How long can a debt stay on my credit report?

If you are engaging in a do it yourself (DIY) debt settlement, you should be aware of how long a particular debt is likely to stay on your credit report. The answer is: it depends on the type of debt.

Under the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act, most debt stays on your credit report for 7 years including student loans, paid tax liens and credit card debt.

However, this is not true for all kinds of debt. Bankruptcies may be reported for as long as 10 years, unpaid judgments may be reported longer if the applicable statute of limitations for the judgment is longer than 7 years and information about criminal convictions may be reported forever. Unpaid tax liens stay on credit reports for 15 years.

The baseline 7 year rule also does not apply in certain situations. There are exceptions to the rule in certain situations:

• Credit transactions involving, or which may be reasonably expected to involve, $150,000 or more in the principal amount

• Hiring for a job paying, or reasonably expected to pay, an annual salary of $75,000 a year or more
• Underwriting of life insurance involving or reasonably expected to involve a face value of $150,000 or greater

 Some entities like to assert that if the debt is sold to another collection agency, the clock on reporting starts over. This is called “re-aging” a debt and is illegal. Re-aged debt should be removed from your credit report and heavily disputed if it exists.