How Long Do Collections and Charge-Offs Stay on Your Credit Report?
Seven years. The part almost everyone gets wrong is where those seven years start. It is not the day the collector called, not the day the debt was sold, and not the day you paid. It is the first payment you missed and never caught up on.
The short answer
A collection account or a charge-off can be reported for seven years plus 180 days from the date of first delinquency on the original account. Selling the debt does not restart it. Paying it does not restart it, and paying does not remove it early either. To find your own drop-off date, take the month of your first missed payment and add seven years.
Find Your Exact Drop-Off Date
- Pull all three reports free at AnnualCreditReport.com.
- Find the original account, not just the collection entry, and look for the date of first delinquency.
- Add seven years to that date. That is roughly when the account has to come off.
- Compare it to the removal date the bureau lists on the collection entry. If the bureau's date is later, that is worth a dispute.
What the Timeline Usually Looks Like
Month 1
You miss a payment. This is the date of first delinquency, and it starts the seven year clock.
Months 2 to 6
Late payments get reported. Collection calls and letters usually start in this window.
Around month 4 to 6
The creditor may charge off the account. That is a bookkeeping move, not forgiveness.
After charge-off
The account may be handed to an agency or sold to a debt buyer, and a collection account can appear.
Year 7 plus 180 days
The collection and the charge-off both have to come off your report, paid or not.
For more on the bookkeeping side of this, see what a charge-off actually means and what happens when an account goes to collections.
Time Limits for Other Items
| Item | How long it can be reported |
|---|---|
| Collection account | 7 years plus 180 days from first delinquency |
| Charge-off | 7 years from first delinquency |
| Late payment | 7 years from the late payment |
| Chapter 13 bankruptcy | 7 years from the filing date |
| Chapter 7 bankruptcy | 10 years from the filing date |
| Paid medical collection | Not reported by the three nationwide bureaus |
| Unpaid medical collection under $500 | Not reported by the three nationwide bureaus |
Bankruptcy time limits come from the same federal law. State law does not change how long an item can be reported.
Re-Aging Is Not Allowed
Some collectors report a later delinquency date so the account sits on your report longer than it should. That is called re-aging, and it is not permitted. If a collection shows a first delinquency date that is newer than what the original creditor reported, dispute it with the bureau and say the date is wrong. Our credit report dispute guide walks through how to send it.
Waiting It Out Versus Doing Something Now
If the account is close to falling off on its own, waiting can be the simplest choice. If it has years left, the damage fades over time but the entry keeps showing up to lenders. Two things you can do in the meantime: build newer positive history, and check whether the entry is even reported correctly.
- How to get a collection removed covers pay for delete, goodwill letters, and real disputes.
- Do paid collections help your credit covers what changes when you pay.
- How to improve your credit score covers the levers that move fastest.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long do collections stay on your credit report?
Seven years. The clock starts at the date of first delinquency on the original account, which is the first payment you missed and never caught up on. It does not restart when the debt is sold to another company, and it does not restart when you pay. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, a collection account can be reported for seven years plus 180 days from that original delinquency date.
How long do charge-offs stay on your credit report?
The same seven years, measured from the same first missed payment. That means a charge-off and the collection account that came out of it usually fall off at close to the same time, even though they look like two separate problems on your report.
Does paying a collection reset the seven years?
No. Paying does not extend the reporting period and it does not shorten it either. The drop-off date is tied to when the account first went delinquent, not to any payment you make later. Paying can still help you in other ways, including with newer credit scoring models that ignore paid collections.
Do medical collections work differently?
Yes. The three nationwide credit bureaus no longer report paid medical collections at all, they wait about a year before reporting an unpaid one, and they leave off unpaid medical collections under $500. So a medical bill in collections may never show up on your report, or may disappear once you pay it.
What if the account is still on my report after seven years?
Dispute it. An account reported past the legal time limit is an error, and you can file a dispute with each bureau that is still showing it. The bureau has to investigate and remove or correct information it cannot verify as accurate and timely.
Is the seven years the same as the statute of limitations?
No, and this trips up a lot of people. Credit reporting time limits control how long the account can appear on your report. The statute of limitations is a separate state law deadline that controls how long a collector has to sue you over the debt. The two are different lengths and start on different dates.
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- Fair Credit Reporting Act, 15 U.S.C. 1681c (reporting time limits)(opens in a new tab)
- CFPB. How long does negative information stay on my credit report?(opens in a new tab)
- CFPB. Credit reports and scores(opens in a new tab)
- AnnualCreditReport.com. Free reports from all three nationwide bureaus(opens in a new tab)
Federal rules are cited directly. State law varies, so state-specific timelines and exemptions should be confirmed with your state's statutes or a local attorney.