How Long Does a Collection Stay on Your Credit Report?

A collection account stays on your credit report for seven years. That answer is set by federal law, and it holds no matter what kind of debt is behind the collection — a credit card, a medical bill, a phone bill, an auto loan. So the real question behind how long does a collection stay on your credit report is usually a follow-up: seven years from when, exactly, and what can change that date? The clock runs from the date of your first missed payment with the original creditor, and almost nothing resets it.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1681c – Requirements Relating to Information Contained in Consumer Reports

When the Seven-Year Clock Actually Starts

The countdown does not begin when a collection agency buys the debt or when the account first appears on your report. It begins 180 days after your first missed payment with the original creditor — the delinquency that started the chain leading to the collection.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1681c – Requirements Relating to Information Contained in Consumer Reports That anchor date is often labeled the “date of first delinquency” or “original delinquency date.”

An example makes it concrete. If you missed your first payment in January 2020, the reporting clock started in July 2020. The collection has to come off your report by July 2027, regardless of how many times the debt was sold or reassigned in between.

You can find the original delinquency date on your credit report. Experian typically labels it “original delinquency date”; the other bureaus use similar phrasing. Free reports are available weekly from each bureau at AnnualCreditReport.com, a program the three major bureaus have made permanent.2Federal Trade Commission. Free Credit Reports If the date the collection agency reports doesn’t match what the original creditor’s records show, that mismatch is worth disputing.

What Does Not Reset the Clock

The seven-year window is fixed to that first delinquency, and the following do not push it back:

  • Paying the collection in full
  • Settling the collection for less than the balance
  • The debt being sold or transferred to a new collector
  • Making a partial payment

If you pay a collection in year five, the account still drops off at the end of year seven. Its status updates from “unpaid” to “paid in full” or “settled,” but the removal date stays locked to the original delinquency.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1681c – Requirements Relating to Information Contained in Consumer Reports The same is true if the debt has been sold three times to three different agencies. The clock started once and keeps running.

Medical Collections Are Treated Differently

Medical debt follows its own set of rules layered on top of the seven-year cap. In 2022 and 2023, Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion voluntarily changed how they report medical collections. Paid medical collections are no longer included on credit reports at all. Unpaid medical collections under $500 were removed starting in 2023.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau finalized a broader rule in early 2025 that would have banned medical debt from credit reports entirely. A federal court in Texas vacated that rule in July 2025 at the joint request of the Bureau and the plaintiffs, finding it exceeded the agency’s authority under the Fair Credit Reporting Act.3Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. CFPB Finalizes Rule to Remove Medical Bills from Credit Reports Only the voluntary bureau policies remain in effect. Unpaid medical collections above $500 still appear and follow the standard seven-year timeline.

The Statute of Limitations Is a Separate Clock

The seven-year reporting limit governs how long the collection appears on your credit file. It does not govern how long the debt is legally owed or how long a creditor can sue you to collect. That second timeline is your state’s statute of limitations, and it runs independently.

State statutes of limitations on consumer debt range from three to ten years depending on the state and the type of debt. In many states, the clock runs from your last payment on the account. That creates a specific hazard: making even a small partial payment on a very old debt can restart the statute of limitations in many states, giving the creditor a fresh window to sue you for the full balance. The partial payment does not restart the seven-year credit reporting period, which is fixed to the original delinquency and cannot be reset by any payment activity.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1681c – Requirements Relating to Information Contained in Consumer Reports

Before paying anything on an old collection — especially one nearing the end of your state’s statute of limitations — think through whether the payment could reopen your exposure to a lawsuit. This is one of the rare situations where paying can make your legal position worse.

Re-Aging: When a Collector Pushes the Date Forward

Re-aging is when a collection agency reports a date of first delinquency that is more recent than the real one, making the debt look newer and keeping the collection on your report longer than the law allows. It is a direct violation of the FCRA. The original delinquency date never changes, no matter how many times the debt is sold, transferred, or partially paid.

You can spot re-aging by comparing the delinquency date the collection agency reports against the date the original creditor lists on your report. If the collection agency’s date is more recent, that is a red flag worth disputing.

How to Dispute an Expired or Inaccurate Collection

If a collection is still showing after seven years, or if the delinquency date or balance is wrong, file a dispute with each credit bureau that shows the error. Disputes can be submitted online, by phone, or by mail. Include documentation of the original delinquency date: your own records, statements from the original creditor, or a copy of the report showing the date discrepancy.

The bureau generally has 30 days to investigate and respond.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1681i – Procedure in Case of Disputed Accuracy That window extends to 45 days if you filed the dispute after receiving your free annual credit report, or if you submit additional supporting documents during the initial 30-day investigation.5Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. How Long Does It Take to Repair an Error on a Credit Report If the bureau cannot verify the accuracy of the disputed information, it must remove or correct the entry.

Dispute with each bureau separately. An item may appear on one report but not another, and the details reported can differ across the three. Keep copies of everything you send and every response you receive.

What the Collection Does to Your Score While It Sits There

A collection hurts your credit score the most in its first year or two. As it ages, its drag on your score gradually shrinks, even though the entry stays visible for the full seven years. By years five and six, the impact on most scoring models is much smaller than when the collection first appeared.

Whether paying the collection helps your score depends on which model a lender uses. Newer models like FICO 9, FICO 10, and VantageScore 3.0 ignore paid collections entirely. FICO 8, still widely used, counts paid collections against you, though the impact lessens over time. Once the seven-year period expires and the entry is removed, any remaining scoring effect disappears with it. Lenders reviewing your file after that point will not see the delinquency at all.