Your credit report is like a report card for your credit. It signals to lenders how risky it might be to give you a loan or credit card and reveals your overall financial wellness.
However, different financial records remain in your credit report for different periods of time, depending on the situation and the type of information. Fortunately, most negative information falls off your report in seven years, while some good information can remain indefinitely.¹ Below, we’ll dive into the specific details.
What is a credit report?
First things first: What is a credit report, anyway?
Credit reports summarize relevant pieces of information about your credit history. In most cases, lenders will use credit reports pulled from one of the three major credit bureaus: Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian.
These credit reporting agencies collect information about your credit history, including factors like your payment history and available credit, to give potential lenders a snapshot of your finances. Lenders can use this report to determine whether or not to approve you for a loan and to calculate a credit limit for your credit cards.
Chime tip: In most cases, your credit report doesn’t actually contain your credit score, the three-digit number the credit bureaus calculate based on factors like the average age of your credit accounts and your credit utilization.
How long negative information stays on credit reports
Good news: the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) protects consumers’ rights around all things related to credit reporting, including how long negative information can stay on your file. Even a bankruptcy isn’t permanent.
But what’s the maximum amount of time a negative item can stay on your credit report? Here’s how long negative information, which can hurt your score, can remain on your credit report:
- Chapter 7 bankruptcy: Chapter 7 bankruptcy means clearing your eligible debt after liquidating your assets. It’s like pressing reset on your debt load, so it has a higher toll on your credit than Chapter 13. Filing Chapter 7 can stay on your credit report for up to 10 years from the filing date.¹
- Chapter 13 bankruptcy: Chapter 13 bankruptcy involves working with the courts and proposing a repayment plan to pay off your creditors and lenders over a few years. Because Chapter 13 is more of a restructuring of your debt and creditors will get their money back, it stays on your credit report for up to seven years from the filing date.² (Psst: Heard of Chapter 11 bankruptcy? It’s like Chapter 13 bankruptcy, but specifically for businesses, so don’t worry about it for your personal credit report.)
- Late or missed payments: Payments anywhere from 30 to over 180 days past due can stay on your report for up to seven years from the original delinquency. As payment history makes up the majority of your credit score (around 35%), falling behind on your payments can cause your score to drop significantly.³
- Accounts in collections: After you miss several payments in a row, your account might go to collections, either to an in-house debt collector or a third-party debt collection agency. Accounts that have gone to collections can linger on your report for up to seven years from the original delinquency.
- Accounts that have defaulted: Mortgages, other types of loans, and lines of credit that have defaulted – like foreclosures, repossessions, and settlements – can show up on your credit report for seven years from the original delinquency. Charge-offs, which are debt balances that creditors deem as a loss and the account is closed for future charges, also fall under this category.
- Lawsuits and judgments: If you are involved with a lawsuit or judgment, this can linger on your credit report for up to seven years.⁴
Type of financial information | Time it stays on your report |
---|---|
Chapter 7 bankruptcy | Up to 10 years from the filing date |
Chapter 13 bankruptcy | Up to 7 years from the filing date |
Late or missed payments | Up to 7 years from the original delinquency |
Accounts in collections | Up to 7 years from the original delinquency |
Accounts that have defaulted | Up to 7 years from the original delinquency |
Lawsuits and judgments | Up to 7 years |
How long positive information stays on credit reports
How long do inquiries stay on a credit report?
Having too many inquiries in a short period of time can ding your credit. Fortunately, they fall off faster than other information. Let’s look at how long inquiries stay on a credit report and why.
- Soft inquiries: Soft credit inquiries don’t impact your credit. Examples of soft inquiries are when a current lender checks your credit, when you’re checking your credit, or when a creditor checks your credit to see if you qualify for pre-approval offers.
- Hard inquiries: While soft inquiries have zero impact on your credit score, hard inquiries can negatively affect your credit. Hard pulls, which typically happen when you apply for a loan, mortgage, or credit card, will stay on your credit file for up to two years from the date of inquiry.⁵ However, the impact is typically minor, and your score will recover within a few months if no negative information is reported.
- Multiple hard inquiries: Multiple hard inquiries can do more damage to your credit score than a single hard inquiry. There is an exception: If you’re shopping for credit and comparing offers, multiple inquiries made in a shorter window will count as a single inquiry. For best results, try to limit your shopping-around time to two weeks.
Stay in the know to build credit
Knowing how certain financial records and money moves can affect your credit can help you make choices that lead to a strong credit report. In turn, it can raise your credit scores, meaning lower interest rates and more favorable terms.
Ready to make positive money moves to work on your credit? Learn how to rebuild your credit. You don’t need a credit repair service to make major improvements.
Not all the information on your credit report is negative. Here’s how long positive information – which can help your score – stays on your credit report: