What Is 15 USC 1681c? Seven-Year Limit, Bankruptcy, and Exceptions

Section 1681c of Title 15 of the U.S. Code is the part of the Fair Credit Reporting Act that limits what negative information a credit bureau can put in a consumer credit report and how long it can stay there. Most adverse items must fall off after seven years. Bankruptcies get ten. Medical provider names are shielded, veterans get extra protections, and certain criminal convictions have no time limit at all. The statute also has an exception most consumers never hear about: for large loans, large life insurance policies, and high-salary jobs, none of those time limits apply.

The Seven-Year Limit and What It Covers

The heart of 15 U.S.C. 1681c(a) is a set of aging rules. Once a piece of negative information hits the seven-year mark, credit bureaus generally can’t report it anymore. The categories that fall under this ceiling include:

Collection accounts and charge-offs, measured from the delinquency that led to the collection or charge-off.
Civil suits, civil judgments, and records of arrest, measured from the date of entry or until the governing statute of limitations expires, whichever is longer.
Paid tax liens, measured from the date of payment.
Any other adverse item not specifically addressed elsewhere in the statute.¹

That covers most of what people see on a credit report: late payments, defaults, repossessions, collection accounts, and old lawsuits.

Criminal convictions are the notable exception. Section 1681c(a)(5) leaves convictions off the seven-year list, so a conviction can legally sit on a credit report indefinitely.¹ In practice the major credit bureaus rarely include criminal records in ordinary consumer credit reports, but the statute permits it. Arrests that never led to a conviction still fall under the seven-year rule.

When the Seven-Year Clock Actually Starts

The trigger date for collection accounts and charge-offs is the point that trips up most consumers. It’s not the date the debt was sold, not the date the collector started reporting, and not the date of any updated balance. Under 15 U.S.C. 1681c(c)(1), the seven-year period begins 180 days after the original delinquency that led to the collection or charge-off.¹

So a collection account will sit on your report for roughly seven and a half years from the date you first fell behind. The 180-day buffer accounts for the lag between a missed payment and the account going to collections. And nothing resets that clock. If the debt is sold to a second collector, the original delinquency date still governs. A new account number, a partial payment, or a new collector’s tradeline does not restart the seven years.

For civil judgments, the clock starts on the date the court entered the judgment. For paid tax liens, it starts on the date of payment.

The Ten-Year Rule for Bankruptcy

Bankruptcies get their own timeline. Under 15 U.S.C. 1681c(a)(1), a bankruptcy case filed under Title 11 can appear on a credit report for up to ten years from the date the court entered the order for relief.¹ The statute doesn’t distinguish among chapters. Chapter 7, Chapter 11, Chapter 12, and Chapter 13 filings all get the same ten-year ceiling under the law.²

As a matter of industry practice, Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion remove completed Chapter 13 bankruptcies after seven years. That’s a voluntary policy, not a statutory right, so it can change; the ten-year statutory ceiling is the fixed number.

Medical Information Under 1681c

Three separate subsections of 1681c address medical information, and they operate independently of the seven-year clock.

Under 15 U.S.C. 1681c(a)(6), a credit report cannot identify a medical provider by name, address, or phone number unless that information is coded so it doesn’t reveal the specific provider or the nature of the medical services. The only carve-out is for reports sent to insurance companies for underwriting other than property and casualty.¹ A lender can see you have a medical collection but shouldn’t be able to tell what kind of care produced it.

Veterans get further protection. Section 1681c(a)(7) prohibits reporting medical debt tied to VA hospital care, medical services, or extended care during the first year after the care was provided. Section 1681c(a)(8) goes further: any veteran’s VA-related medical debt that has been fully paid or settled cannot be reported at all.¹

For consumers generally, the three major bureaus announced voluntary changes in March 2022. They stopped reporting medical collections less than a year old, removed all paid medical debt from credit reports, and beginning in April 2023 stopped reporting any medical collection under $500.³ These are bureau policies rather than statutory requirements.

One boundary worth flagging: a broader CFPB rule that would have banned all medical debt from credit reports was vacated by a federal court in the Eastern District of Texas on July 11, 2025, on the grounds that it exceeded the CFPB’s FCRA authority.⁴ Unpaid medical collections over $500 that are more than a year old can still appear on a credit report under the standard seven-year rule.

The Exception Most Consumers Miss

The seven-year and ten-year ceilings do not apply across the board. Under 15 U.S.C. 1681c(b), the time limits are lifted whenever a credit report is being pulled for one of three purposes:

A credit transaction involving a principal amount of $150,000 or more.
Life insurance underwriting for a policy with a face amount of $150,000 or more.
Employment at an annual salary of $75,000 or more.¹

For those transactions, a credit bureau can legally include a twelve-year-old bankruptcy, a ten-year-old judgment, or a fifteen-year-old collection. The thresholds have not been adjusted for inflation since they were enacted, so more transactions cross them each year. If you’re applying for a mortgage, a large life insurance policy, or a job paying above the salary line, expect that older negative information may resurface even if it has “aged off” your standard consumer report.

The Companion Sections: Fraud Alerts and Identity Theft Blocks

The FCRA sections numbered immediately after 1681c give you tools to control access to your credit file and to remove information that resulted from identity theft.

Under 15 U.S.C. 1681c-1, you can place an initial fraud alert that lasts one year if you suspect identity theft. Anyone pulling your credit during that year sees a notice to take extra steps to verify your identity. If you file an identity theft report, you can request an extended fraud alert that lasts seven years and also removes you from pre-approved credit offer lists for five years. Active duty military members have a separate active duty alert available.⁵

A security freeze goes further. Under 15 U.S.C. 1681c-1(i), the bureaus must place and remove freezes for free. Online or phone requests to place a freeze must be honored within one business day, and requests to lift one within one hour.⁶ A freeze blocks access to your file until you lift it.

Under 15 U.S.C. 1681c-2, if fraudulent accounts appear on your report because of identity theft, the bureau must block that information within four business days once you provide proof of your identity, an identity theft report, and a statement identifying the fraudulent entries. The bureau also has to notify the company that furnished the information so it stops reporting.⁷ The bureau can reverse the block if it determines you requested it in error, made a material misrepresentation, or actually benefited from the transaction.

What to Do When a Bureau Reports Past the Limit

If information on your credit report should have aged off under 1681c but is still showing, the FCRA gives you a route to force it out. Under 15 U.S.C. 1681i, once you dispute an item, the credit bureau has 30 days to investigate and either verify, correct, or delete the information. Submitting additional documents during that window can add up to 15 days. If the bureau can’t verify the item within the deadline, it has to be removed.⁸

The bureau must also notify the furnisher of the disputed information within five business days of receiving your dispute, and notify the furnisher again if the dispute results in a correction or deletion.⁸ If you’re not satisfied with the outcome, you can add a brief statement to your file that gets included whenever the report is pulled.

If the bureau ignores the rules or refuses to remove information that clearly violates 1681c, the FCRA provides two paths to damages. Under 15 U.S.C. 1681n, a willful violation lets you recover actual damages or statutory damages between $100 and $1,000, plus potential punitive damages and attorney’s fees.⁹ Under 15 U.S.C. 1681o, a negligent violation gets you actual damages plus attorney’s fees and costs, without the statutory minimum or punitive damages.¹⁰

You can also file a complaint with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Companies typically respond within 15 days, and you have 60 days to respond to what they say.¹¹ A CFPB complaint doesn’t produce damages, but it creates a documented record that can support a later legal claim.

1
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1681c – Requirements Relating to Information Contained in Consumer Reports
2
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. How Long Does a Bankruptcy Appear on Credit Reports
3
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Have Medical Debt? Anything Already Paid or Under $500 Should No Longer Be on Your Credit Report
4
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. CFPB Finalizes Rule to Remove Medical Bills from Credit Reports
5
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 US Code 1681c-1 – Identity Theft Prevention; Fraud Alerts and Active Duty Alerts
6
GovInfo. 15 USC 1681c-1
7
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 US Code 1681c-2 – Block of Information Resulting From Identity Theft
8
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 US Code 1681i – Procedure in Case of Disputed Accuracy
9
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 US Code 1681n – Civil Liability for Willful Noncompliance
10
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1681o
11
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Submit a Complaint