Most negative items must come off after 7 years
15 U.S.C. § 1681c(a)(a)(1), (4), (5)
In plain words
Credit bureaus may not report collection accounts, charge-offs and most other negative items that are more than 7 years old. For a collection or charge-off, the 7 years start 180 days after the delinquency that led to it began — so, about 7½ years from the first missed payment that was never brought current. Paying, settling or re-selling the debt does not restart this clock. Bankruptcies can be reported for 10 years.
Who is protected
Consumers whose reports contain old negative information.
When it applies
- The limits do not apply to reports used for credit or life insurance of $150,000 or more, or a job paying $75,000 or more (§ 1681c(b)).
What you can do
Open the Credit Health tool
Upload your free reports from AnnualCreditReport.com. The tool lists items you may want to check and explains your options. You decide what, if anything, to dispute.
Open the toolDispute an outdated item
If the date of first delinquency shows the item is past the limit, dispute it with each bureau that reports it, citing 15 U.S.C. § 1681c(a) and (c).
Open the toolAsk a creditor for a goodwill adjustment (optional)
For an ACCURATE late payment that is not yet obsolete, you can politely ask the creditor to remove it as a courtesy. This is a request, not a legal right; the creditor may say no.
Open the tool
Honest limits
- The 7-year rule is about reporting, not about whether you owe the debt or can be sued. Lawsuits are governed by your state's statute of limitations, which is different.
- Criminal convictions are not limited by this rule.
The law
- Federal lawFCRA — obsolete information
15 U.S.C. § 1681c(a)(a)(1), (4), (5)
Exact part: (a)(1), (4), (5)
What it says: Bankruptcies over 10 years and collection accounts, charge-offs and other adverse items over 7 years may not be reported.
Read the official texthttps://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title15-section1681c&num=0&edition=prelim - Federal lawFCRA — when the 7 years start
15 U.S.C. § 1681c(c)(1)
What it says: For collections and charge-offs, the period starts 180 days after the delinquency that preceded the collection or charge-off.
Read the official texthttps://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title15-section1681c&num=0&edition=prelim
Court cases
- Homeowner wonSame topicJerman v. Carlisle, McNellie, Rini, Kramer & Ulrich, L.P.A.
Jerman v. Carlisle, McNellie, Rini, Kramer & Ulrich, L.P.A., 559 U.S. 573 (2010)
the FDCPA's bona fide error defense does not excuse a debt collector's incorrect interpretation of what the Act requires
- Homeowner wonSame topicKaltenbach v. Richards
Kaltenbach v. Richards, 464 F.3d 524 (5th Cir. 2006)
a person who meets the FDCPA's general definition of debt collector is subject to the whole Act even while enforcing a security interest
- Homeowner wonSame topicHeintz v. Jenkins
Heintz v. Jenkins, 514 U.S. 291 (1995)
the FDCPA applies to lawyers who regularly collect consumer debts, even through litigation
- Homeowner lostSame topicObduskey v. McCarthy & Holthus LLP
Obduskey v. McCarthy & Holthus LLP, 586 U.S. 466 (2019)
a business engaged only in non-judicial foreclosure is not a debt collector under the FDCPA, apart from the provision barring threats to take property without a present right
- Homeowner lostSame topicMidland Funding, LLC v. Johnson
Midland Funding, LLC v. Johnson, 581 U.S. 224 (2017)
filing an obviously time-barred proof of claim in bankruptcy does not violate the FDCPA
Related rights
Dispute errors on your credit report
15 U.S.C. § 1681i(a)(1)(A)
If your credit report has something wrong or incomplete — like a payment reported late that you made on time — you can dispute it with the credit bureau for free. The bureau must investigate, usually within 30 days, and fix or delete information it cannot verify.
Read this rightNo lawsuits or threats of lawsuits on time-barred debt
12 C.F.R. § 1006.26(b)
Once your state's statute of limitations has run on a debt, a debt collector may not sue you — or threaten to sue you — to collect it. Be careful: in many states a payment or written promise to pay can restart or revive the limitations period, so get advice before paying anything on an old debt.
Read this rightA collection or charge-off must carry its real delinquency date
15 U.S.C. § 1681s-2(a)(5)(A)
A company that reports an account placed for collection or charged off must tell the credit bureau the month and year the delinquency began, within 90 days. That date sets when the item must come off your report, and it does not change when the debt is sold.
Read this rightMake the company that reported the error investigate it
15 U.S.C. § 1681s-2(b)(1)
The company that reported the information — such as your servicer — must investigate when a credit bureau passes along your dispute, and fix what is wrong with every bureau. In many cases you can also dispute directly with that company, which must then investigate and report back to you.
Read this rightNo "silent" credit reporting by debt collectors
12 C.F.R. § 1006.30(a)
A debt collector may not report a debt to a credit bureau until it has first spoken with you about the debt, or mailed or electronically sent you a message about it and waited a reasonable time to learn whether it was undeliverable. This stops "passive" collection, where the first you hear of a debt is on your credit report.
Read this rightAfter a discharge, creditors cannot collect the wiped-out debt from you
11 U.S.C. § 524(a)(2)
A bankruptcy discharge wipes out your personal liability for most debts in the case. After that, the law forbids creditors from suing, calling or otherwise trying to collect a discharged debt from you personally. A court can hold a creditor in contempt if there was no fair doubt that its conduct was barred.
Read this right