• Check your credit report at least once a year.credit 3d sign image by onlinebewerbung.de from Fotolia.com
  
  

Seven Years

• Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), negative items remain on a credit report for seven years. This applies to late payments, collection accounts, late pays, repossessions, charge-offs, judgments and other derogatory items reported by a creditor. After the seven-year mark, credit bureaus are required to remove it.
  
  

The Exceptions

• The seven-year rule has some exceptions. Positive accounts remain up to 10 years. In most states, unpaid tax liens remain on your report indefinitely. Bankruptcy Chapters 7, 11, and non-discharged or dismissed Chapters 12 and 13 remain for 10 years. In New York, paid judgments and collections remain for five years. In California, paid, unpaid or unreleased tax liens remain for 10 years, and released tax liens remain for seven.
  
  

Bottom Line

• How long an item remains on a credit report depends on whether the account is positive or negative, and in what state the consumer resides. The bureau will remove the item from the report once the applicable time period has passed.