What Comes Up on a Credit Report?

Your credit report is more than just your financial history; it can tell an employer or service provider about your character. If you do anything that involves borrowing money or owing a debt, it probably shows up on your credit report. Credit histories tend to favor the consumer, because positive information stays on a report longer than negative information.

Accounts

A loan or line of credit only appears on your account when you use a lender that subscribes to the national credit reporting bureaus. Common accounts that appear on your credit report are mortgages, credit cards and personal loans. The account usually contains details such as the balance, credit limit, type of account, name of the lender and payment history for each month. Negative accounts affect your credit history for seven years plus six months after the delinquency leading up to the creditor writing the debt down as noncollectable or selling it to a collection agency.

Negative Data

When you miss a payment, the lender usually reports the delinquency to the credit bureaus. If the creditor writes the debt down as noncollectable in its accounting ledger, the account becomes negative. The lender may sell the debt to a collection agency, which appears as a negative account too. Repossessions, such as a foreclosure or when the lender takes back a car, also show up on your report. The bureaus can list negative items for seven years.

Public Information

Some public records appear on your credit report. Any judgment involving money, such as when a creditor sues you for payment on a debt, affects your credit rating. Criminal records and anything else that does not involve money, such as a lawsuit to change a zoning ordinance, won't appear on your credit history. Any bankruptcy, such as a Chapter 7, 11 or 13, shows up on your report, even if you voluntarily withdraw the case. Chapter 7 bankruptcy affects your credit for 10 years, while Chapter 13 and Chapter 11 stay for seven years after you complete the case.

Inquiries

The credit bureaus keep track of any request for your credit history. If you request your own credit report, or someone pulls your credit history without your consent, such as for a pre-approved credit card, the inquiry shows up as a soft check. A soft inquiry does not affect your credit score. Hard inquiries affect your credit rating and result from you requesting credit or service from a merchant, such as a utility company. Inquiries affect your credit for one year, but appear on your report for two years.

Tax Liens

Tax liens issued by federal, state, local and county governments remain on your credit report for seven years after you satisfy the debt. If you leave them unpaid, the bureaus can list them indefinitely, although Experian -- one of the three major credit bureaus -- only lists unpaid liens for 15 years.

Positive Data

Positive data, such as on-time payments, stays on your credit report indefinitely as long as you keep the account active. If you stop using an account, the positive data impacts your credit rating for 10 years. Closed, positive accounts appear on your credit history for seven years.