Time since derogatory public record or collection is too short

FICO code numbers

Code numbers can differ by bureau and score version. The wording of the statement is what to match.

What puts this reason on your score

FICO's payment history category looks at how much time has passed since delinquencies, bankruptcies or collection items appeared. myFICO says older collections, and ones with smaller amounts, count less than recent or larger ones.

Paying a collection doesn't make it new again. A debt that's sold to another collector should keep the original delinquency date, because that date sets when the item leaves your report, seven years after the original delinquency.

What to check on your credit report

• Find the date of first delinquency on each collection and charge-off.
• Compare it with your own records. A date later than the real one keeps the item on longer and makes it look newer.
• Check whether a sold debt shows an open date that's later than the original delinquency.

What you can do about it

• Dispute a date of first delinquency that's wrong. Moving that date later is called re-aging, and it's an error you can challenge.
• Check the original amount on small collections. FICO Score 8 and newer versions disregard collections with an original amount under $100.
• Keep everything else current so newer clean history sits on top of the old item.

The free drop off calculator can help with this step.

How soon a change can show

The item's weight fades each year. A collection leaves the report seven years from the original delinquency, and a bankruptcy can stay up to ten years.

If you are applying for a mortgage

Some loan programs have their own rules for open collections and set waiting periods after a bankruptcy, separate from the score. Get those dates right before you choose an application date.

Guides that go deeper

• The date of first delinquency and the 7-year reporting clockThe date of first delinquency decides when a collection or charge-off must leave your report. Here is the 180-day rule and how to compute your own date.
• How zombie debt and illegal re-aging bring old debts backZombie debts are old, paid, or wrong debts that resurface after a sale. Re-aging is reporting a newer delinquency date. How to spot and fight both.
• 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.
• What your credit score reason codes are telling youReason codes list what held your score back the most, in order. What the common ones mean, which you can act on, and which to leave alone.