Credit Reporting Statute Of Limitations

[Credit Expert]

How Long Can Items Stay on My Credit Report?


Credit Reporting Statute Of Limitations

The time limits for various types of information to appear on consumer credit reports are set by the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act.

Making payments or partial payments on bad debts does not effect the running of the credit reporting time limits, except in the case of tax liens and federal student loans. All other types of items should expire on schedule, based on the original dates, regardless of when or whether they are paid. There was previously a great deal of confusion over the starting point, which could have been interpreted as the date of the last activity on the account. This resulted in the possibility of "re-setting the clock" on an old bad debt by making a payment on it, or by paper-shuffling on the part of collection agencies. The issue was clarified in the 1996 amendments to the FCRA, which set a specific starting date related to the original delinquency date (see FCRA Section 605 (c) (1).)


This is how long items can stay on your credit report:


Inquiries - Two years.

Late Payments - Seven years from the month in which the late payment was due. If there are multiple late payments in one account item, then they will each expire individually.

Charge-Offs - Seven years. The time runs from the date of the delinquency, plus 180 days. If a payment was due on an account on March 1, 2004, but the debtor defaulted, and never caught up to become current again, and the account is eventually declared a charge-off by the creditor, then the seven year reporting time limit starts running on Sept 1st, 2004, with the item scheduled to expire from his/her credit reports on Sept 1st, 2011.


Collection Accounts - Seven years. The running of this time limit is the same as with charge-offs. The date of delinquency still refers to the original delinquency with the original creditor, regardless of when the collection agency began working the debt. This includes debts that have been bought by a collection agency. Collection agencies cannot legitimately "re-set the clock."

Lawsuits And Judgements - Seven years or until the governing statute of limitations has expired, whichever is longer.

Bankruptcy (Chapter 7) - Ten years (from the date of entry of the order for relief or the date of adjudication.

Bankruptcy (Chapter 13) - Seven years.

Paid Tax Liens - Seven years from the date of payment.

Unpaid Tax Liens - Forever (unless paid - see above.)

Unpaid Federal Student Loans - Forever (unless paid, after which they can appear for seven years.)


The above time limits apply to credit reports which would be available to creditors for most types of credit applications.



The credit bureaus are legally permitted to disclose older information in the following situations:


1) A credit application involving a principle loan amount of $150,000 or more.


2) An application for a life insurance policy with a payout of $150,000 or more.


3) An application for employment in a position paying $75,000 per year or more.


Here is chart for how long creditors can collect on debts. (Please dont confuse this with the length of time debt can be reported to the credit bureaus.) http://expert-debt-advice.com/resources ... tions.html



If you have items on your credit reports that are past the statute of limitations for credit reporting, call me or visit my website to find out how I can help you delete them permanently.

http://www.CreditAgenda.com