By law, all negative credit report items have a specific length of time they can remain on your report and affect your credit score. Most items fall off your credit reports after seven years. Here’s a breakdown of how long these negative items will generally stay on your credit report: Bankruptcies: 10 years from filing date (for Chapter 11); 7 years from filing (for Chapter 13) Charge-Offs: 7 years from the date of the charge off Foreclosures: 7 years from the filing date Short Sales: 7 years from the closing date Repossessions: 7 years from the day the item was repossessed Judgments: 7 years after satisfied, longer if left unpaid Tax Liens: 7 years after satisfied Late Payments: 7 years from the last unpaid due date Collection Accounts: 7 years and 180 days from the original delinquency date The above time periods indicate the very longest each of these items will prevent you from qualifying for a mortgage. Lenders are given significant leeway in deciding how and when to take a chance on a customer with a less-than-stellar credit history.