How Long Do Late Payments Stay on Your Credit Report?

A credit report serves as a detailed record of an individual’s financial behavior, detailing financial behavior and debt management. This report plays a role in various aspects of financial life, including securing loans, obtaining credit cards, and even renting property. One common type of information that can appear on these reports is a late payment, reflecting instances where a payment was not made by its due date. This article clarifies how long late payments remain on a credit report and ways to potentially remove them sooner.

The Duration of Late Payment Reporting

Late payments remain on a credit report for seven years. This timeframe is established under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), a federal law promoting accurate, fair, and private consumer information. The seven-year period begins from the date of the original delinquency, which is the first time the payment went 30 days past its due date.

This seven-year clock starts from the initial missed payment that led to the delinquency, not from subsequent late payments on the same account or when the account is eventually closed. For example, if a payment was first 30 days late in January 2020, even if the account continued to have late payments or was eventually charged off, the late payment entry would be removed from the credit report around January 2027. This original delinquency date remains fixed, regardless of whether the account is later transferred to a collection agency or paid off.

While late payments adhere to this seven-year rule, other types of negative information, such as bankruptcies, may have different reporting periods. Bankruptcies can remain on a credit report for up to 10 years, depending on the type.

Understanding Late Payment Entries

A payment is considered late from a credit reporting perspective when it is 30 days past its due date. Creditors do not report a payment as late to the major credit bureaus—Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion—until it has reached this 30-day threshold. While a few days’ delay might result in a late fee from the creditor, it will not appear on a credit report if paid before the 30-day mark.

If an account remains unpaid, creditors will continue to report its status in increments, such as 60, 90, 120, 150, and 180 days past due. This progression can eventually lead to a “charge-off,” where the creditor deems the debt unlikely to be collected. Each of these statuses reflects the increasing severity of the delinquency.

A late payment entry on a credit report includes specific details about the account. Details include the creditor’s name, account type (e.g., credit card, loan), delinquency date, and past due amount. The report shows the payment status for each month. A single missed payment can lead to multiple late payment notations if the account remains delinquent, with each consecutive month reported as 30, 60, or 90 days late.

Options for Expedited Removal

Disputing Inaccurate Late Payments

If a consumer believes a late payment entry on their credit report is inaccurate, they have the right to dispute it. This includes situations where the payment was actually made on time, the account is not theirs, or the reported date of delinquency is incorrect. The dispute process involves gathering supporting evidence, such as proof of payment, bank statements, or correspondence with the creditor.

Disputes can be initiated directly with the credit bureaus (Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion) online, by mail, or by phone. It is also advisable to contact the creditor directly, as they are the source of the reported information. Upon receiving a dispute, credit bureaus are required by the FCRA to investigate the claim within 30 days. If the investigation finds the information to be inaccurate, the entry will be corrected or removed from the credit report.

Goodwill Requests

A goodwill request is an appeal made directly to a creditor to remove a legitimate late payment from a credit report as a courtesy. This method is pursued for isolated incidents of late payment, especially when the consumer otherwise has a strong payment history. Creditors are not obligated to grant such requests, and their decision is entirely discretionary.

The best approach for a goodwill request is a polite, written letter. The letter should explain the circumstances that led to the late payment, such as a temporary financial hardship or an unexpected life event, while taking responsibility for the missed payment. Highlighting a history of on-time payments before and after the incident can strengthen the request. The letter should clearly ask for a “goodwill adjustment” to remove the late payment from the credit report.