When Do the Credit Bureaus Report New Information?
Discover when credit bureaus update your financial information and how long it impacts your credit report. Get insights into reporting cycles and data retention.
Credit bureaus serve as central repositories for financial data, compiling comprehensive reports on consumers’ borrowing and repayment behaviors. These reports are instrumental for lenders, landlords, and some employers in assessing an individual’s financial reliability. Information is continuously gathered from various sources, providing an ongoing snapshot of financial activities. Understanding how and when this data is reported clarifies how credit profiles are maintained.
What Appears on a Credit Report
A credit report contains personal and financial details. This includes identifying information such as names, current and past addresses, dates of birth, and Social Security numbers. This personal data helps identify the consumer but does not directly influence credit scores.
The core of a credit report consists of credit account information, detailing revolving accounts like credit cards and installment loans such as mortgages and auto loans. For each account, the report shows the opening date, credit limit or original loan amount, current balance, and payment history. It indicates whether payments were made on time or if any delinquencies occurred.
Public records, including bankruptcies, can appear on a credit report, sourced from court filings. Credit inquiries, which are records of requests for your credit report, are also included. These inquiries are generated when a consumer applies for new credit or when certain service providers or employers review credit information.
How Information is Reported to Bureaus
Credit bureaus receive financial data from data furnishers, including banks, credit card companies, and other lenders. These furnishers typically report account status and payment activity to the major credit bureaus—Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion—monthly. This reporting usually occurs at the end of a billing cycle or statement period, though the exact day can vary for each furnisher.
While positive account activity, such as on-time payments and current balances, is generally updated monthly, negative events follow a different reporting timeline. A missed payment is typically reported to the credit bureaus once it becomes at least 30 days past due. If an account continues to be delinquent, further late payment statuses (e.g., 60 or 90 days late) are reported at those intervals.
Collection agencies may report a delinquent account after attempting to contact the consumer. Public record information, like bankruptcies, is sourced directly from courts and government entities and is added to the report once filed. When a consumer applies for new credit, a hard inquiry is automatically recorded on the credit report.
How Long Information Stays on Reports
The duration information remains on a credit report is governed by federal regulations, primarily the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). Most negative information, including late payments, accounts sent to collections, and charge-offs, typically remains on a credit report for seven years from the date of the original delinquency.
Bankruptcies have specific retention periods; a Chapter 13 bankruptcy generally stays on a report for seven years from the filing date, while a Chapter 7 bankruptcy can remain for up to 10 years. Credit inquiries typically remain on a report for up to two years. While tax liens were previously reported, they are no longer included on credit reports by the major bureaus. Positive account information, such as accounts in good standing, can remain on a credit report indefinitely as long as the account remains open and active. If a positive account is closed, it may continue to appear on the report for up to 10 years from the date of closure.