Finder makes money from featured partners, but editorial opinions are our own.
How long does bankruptcy stay on your credit report?
It will take years for bankruptcy to fall off your credit report, but you can still repair your credit.
A bankruptcy will remain on your credit reports for seven to 10 years, depending on how it was filed. The good news is that it won’t follow you forever.
How long does bankruptcy stay on my credit report?
Chapter 7 bankruptcy stays on your credit reports for up to 10 years starting on the date you filed. It’s also known as the liquidation bankruptcy.
Chapter 13, or the repayment or reorganization bankruptcy, can remain on your credit report for up to seven years — also starting on the day you filed. But most Chapter 13 repayment plans are for three to five years, so by the time you’re discharged, or you’ve completed it, it’s nearly time for all accounts associated with it and the bankruptcy itself to fall off your credit reports.
The good news is that bankruptcy doesn’t follow you around forever — but the bad news is that it takes years to completely disappear. Accounts associated with your bankruptcy will disappear after seven years, but the report of the bankruptcy itself will remain for up to 10 years since that information is from the Bankruptcy Court public records.
How do I get bankruptcy removed from my credit reports?
You can’t remove accurate reporting of a bankruptcy from your credit reports. The credit bureaus receive bankruptcy information from the Bankruptcy Court public records.
The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) protects your information collected by consumer reporting agencies, such as credit bureaus, and they’re obligated to report correct information. If the bankruptcy reporting is correct, it will remain on your credit report for seven to 10 years.
How to repair credit during and after bankruptcy
It can take a while for your credit score to recover after bankruptcy. Over time, the impact of a bankruptcy on your credit score will decrease. Also, the more accounts you included in your bankruptcy, the bigger the impact on your credit score, according to FICO.
Here are six tactics you can use to start repairing your credit score after bankruptcy:
- Avoid applying for new credit. Unless it’s an emergency or a necessity, avoid applying for new credit if you can help it and high-interest debt such as credit cards, personal loans or payday loans. A new credit application can result in a hard credit pull, which can lower your credit score even further.
- Pay everything on time. Payment history is the most important factor in your FICO credit score, so staying on top of all your expenses is vital to credit repair. Even if a bill’s on-time payments aren’t reported to the credit bureaus, there’s still a chance that a late or missed payment is reported.
- Keep credit card balances low. Keeping your credit utilization ratio below 30% is a good way to keep your credit score healthy. Owing more than 30% of your total credit limit is a sign you’re overextended financially, so it can result in a lower credit score.
- Regularly review your credit reports. You can get free, weely copies of your credit reports from all three credit bureaus. Review them on a regular basis for signs of identity theft, correct any errors that may be harming your credit, and know that your bankruptcy filing is removed from your reports when it’s supposed to.
- Look to credit-building products. Consider credit-building loans, debit-credit cards or secured credit cards. These borrowing methods are considered safer than unsecured debt, and are often easier to qualify for.
- Become an authorized user. If someone you know is willing, you can ask them to add you as an authorized user on their credit card.
Compare credit-building products
Narrow down top credit-building products by fees, benefits and more. For a better comparison, you can also select the Compare box on multiple options to see benefits side by side.
5 of 7 results
Compare other products
How we picked these
What different scores mean
9+
Excellent
These are the credit-building cards with the lowest fees, most features, lowest APRs, and overall, the best perks.
7+
Great
These cards may have a few downsides, such as a service fee, but are still competitive options.
5+
Standard
These credit-building cards are average, and may charge a monthly fee, have limited reporting practices, but are still suitable.
0+
Basic
These cards are likely to have high monthly fees or interest rates, and may lack comprehensive reporting practices.
What is the Finder Score?
The Finder Score crunches over 30 credit-building cards and products from dozens of financial institutions and fintech companies. It takes into account the product's monthly fees, reporting practices, eligibility requirements, rewards programs, APR and features — this gives you a simple score out of 10. To provide a Score, Finder’s banking experts only consider credit-building cards that report to the major credit bureaus as “credit-building cards.” If a card that claims it can build credit does not have any reporting practices, it is not considered a credit-building card and isn’t scored.
Bottom line
Filing for bankruptcy is the first step in organizing your finances, and credit repair after it can take time. During the bankruptcy process, your credit score may have been the least of your worries.
Soon after you’re discharged, lenders may be wary to extend you new credit due to the filing — but that won’t last forever. Be patient with yourself, keep an eye on your credit reports and minimize borrowing until you’re back on your feet financially.
Sources
More resources on Finder
Ask a question
More guides on Finder
-
Explain it Like I’m Five: How Do Credit Scores Work?
Confused by credit scores and how they work? Here’s a simple, no-nonsense explanation of credit scores; including how to improve it.
-
Best Credit Monitoring Services of 2026
See a side-by-side comparison of the best credit monitoring services that track your credit report activity and alert you of changes.
-
Apps Like Kikoff: 6 Alternative Credit-Building Apps
Kikoff has a lot of credit-building services; see how it compares to alternatives like Self, Cleo, Grow Credit and OnePay.
-
7 Best Credit-Building Apps
The best credit-building apps include Self, Kikoff, Step, Cred.ai, Cleo and Kovo. Compare the best options here.
-
Methodology: Credit-Building Products
See a breakdown of how Finder awards our unique star ratings to credit-building products we review and compare.
-
Kikoff Credit Building Review
Kikoff offers several credit-building products, including a tradeline that pays for your membership fee, rent reporting and a dispute tool.
-
StellarFi Smart Card Review: Cards to Build Credit History
Designed for credit-newbies, StellarFi offers three credit cards, which can be secured or unsecured. See our full breakdown of offerings.
-
5 Credit-Builder Loans with No Credit Check or Low Credit Requirements
Credit-builder loans improve your credit score with payments into a savings account. Self, Ava and MoneyLion are top examples.
-
7 Rent-Reporting Services to Build Credit
These rent and utility reporting services report rent and bill payments to credit bureaus to help you build credit without a credit card.
-
Step Card Review: Credit-Building Without APR
Step banking accounts help kids and teens learn to manage their money while building their credit scores.