Every time you apply for credit, a lender may ask one or more of the credit reference agencies for the information held about you. What they see is governed by retention periods — how long each type of entry is allowed to stay.
Understanding those timings changes how you plan. A negative marker that's about to expire is a very different proposition from one that has four years left to run.
What your report holds#
Your report is assembled from several distinct kinds of information:
- Personal information — your name, date of birth and address history.
- Credit accounts — bank accounts, credit cards, mortgages, mobile phone contracts.
- Payment history — what you've borrowed and how you've kept up with repayments.
- Public information — court and insolvency records, and whether you're on the Electoral Roll.
- Associations and aliases — who you've been financially connected to, and any other names you've used.
- Searches — where you've applied for credit, or an organisation has checked your details.
Each of those has its own clock.
The retention periods#
The Information Commissioner's Office sets six years as the point beyond which information is generally no longer considered relevant to a lending decision. Most of your report runs to that rule:
| Entry | How long it stays |
|---|---|
| Open accounts | Indefinitely, while the account is open |
| Closed accounts | Six years from the closure date |
| Defaults | Six years from the default date |
| County Court Judgments | Six years from the date of issue |
| Insolvencies | Six years from the date of issue |
| Searches | One to two years, depending on the agency |
Note what the dates are measured from. A default runs six years from the date it was recorded, not from the date you cleared it. Paying a default off is worth doing — lenders read a satisfied default far more favourably than an outstanding one — but it doesn't move the removal date.
The two exceptions#
Two entries break the six-year rule in opposite directions.
A CCJ paid within one month of issue is removed entirely. It's treated as set aside rather than satisfied, and comes off your report within about a month. That's a narrow window and a substantial prize — well worth knowing about if a judgment has just landed.
An undischarged insolvency stays beyond six years. Bankruptcies, IVAs and Debt Relief Orders normally run six years from issue, but only once discharged. If the insolvency hasn't been discharged, it remains on your report until it is.
Why closed accounts still show years of history#
A closed account doesn't just show the closure. It carries its payment history with it.
Close an account today and it stays on your report for six years — displaying, for that whole time, the history it accumulated while it was open. So an account you closed five years ago can still be showing markers from the six years before that closure.
This catches people out. Clearing a card and shutting it down feels like drawing a line, but the record of how you ran it goes with it.
The agencies also differ here. Equifax typically shows up to four years of payment history; Experian and TransUnion may show the full six.
Using retention dates to time an application#
If something on your report is holding you back, knowing its removal date turns a vague worry into a plan.
Your report shows when each entry is due to come off. Check that date against what you're hoping to do. If a default expires in three months and you're not in a hurry, waiting may get you a materially better rate than applying now. If it has four years left, waiting isn't a strategy and you're better off building positive history around it.
Either way, the entry doesn't vanish the instant its six years are up — allow up to a month for it to drop off completely.
The key things to remember#
- Six years is the standard, set by the ICO, and it runs from the entry date rather than the date you paid.
- Open accounts have no expiry; they stay while they're open.
- Searches are much shorter — one year with Experian and Equifax, two with TransUnion.
- A CCJ paid within one month of issue is removed altogether.
- An undischarged insolvency stays past six years until it's discharged.
- Closed accounts carry their full payment history with them for six more years.