A late payment, a collection account or a charged-off credit card can follow you for years. It doesn’t follow you forever, though. The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) sets limits on how long consumer reporting agencies such as Equifax, Experian and TransUnion can report most negative information.

Here’s how those limits work, when the clock actually starts and what you can do when an old account stays on your report too long.

The basic rule: seven years for most negative items

Under 15 U.S.C. § 1681c(a), consumer reporting agencies generally can’t report the following after about seven years:

• Late payments and other adverse account information
• Accounts placed for collection
• Accounts charged off, or “charged to profit and loss”
• Most other adverse items, other than criminal convictions

Accurate negative information can stay for the full period. The seven-year rule is a maximum, not a minimum. Paying off a collection doesn’t automatically remove it, although it should then be reported as paid.

When does the seven-year clock start?

This is where many errors happen. For collection and charged-off accounts, the FCRA says the seven-year period starts 180 days after the delinquency began (15 U.S.C. § 1681c(c)). In practice, that’s the date of the first missed payment that you never caught up on.

The date doesn’t restart when:

• The debt is sold to a debt buyer
• The account is transferred to a new collection agency
• You make a partial payment on an old collection account

Furnishers must report the original delinquency date to the credit bureaus (15 U.S.C. § 1681s-2(a)(5)). Changing that date to make an old debt look newer, called “re-aging,” can violate the FCRA.

Bankruptcy: up to ten years

The FCRA allows bankruptcy cases to be reported for up to ten years from the date of the order for relief, which is usually the filing date. In practice, the major credit bureaus generally remove a completed Chapter 13 case seven years after filing, while a Chapter 7 case typically stays for ten years. The individual accounts included in the bankruptcy should be updated to show that they were discharged or included in bankruptcy, with a zero balance.

Exceptions to the time limits

The FCRA time limits don’t apply to reports used in connection with:

• A credit transaction of $150,000 or more
• Life insurance with a face amount of $150,000 or more
• Employment at an annual salary of $75,000 or more

In those situations, older information may still appear. Criminal convictions also aren’t subject to the seven-year limit under the FCRA, although some state laws restrict how they can be used.

Judgments, tax liens and medical debt

Some negative items that once appeared on credit reports are now largely gone because of changes in credit bureau practices:

• Civil judgments and tax liens: The three nationwide credit bureaus stopped including civil judgment and tax lien data in credit reports in 2017 and 2018. A judgment can still be enforced, and it may still show up in court records and background checks.
• Medical collections: The three nationwide credit bureaus have stopped reporting paid medical collection debt and medical collections under $500, and they wait a year before reporting new unpaid medical collections. A federal rule that would have removed medical debt from most credit reports was vacated by a federal court in 2025, but some states have passed their own medical-debt reporting restrictions.

Credit reporting time limits aren’t the statute of limitations

Consumers often confuse two separate clocks:

• The credit reporting period controls how long a debt can appear on your credit report.
• The statute of limitations controls how long a creditor has to sue you. It’s set by state law and varies by state and type of debt.

A debt can drop off your credit report and still be legally collectible. A debt can also be too old to sue on and still appear on your report. In some states, making a payment on an old debt can restart the statute of limitations, even though it doesn’t restart the credit reporting clock. Talk to a lawyer before paying on a very old debt.

What to do if an old debt is still on your report

1. Get your free reports from all three bureaus at AnnualCreditReport.com.
2. Find the “date of first delinquency” or “date opened” for each negative account, and compare it with your own records.
3. If an item is past the reporting limit, or its dates look wrong, dispute it in writing with each bureau that reports it. Keep copies and proof of mailing.
4. Under 15 U.S.C. § 1681i, the bureau generally must investigate within 30 days and correct or delete information it can’t verify.
5. If the error isn’t fixed, you may have a claim against the credit bureau, the furnisher or both. The FCRA allows recovery of actual damages, statutory damages for willful violations and attorney’s fees.

Key takeaways

• Most negative items can be reported for up to seven years, measured from 180 days after the delinquency began.
• Selling or transferring a debt doesn’t restart the reporting clock.
• Bankruptcies can be reported for up to ten years.
• If an obsolete or re-aged account is still on your report, a written dispute is the first step, and an FCRA claim may follow.

Ginsburg Law Group represents consumers in FCRA disputes involving obsolete accounts, re-aged debts and reporting errors that were never fixed. If an old account is still on your credit report, contact us for a review.

This article is for general informational purposes only and is not legal advice. Credit reporting practices and state laws change over time. Consult a licensed attorney about your specific situation.

Authoritative Sources

• 15 U.S.C. § 1681c (requirements relating to information in consumer reports)
• 15 U.S.C. § 1681i (procedure in case of disputed accuracy)
• 15 U.S.C. § 1681s-2 (responsibilities of furnishers)
• CFPB: How long does negative information remain on my credit report?
• AnnualCreditReport.com (free credit reports)