How Long Do Items Stay on Your Credit Report? The Complete Table

The 7-Year Rule — and Why It Is More Complicated Than It Sounds

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) sets the maximum time most negative items can remain on your credit report. The "7 years" rule is real, but the key question is: 7 years from what? The answer varies by item type.

Item Type	Maximum Reporting Period	Clock Starts	Notes
Late payments (30/60/90-day)	7 years	Date of the late payment	Each individual late is its own 7-year clock
Collection accounts	7 years	Date of first delinquency on original debt	Clock does NOT restart when debt is sold to a new collector
Charge-offs	7 years	Date of first delinquency	Paying a charge-off does not remove it; it updates the status
Repossession	7 years	Date of first delinquency	Includes deficiency balance entries
Foreclosure	7 years	Date of first delinquency	Short sales and deed-in-lieu also follow this rule
Chapter 13 bankruptcy	7 years	Filing date	Accounts included in bankruptcy may also appear separately
Chapter 7 bankruptcy	10 years	Filing date	The only major exception to the 7-year rule
Hard inquiries	2 years	Date of inquiry	Impact on score fades after 12 months
Closed positive accounts	Up to 10 years	Date account closed	Bureaus may keep positive history longer — this helps your score
Open accounts (positive)	Indefinitely	N/A — stays as long as open	Never close a positive account; it helps your history length
Unpaid tax liens	No longer reported	N/A	Major bureaus stopped reporting tax liens in 2018
Civil judgments	No longer reported	N/A	Removed from credit reports in 2017-2018

The Critical Distinction: "Date of First Delinquency"

For collections and charge-offs, the clock starts from the date of first delinquency — the date you first fell behind on the original account, before it was ever charged off or sold to a collector. This date is fixed. No matter how many times the debt is sold to different collection agencies, the 7-year clock does not restart. A collector that tries to report a newer, later delinquency date is violating the FCRA.

What "Paying" a Collection Does (and Does Not Do)

Paying a collection account does not remove it from your credit report. It changes the status from "unpaid collection" to "paid collection" — but both versions remain on your report until the 7-year clock expires. The only ways to remove a collection before the 7 years are: a successful dispute proving the item is inaccurate or unverifiable, or a negotiated "pay for delete" agreement with the collector.

Zombie Debt: When Collectors Restart the Clock Illegally

Some debt collectors attempt to report a collection account with a fresh date to reset the 7-year clock. This is illegal under the FCRA. If you see a collection with a date of first delinquency that appears to be more recent than the original account's first delinquency, dispute it immediately. Include documentation showing the correct original delinquency date.

Learn more in our guide to zombie debt and your rights.

What to Do When an Item Should Have Fallen Off

Bureaus are supposed to remove items automatically, but errors happen. If you see an item that should have expired based on the dates above, file a dispute with the bureau providing the dates — the original delinquency date and the current date — and request removal. Use our dispute letter templates as a starting point.