Legally reviewed by Allen A. Kolber, Esq. - The Law Offices of Allen A. Kolber, Esq., P.C.
Key Takeaways
- Ten years is the legal limit, and it applies to every chapter.
- The seven years quoted for Chapter 13 is bureau policy, not law, so it is not enforceable.
- Individual discharged accounts run on their own clock, seven years from the delinquency.
- Only errors can be removed early, and disputes go to the credit bureau rather than the bankruptcy court.
Your bankruptcy case may have happened years ago, and you may be in a much better financial position since then. This is why we understand your frustration when you realize this incident still appears on your credit report. This may be especially frustrating because it affects your ability to take out a personal loan, apply for additional lines of credit, and more. With this, you may want to clear your bankruptcy history from your record once and for all. Follow along to find out the possibility of removing bankruptcy from your credit report and how a proficient Rockland County bankruptcy attorney at The Law Offices of Allen A. Kolber, Esq., P.C. can help you move on from this.
How Long Does a Bankruptcy Case Stay on My Credit Report?
The length your past bankruptcy case is supposed to stay on your credit report may depend on which type you filed for. Specifically, your Chapter 7 bankruptcy may remain on your report for 10 years from your original filing date. Then, your Chapter 13 bankruptcy may stay there for seven years from the date you filed.
Those two numbers stem from different places, which matters if you are counting down to a date. Ten years is the legal ceiling: the Fair Credit Reporting Act bars consumer reports from carrying a bankruptcy that was filed more than ten years after the order for relief was entered. This limit is applicable to every chapter.
The seven years commonly associated with Chapter 13 is not in the statute at all; it is a policy the credit bureaus voluntarily adopted, as they believe a filer who completed the plan has returned a portion of the funds to the creditors. However, because it is a policy rather than a rule, it is not something you can enforce against the bureaus like the ten-year limit.
Your Individual Accounts Adhere to a Separate Clock
Bankruptcy itself appears in the public records section of your report. The individual debts eliminated through bankruptcy are separate entries and will leave your report seven years following the delinquency that led to them, rather than seven or ten years from the date on which you filed. As such, they should show a balance of zero and a notation indicating that they have been discharged or otherwise included in a bankruptcy filing. Debts that were not discharged, like most tax debts or domestic support obligations, will continue being reported as normal.
Is There a Way to Remove Bankruptcy From My Credit Report?
We regret to inform you that there is no tangible way to remove your bankruptcy history from your credit report before these seven to 10 years pass. However, what you can do during this time is remove inaccurate or untrue information from your report.
Disputes go to the credit bureau reporting the entry, not to the bankruptcy court. A bankruptcy judge has no authority over what the bureaus publish, so there is nothing to be gained by raising a reporting error in your case. For example, you may submit a dispute letter with the credit reporting agencies if a creditor unnecessarily filed an involuntary bankruptcy petition against you.
Or, you may have the right to dispute negative items you do not recognize as part of your bankruptcy case. An example of falsified information that may further damage your credit score is a disclosure regarding a late payment on your court-ordered Chapter 13 repayment plan.
Lastly, you may dispute an inaccurate filing date for your Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy case. This is because a disclosed date that is later than the actual date may make your bankruptcy incident appear on your credit report for far longer than it has to be.
When the Time Limits Do Not Apply at All
There is a narrow exception most people will never encounter, but should know about. The reporting time limits are lifted when a report is requested in connection with a credit transaction totaling or exceeding $150,000, a life insurance policy of that size, or employment at an annual salary of $75,000 or more.
In these circumstances, bankruptcy can be lawfully reported after the window has closed. In practice, the bureaus rarely take advantage of this limit, but it is written into the statute, rather than just a rumor.
Contact an Experienced New York Bankruptcy Attorney Today
This blog is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to bankruptcy laws in New York State. So for more information, please contact a talented Rockland County bankruptcy attorney from The Law Offices of Allen A. Kolber, Esq., P.C. today.
