Date of Delinquency

Date of delinquency summary: 

• A credit account is usually considered delinquent when the payment is 30 days past-due. 

• Your creditor will now report your late payment to the credit bureaus, marking the original date of delinquency. 

• After seven years, the late payment (or series of late payments that started with the original date of delinquency) should fall off your credit report. 

Date of delinquency definition and meaning

When you don't pay your credit card or personal loan on time, you might get a grace period of several days to make the payment. If you haven’t made the payment by the next billing cycle (usually 30 days), your account will be considered delinquent and the creditor is likely to report the late payment to the credit bureaus. 

The date of that first delinquency is important for tracking changes to your credit profile. The late payment will remain on your credit report for seven years, whether:

• You’re able to get current again on payments 

• Your account is charged off by the creditor and sent to collections

• You consolidate your debt or settle it for less than you owe 

The negative impact of the missed payment will lessen over time, and after seven years, the history of that delinquency will fall off your credit report entirely.  

Key concept: The date of delinquency is the actual date your credit account is considered delinquent and your late payment is reported to the credit bureaus by your creditor.

Real-life example of date of delinquency

Dylan owes money on a credit card and is unable to make a required payment that’s due July 10th. By the end of the grace period, Dylan still can’t pay and is charged a late payment fee. After 30 days (a full billing cycle), Dylan’s account is considered delinquent. The credit card issuer reports the missed payment to the credit bureaus, putting it on Dylan’s credit reports. 

Dylan also misses payments in August and September and eventually seeks debt resolution to settle the credit card account without paying the balance in full. The first missed payment stays on his credit report for seven years from the date of delinquency (30 days after it was originally due) before it is removed. 

Date of delinquency and your credit profile

Delinquent accounts appear on your credit report, visible to current and potential creditors when they run a hard credit check. Delinquent accounts have a negative impact on your credit score, but the impact is temporary and lessens over time. Seven years after the original date of delinquency (generally 30 days after that first missed payment, or a full billing cycle), they fall off your credit report and no longer affect your credit score. 

If you’re struggling with debt and having trouble managing credit accounts, you might fear that your credit will never improve. But over time, the impact of delinquent payments becomes less and less. And eventually, negative history with credit accounts goes away entirely. In the meantime, you can boost your credit by making on-time payments, paying down debt, and using borrowed money in ways that support your financial goals.