Bankruptcy & Your Credit Report
IMPORTANT INFORMATION:
Bankruptcy Courts do not control the actions of credit reporting agencies. Bankruptcy Courts do not report information to any of the credit reporting agencies. The credit reporting agencies collect information about bankruptcy cases directly from the court’s public records (www.pacer.uscourts.gov). The bankruptcy petitions, schedules, and other documents filed in a case are part of those public records. Bankruptcy Courts are not able to assist you with removing or correcting information listed on your credit report. For more information, please see below.
1. How long does a bankruptcy remain on my credit report?
The Fair Credit Reporting Act, Section 605, governs the actions of credit reporting agencies. The law states that credit reporting agencies may not report a bankruptcy case on a person’s credit report after ten (10) years from the date the bankruptcy case is filed.
Debtors must directly contact credit reporting agencies to discuss information on a credit report, including bankruptcy case filings. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the credit reporting agency (and the creditor) are required to correct inaccurate or incomplete information on a credit report.
For more information about credit reports and resolving issues on your credit report, there are several educational publications on Federal Trade Commission's website www.ftc.gov.
2. How do I get a free copy of my credit report?
The three nationwide credit reporting companies have set up a central website, a toll-free telephone number, and a mailing address through which you can order your free annual report.
To order, visit annualcreditreport.com, call 1-877-322-8228, or complete the Annual Credit Report Request Form and mail it to:
Annual Credit Report Request Service
P.O. Box 105281
Atlanta, GA 30348-5281
More information about access to free credit reports can be found on the Federal Trade Commission’s website at: http://www.ftc.gov/freereports.
See also:
FTC – Disputing Errors on Credit Reports
FTC – Complaint Assistant
US Courts – Bankruptcy Case Records & Credit Reporting.