Drop-off date calculator

How the dates are figured

Each item type follows a different rule. Some come from federal law, some from how the bureaus run their files, and the tool tells you which is which.

The rules it uses

• Late payments: 7 years from the delinquency. Section 1681c(a)(5) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act bars reporting "any other adverse item of information" older than seven years.
• Collections and charge-offs: 7 years, starting 180 days after the delinquency began (15 U.S.C. 1681c(a)(4) and (c)(1)). The tool adds 180 calendar days to your date of first delinquency, then adds seven years. That is the legal outer limit.
• Chapter 7 bankruptcy: 10 years from the date of the order for relief (1681c(a)(1)). In a voluntary case that is the filing date.
• Chapter 13 bankruptcy: the statute allows the same 10 years, but TransUnion says it removes Chapter 13 bankruptcies 7 years after filing. The tool shows the 7-year date as expected and the 10-year date as the legal limit.
• Hard inquiries: on your report for up to 2 years, and counted in FICO Scores for 12 months, per myFICO. These are industry practice, not a statute.
• Closed accounts in good standing: the law's time limits cover negative information. Experian says closed accounts in good standing stay for up to 10 years. Treat this date as typical, not guaranteed.

What doesn't change the date

Paying, settling or closing an account doesn't restart the reporting clock, and a debt being sold doesn't either. The National Consumer Law Center put it plainly: "a partial payment on a debt does not alter the length of the obsolescence period or restart the seven-year clock." A collector that reports a newer delinquency date than the real one is re-aging the debt, which the zombie debt guide covers.

The $150,000 exception

Under 1681c(b), the 7-year and 10-year limits don't apply to a report used for a credit transaction of $150,000 or more, life insurance with a face amount of $150,000 or more, or a job paying $75,000 or more a year. A bureau can still show older items in those reports, though most consumer files no longer contain them.

How the dates are counted

• "Today" is your device's date. The countdown counts whole years, then whole months, then the days left.
• Years are added on the calendar. A start date of February 29 lands on February 28 when the end year isn't a leap year.
• If you check "only the month and year," the tool uses the last day of that month. Furnishers report the delinquency date as a month and year, so a result to the month is as precise as the data allows.
• The calendar file is a standard .ics event on the drop-off date. It works with Google Calendar, Apple Calendar and Outlook, and it is built in your browser.

The CFPB covers the same limits in plain terms in its answer on how long negative information stays.