative item before 7 years?
Yes, three ways: (1) dispute it as inaccurate under FCRA, (2) negotiate a 'pay for delete' agreement with a collector (less common but legal), or (3) request goodwill removal from the original creditor for a one-off late.
Do tax liens and civil judgments still appear on credit reports?
Not since 2017–2018. The three bureaus removed all civil judgments and tax liens after the National Consumer Assistance Plan tightened data-matching standards. Lenders can still see them in public records — but they no longer affect your FICO score.
When does the 7-year clock actually start?
It starts on the original date of first delinquency — the date you first fell behind and never caught up. It does NOT restart when the debt is sold, when you make a partial payment, or when a collector contacts you.
Do settled accounts stay the full 7 years?
Yes. Settling a debt for less than the full amount does not shorten the reporting period. The account stays until the original delinquency date reaches 7 years, but newer scoring models ignore paid or settled collections.
What's the difference between a charge-off and a collection?
A charge-off is the creditor writing the debt off as uncollectible, usually after 180 days late. A collection happens when the original creditor sells the debt to a third-party collector. Both stay 7 years from the original delinquency date.
Can a lender remove a negative item early as a courtesy?
Yes through goodwill removal — but only original creditors typically do this, and usually only for a one-off late payment on an otherwise clean account. Debt collectors have less incentive to remove accurate items.
How do expired negative items affect my score after 7 years?
They don't. Once the FCRA reporting window closes, the item must be removed and can no longer be considered by scoring models. If it remains, file a dispute citing the obsolete-item rule under FCRA §605.
Do child support arrears or unpaid fines appear on credit reports?
Unpaid government obligations can appear if reported by a collection agency, but they follow the same 7-year rule from the date of first delinquency. They do not have special extended reporting periods under federal law.
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