Credit Reports-Reporting Period for Adverse Credit Information in General
Pursuant to federal law (the Fair Credit Reporting Act), accounts placed for collection or charged off, law suits, tax liens, and other adverse information may be reported on your credit report for 7 years for most purposes. For certain purposes (such as a credit transaction or life insurance policy involving $150,000.00 or more or for employment purpoes in a job paying $75,000.00 a year or more), it may be reported on your credit report for longer than 7 years.

Credit Reports-Reporting Period for Bankruptcy
Also pursuant to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the fact of a bankruptcy filing may be reported on your credit record for 10 years for most purposes. Any note of bankruptcy on a credit report must specify the type of bankruptcy that was filed, ie. chapter 7 or chapter 13. It may be reported on your credit report for more than 10 years if the credit report is to be used for certain purposes (such as a credit transaction or life insurance policy involving $150,000.00 or more or for employment purposes in a job paying $75,000.00 or more.