Work out how long each item may stay on a consumer report
Key facts
- Human involvement
- YellowClose supervision
- How AI is used
- Classify each item as a bankruptcy, a collection or charge-off, a civil suit or judgment, a paid tax lien, an arrest record, a conviction, or another adverse item. Apply only the period stated for that class, and flag a report to be used for credit or life insurance over $150,000 or a job over $75,000.
- What the lawyer must review
- 15 U.S.C. § 1681c excludes from a consumer report, unless subsection (b) applies, bankruptcies that antedate the report by more than 10 years, civil suits, civil judgments, and arrest records that antedate the report by more than seven years or until the governing limitation period has expired, whichever is longer, paid tax liens more than seven years after payment, and accounts placed for collection or charged to profit and loss that antedate the report by more than seven years. Any other adverse item, other than records of convictions of crimes, is excluded after seven years. The CFPB page states the same shape: most negative information for seven years, bankruptcies for up to ten years, and lawsuits or judgments for seven years or until the statute of limitations runs, whichever is longer. Both sources say the seven-year limits do not apply to a report used for a job paying more than $75,000 a year or for more than $150,000 of credit or life insurance.
- Written for / version
- United States versionUS
Who does what
| Role | What they do |
|---|---|
| Assistance | Potential support includes extracting and organising information and identifying points for review. Confirm the tool’s capability and permitted scope. |
| Lawyer | Set the scope, supervise the work closely, verify every part relied on, resolve omissions and exceptions, and approve the exact output. |
Checklist
- Trace every relied-on figure to its source, confirm dates and assumptions, and independently recalculate totals or derived amounts.
- Calculate operative dates independently from the current rule and actual triggering event. Check exceptions and record the verified deadline.
- Verify the applicable jurisdiction and the version of each relevant law, rule or instrument in force at the material time.
- Confirm the output against the client’s instructions and the complete relevant source material, including omissions or contradictions.
- Resolve exceptions and record the responsible lawyer’s approval of the exact output and intended use.