 TITLE: How Long Will It Take to Repair My Credit History? CONTENT: How Long Is Negative Information Allowed to Remain on My Credit Reports?\n------------------------------------------------------------------------\nThe 30- to 45-day time limits apply only to the actual investigation process. If you dispute information on your credit reports that is found to be accurate, then the information is likely to remain on your credit reports after the investigation has been completed. The FCRA does not obligate the credit bureaus to remove accurate information unless the information has run its full credit reporting lifecycle, which varies depending on the information.\nPositive information may be able to remain on your credit reports indefinitely. There is no language in the FCRA that obligates the credit bureaus to remove positive information. Closed accounts with no late payments typically can remain on your report for up to 10 years from the date they were closed. Open, active accounts with no late payments may remain on a credit report indefinitely.\nNegative information is a different story altogether. The FCRA sets limits on how long negative information can remain on a credit report. Late payments and most other negative information is removed after seven years, although there are some exceptions. Chapter 7 bankruptcies, for instance, may remain on credit reports for up to 10 years from the bankruptcy filing date.\nIn addition to their FCRA obligations, several years ago the three credit reporting agencies agreed to remove other information from consumer credit reports as a matter of policy rather than as a matter of law. For example, non-contractual debts, such as library fines and parking tickets, that were previously reported will be removed. END