How long does adverse information remain on your credit report?

If you’ve ever tried to qualify for a credit card or a personal, car or home loan and have been denied for it, then it likely has something to do at least in part with the negative information contained on your credit report. If you’re wondering how long your bad financial decisions will haunt you, you’ll happy to learn that it’s only for a limited amount of time.

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) is a piece of federal legislation that among other things restricts creditors from continuing to report adverse debt information about you indefinitely. The FCRA generally allows most companies to place adverse information on your credit report for only seven years. There are some exceptions to this rule though.

Two notable exceptions to this rule are tax liens and bankruptcies.

Any tax liens that are reported on your credit report can remain there indefinitely. If you file for bankruptcy, then the fact that you did will remain there for up to 10 years post-filing.

You should know that most debts remain on your credit report for seven years post charge off, delinquency, judgment entry or payment.

A foreclosure or student loan default can remain posted on your credit report for seven years under the FCRA. Any tax liens that you pay or credit card delinquencies that you have may also remain listed for seven years from the time you make a payment or first become delinquent.

Creditors may list charge offs for seven years plus an additional 180 days from when the debt is first reported. Any judgments or lawsuits generally can remain posted for seven years. That time frame may be extended if state law dictates that the statute of limitations is longer though.

It’s common for creditors to sell off delinquent accounts to debt collectors after a certain amount of time has passed that you haven’t paid what you owe. This can make it confusing for you to determine how long information can lawfully remain on your credit report. A Fair Credit Reporting Act attorney here in Vadnais Heights can help you determine if you have a valid claim for requesting the removal of certain information from your credit report under both Minnesota and federal laws.

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