Are credit bureaus required by law to keep negative items on my credit report for 7 or 10 years?
There is absolutely no requirement by law that credit bureaus report anything on you at all. However, credit bureaus are private companies that make their income by collecting and selling your personal information. According to the law, they can retain information on negative items for 7 years, as long as there is no activity. This is known as the “seven year clock”. If you activate this account by paying any portion of the amount due, the clock starts over.Bankruptcies stay on for 10 years.
