Have you ever wondered how long a bankruptcy stays on your credit report? According to the Federal Fair Credit Reporting Act, any bankruptcy filed can remain on your credit report for 10 years. However, some of the credit reporting agencies treat certain bankruptcy filings differently and therefore have different periods of time that a bankruptcy will be kept on a credit report. Most of the reporting agencies will keep a Chapter 7 bankruptcy on the report for 10 years but will remove a Chapter 13 filing after 7 years. The reason this is done is to encourage a debtor to pay part of their debt rather than have all debts discharged under Chapter 7.

Further, getting credit has more to do with your income and if you have blemishes on your credit report but have a reasonable amount of income then you may get credit, however, it just may not be a the best rate.

The three prominent credit reporting agencies are Experian, Transunion, and Equifax.  Both Experian and Transunion keep a Chapter 7 filing on the credit report for 10 years and a Chapter 13 on the report for 7 years. Equifax retains a Chapter 7 filing on the credit report for 10 years but distinguishes Chapter 13 filings. A Chapter 13 filing that is dismissed is retained on the credit report for 10 years and a Chapter 13 that is discharged is kept on the report for 7 years. Discharge means that the terms of the Chapter 13 plan have been met and dismissal means that the terms of the filing were not being met and the debtor is no longer under the protections of the bankruptcy court.