How long negative items stay on your credit report (2026)
Edited by Moe Ameen · Published
Most negative information stays on your credit report for seven years, the CFPB says, and bankruptcies for up to ten. Late payments of 30 days or more last seven years, and collections last seven years plus 180 days from the date the account first went delinquent. Hard inquiries stay two years, but FICO only counts them for one. Equifax, Experian and TransUnion don't report paid medical collections, by their own policy.
Key takeaways
- Late payments stay seven years; collections stay seven years plus 180 days from the first delinquency.
- Chapter 7 bankruptcy stays ten years; Chapter 13 stays seven, per Experian.
- Hard inquiries stay two years but only affect FICO Scores for one.
- Paid medical collections and those under $500 are left off reports by the bureaus' own policy.
How long do late payments stay on a credit report?
Seven years for a payment 30 or more days late. The CFPB says most negative information can be reported for seven years.
The CFPB sets out the general seven-year rule [1], and Experian says a payment 30 or more days late stays on your reports for seven years [2]. Payment history is 35% of a FICO Score [5], so on-time payments from here on carry the most weight.
How long do collections stay on a credit report?
Seven years plus 180 days from the date the original account first became delinquent, not from when the collector bought it or you paid it.
Experian puts it at seven years from the date the account became delinquent [3], and Credit.com counts it as seven years plus 180 days from that delinquency date [8]. Medical collections follow different rules, covered below.
How long does a bankruptcy stay on a credit report?
Up to ten years. Experian says Chapter 7 stays ten years from filing and Chapter 13 stays seven.
The CFPB says bankruptcies can stay for up to ten years [1]. Experian gives the split by chapter [2].
How long do hard inquiries affect my credit?
They stay on your report for two years, but FICO only counts them for one. Rate shopping for a mortgage, car or student loan counts as one inquiry.
myFICO says inquiries only affect FICO Scores for a year [4]. Newer FICO versions treat mortgage, auto and student loan inquiries within a 45-day span as one; older versions use 14 days. FICO also ignores those inquiries from the 30 days before scoring [4].
Does medical debt show up on credit reports?
Less than it used to. The bureaus stopped reporting paid medical collections and those under $500. A CFPB rule to go further was vacated in 2025.
Equifax says paid medical collections were dropped from US reports on July 1, 2022, the waiting period before unpaid ones appear went from six months to one year, and medical collections with an initial balance under $500 were removed in April 2023 [6]. These are the bureaus' own policies, not federal law.
The CFPB's January 2025 rule on medical debt was vacated by a federal court on July 11, 2025, which found it exceeded the Bureau's authority under the Fair Credit Reporting Act [7]. Some states have their own medical debt laws, which we haven't covered here.
Glisten check
How long each item stays, and how long it counts
| Item | Stays on your report | Counted from |
|---|---|---|
| Late payment, 30+ days | 7 years [2] | The late payment |
| Collection account | 7 years plus 180 days [8] | The date the account first went delinquent [3] |
| Chapter 7 bankruptcy | 10 years [2] | Filing date [2] |
| Chapter 13 bankruptcy | 7 years [2] | Filing date [2] |
| Hard inquiry | 2 years; FICO counts it for 1 [4] | The inquiry |
| Paid medical collection | Not reported [6] | Bureau policy since July 1, 2022 [6] |
| Medical collection under $500 | Not reported [6] | Bureau policy since April 2023 [6] |
The federal medical debt rule you may have read about in early 2025 isn't in force: a court vacated it on July 11, 2025, and the CFPB's page shows no later action [7]. What protects you today is the bureaus' voluntary policy in the last two rows.
Is this right for you?
Best for
- Anyone working out when an old late payment or collection will fall off.
- People with medical collections on their report.
Not ideal for
- Removing accurate information early. These timelines are set by law and bureau policy.
- Errors. If something is wrong, dispute it with the bureau and the company that reported it.
Frequently asked questions
Does paying a collection remove it from my credit report?
For medical collections, yes: the bureaus don't report paid medical collections [6]. Other collections still follow the seven-year timeline [3].
How long does a hard inquiry hurt my score?
FICO counts it for one year, though it stays on your report for two [4].
Does shopping for a mortgage hurt my credit more than once?
No. Newer FICO versions treat mortgage inquiries within 45 days as one, and older ones use 14 days [4].
What if something on my report is wrong?
Dispute it, free, with the bureau and the company that reported it. The steps are in how to dispute a credit report error.
How we know this
On October 28, 2026 we read the CFPB's pages on how long negative information stays and on Regulation V, myFICO's page on credit inquiries, Experian's pages on report timelines and collections, and Equifax's page on medical debt.
- How long does negative information remain on my credit report?, CFPB. Checked October 28, 2026.
- How long does it take information to come off your report?, Experian. Checked October 28, 2026.
- How and when collections are removed from a credit report, Experian. Checked October 28, 2026.
- Credit checks and inquiries, myFICO. Checked October 28, 2026.
- What's in my FICO Scores?, myFICO. Checked October 28, 2026.
- Can medical debt impact credit scores?, Equifax. Checked October 28, 2026.
- Consumer reporting (Regulation V) final rule, CFPB. Checked October 28, 2026.
- How long do things stay on your credit report?, Credit.com. Checked October 28, 2026.