How Long Does Bad Credit Last? Find Your Drop-Off Dates
Most negative items stay on your credit report for 7 years: late payments from the missed payment date, and collections and charge-offs from the original delinquency. Chapter 7 bankruptcy stays 10 years from filing; completed Chapter 13 is removed after 7 by the bureaus. Hard inquiries stay 2 years and only affect scores for about one. The damage fades well before the item disappears, especially with new on-time history. Enter a date below to see your drop-off date.
Part of our Fight Back series: Fight Back hub, remove collections, and how can I fix my credit?.
AI-assisted drafting, human-reviewed and source-checked before publication — how we create content.
It can feel permanent. It isn't.
Drop-Off Date Calculator
Estimates based on FCRA time limits and bureau practice. Your exact date depends on what the furnisher reports.
Time Limits by Item
| Item | How long it stays | Clock starts |
|---|---|---|
| Late payment | 7 years | Date of the missed payment |
| Collection | 7 years + 180 days | Original delinquency |
| Charge-off | 7 years + 180 days | Original delinquency |
| Repossession / foreclosure | 7 years | Original delinquency |
| Chapter 7 bankruptcy | 10 years | Filing date |
| Chapter 13 bankruptcy | 7 years (bureau policy) | Filing date |
| Hard inquiry | 2 years | Inquiry date |
If It's Still There After the Limit
Dispute it as obsolete with each bureau. A newer delinquency date than you remember can signal re-aging — dispute that too. See statute of limitations vs. reporting limit.
CreditKaren is a free AI credit report analyzer: upload your Equifax, Experian, or TransUnion report and get a Hit List of entries worth a closer look plus draft dispute letters you review and mail yourself. No subscription, no card, and your report is discarded after analysis. CreditKaren is not a credit repair company and cannot guarantee results. Try CreditKaren free.
Frequently asked questions
What to gather first
- A current copy of each credit report you want to review (Equifax, Experian, TransUnion) from AnnualCreditReport.com.
- Government-issued photo ID and proof of current address, which bureaus commonly request with a mailed dispute.
- Account statements, payment records, or letters that relate to the item you believe is inaccurate or incomplete.
- The exact account name, partial account number, and the reason you believe the entry is inaccurate or incomplete.
- A way to keep records: copies of what you send and, if mailing, proof of delivery.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Disputing information you know is accurate — that wastes the process and does not help you.
- Sending a vague dispute. Identify the specific item and explain what is inaccurate or incomplete.
- Disputing with only one bureau when the same entry appears on more than one report.
- Keeping no copies of what you sent, so you cannot show what was disputed or when.
- Paying a company that promises deletions or score increases — no one can promise those outcomes.
When to get additional help
Consider additional help if a bureau or furnisher does not respond, if an entry you believe is inaccurate stays on your report after a reinvestigation, if you may be affected by identity theft, or if you have questions about your legal rights.
- Submit a complaint to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
- Report suspected identity theft at IdentityTheft.gov (FTC).
- For legal questions, consider consulting a licensed attorney in your state. This page is educational information, not legal advice.
How CreditKaren can help
CreditKaren is a free, AI-assisted tool that reviews a credit report you upload and highlights entries that may be inconsistent, incomplete, or worth a closer look. If you decide an item may be inaccurate or incomplete, CreditKaren can draft a dispute letter you can review, edit, and send yourself.
CreditKaren is not a law firm, credit bureau, lender, or credit-repair organization. It does not provide legal advice and does not guarantee deletions, dispute outcomes, or changes to your credit scores. You decide what to dispute and you send every letter.
Important limitation
Sources and further reading
Review your own credit report with CreditKaren
Use CreditKaren's AI-assisted educational tool to organize report entries you may want to investigate for accuracy. You review every result and decide whether to take action.
CreditKaren does not provide legal, financial, lending, or credit-repair advice. No dispute, deletion, score increase, approval, or other outcome is guaranteed.
Start an Educational Report ReviewWho wrote this & how we work
This page is maintained by CreditKaren to answer common questions about the Fair Credit Reporting Act and our free AI-assisted educational credit report review tool. It reflects current practices in the app and is not legal or financial advice.
Written by the CreditKaren Editorial Team. Every guide references FCRA, FDCPA, and CROA statutes with links to the U.S. Code.
AI assists our drafting. Official sources are linked and verified, and a human on the editorial team reviews every page before publication.
How CreditKaren parses your report, which patterns count as FCRA §611/§623 violations, and why each dispute letter is generated.
Free, ad-supported, and independent — not a law firm and not a credit-repair organization under CROA. You review and mail every letter.
CreditKaren does not require an account to use the educational report review. See our Privacy Policy for information about how CreditKaren handles uploaded reports and related data.