How Long Do Negative Records Remain On Your Credit Reports?

Negative records in your credit reports can severely affect your credit score negative. This will lead to difficulty in getting a loan or getting one with high interest rate.

However, negative records do not stay in your report forever. All of them have expiration date. Here are a few of the negative records that you should be aware of:


1) Inquiries

Whenever you apply for a loan or a credit card, the lenders will make an inquiry about your credit history and each inquiry will be reflected in your credit report. These records will stay on your credit report for one to two years. Note that too many inquiries by different lenders over a short span of time can affect your credit score in a negative way.

2) Closed accounts

If you closed an account that has a history of late payments and other negative information, the record will stay on your credit report for up to seven years.

3) Late payments

Majority of the people has at one time or another fails to make payment on time. If you have ever miss your payment by 30 days or more, that record will appear in your credit report. And it will stay there for up to seven years.

4) Foreclosure

If you ever gone through a foreclose procedure, the record will remain on your credit report for up to seven years.

5) Bankruptcy

Bankruptcy filing record can stay on your credit for up to ten years after the filing date. This is one negative record you want to avoid as much as possible. However, if you are filing bankruptcy under Chapter 13, you may be able to remove that record after seven years. However, you need to check with the credit bureaus first see if it is possible.

6) Repossession

If you default on your auto loans, your vehicle will be repossessed. This repossession record can remain on your credit report for up to seven years.

Most of the negative records on your credit reports should disappear after seven years except for bankruptcy and normal credit inquiries. If you notice any negative records that should not be in your credit report, you can submit a dispute to the credit bureaus to have the records removed.

If the dispute is valid, the negative records will likely be remove within 30 days. You should receive a notification from the credit bureaus about the dispute status and on your end, you should review your credit report again to make sure the records have been removed.

By: Stephen Chua

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