Credit glossary
Chapter 13 bankruptcy
A repayment-plan bankruptcy in which you pay creditors over several years under court supervision before eligible remaining debts are discharged.
The statute lets any bankruptcy be reported for up to 10 years from filing, but TransUnion says completed Chapter 13 cases come off 7 years after filing. Accounts included in the plan should show that status and, after discharge, a $0 balance. Because the plan itself lasts years, the record can leave your report only a few years after you finish paying.
Mortgage programs treat Chapter 13 differently from Chapter 7. Fannie Mae waits 2 years from discharge but 4 years from a dismissal. USDA can approve borrowers still in a plan after 12 months of plan payments with court or trustee permission. Freddie Mac's manual rules use 24 months from discharge and 48 from dismissal. Ask how your lender measures the wait before you count on any date.
Guides that go deeper
- Chapter 7 vs. Chapter 13 on your credit report: the timeline differenceChapter 7 can stay on your report 10 years, a completed Chapter 13 usually 7, both from the filing date. How each one reports, and how mortgage rules treat them.
- Rebuilding credit after bankruptcy: the first 24 monthsWhat your report should look like after a bankruptcy discharge, which accounts to open first, which offers to ignore, and how long the record really stays.
- Mortgage waiting periods after bankruptcy, foreclosure or short saleFHA, VA, USDA, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac waiting periods after Chapter 7, Chapter 13, foreclosure, short sale and deed in lieu, with sources and start dates.
Sources
- How Long Does Bankruptcy Stay on Your Credit Report?, TransUnion
- 15 U.S.C. 1681c: Requirements relating to information contained in consumer reports, Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School
- B3-5.3-07, Significant Derogatory Credit Events: Waiting Periods and Re-establishing Credit, Fannie Mae Selling Guide
- HB-1-3555, Chapter 10: Credit Analysis (revised 08-05-25), USDA Rural Development
- Underwriting Reminders for Loan Product Advisor Caution Risk Class Mortgages, Freddie Mac
This is education, not legal or financial advice. Spot an error? Tell us and we'll fix it.