How long does negative information stay on my credit report?
Negative information stays on your report no more than seven years from the original date of delinquency. Negative information can be: unpaid debts, charge-offs, late payments, judgments, liens, excessive revolving credit (too many credit cards), and bankruptcies. Bankruptcies can stay on your report for up to 10 years. If your debt is turned over to an outside collection agency and it reports the debt to credit bureaus, that same debt will be reported twice on your report. The negative mark from the collection agency will also stay on your report for seven years. Inquiries from potential creditors stay on your report for one year. Too many inquiries may also be viewed as negative. Note: If you apply for certain jobs with a salary above $75,000, or apply for insurance or loans over $150,000, all negatives will be seen, even if they are more than seven years old.
In general, negative information that is more than 7 years old from date of last activity (10 years for bankruptcies) must be removed from your file. Please refer to the information below to learn more about specific credit report information. Also, please remember that the negative information in your credit report does not come from Equifax; any negative information is reported to Equifax by others that have granted you credit, is included in public record information or reported by collection agencies. Equifax is merely a repository for the information that your credit grantors report, collection agencies report, or is in public records. Credit Accounts • Accounts paid as agreed generally remain on your credit file for up to 10 years from the date of last activity (DLA). • Accounts not paid as agreed generally remain on your credit file for 7 years from the date the account first became past due leading to the current not paid status. • Late Payment History generally remains on your
