They SAY seven years, but some unscrupulous companies sell old debt for pennies on the dollar, and quite often the companies that buy the debt will restart it.
Also, let’s say you have one year left before a debt falls off of your report. You get some money and make one payment on it; guess what? The seven years starts ALL OVER from the beginning.
Also talking to a collector regarding an old debt can start it over again.
There are many things to know regarding credit. The very best place for info is right here:

Good luck!

7 years in general, bankruptcy stay for 10. If you want to get the item off, you have to contact one of the three report bureaus directly. If an item shows up on all three, you get to do it three times. Isn’t this fun?

yes it is 7 years and 10 years. Go to annualcreditreport.com for your government mandated “free” yearly credit report from the 3 major credit reporting agencies. You can see your credit report (not score) for free every 12 months. It is a very good thing to do to make sure everything is correct and to see what your creditors are seeing. Their is also useful info on there about topics like you asked. The government passed this law for you so take advantage of it.

The Fair Credit Reporting Act allows negative items to stay on your credit report for 7 years, except for bankrupcies–which remain for 10 years. There is a link–which I lost when I answered your question–but I found it just by re-asking your question on the web search box at the top of this page.

I agree with all the responses…7 years. But..there are some that are permanent.

7 years, but a bankruptcy stays for 10 years. The only way it can be removed is if the creditor notifies the reporting agency that it was a mistake, or you can prove something like identity theft/fraud. You can add a statement to any negative item in your history by contacting the credit reporting agency. Your statement explains the negative item, it doesn’t negate it.

7 years

7 Years.

7-10 years regardless

3-4 yrs..a bankruptcy stays 7