How long does information stay on my credit report?

By law, negative information can only be kept on your credit report for a certain length of time. For most information, the maximum is six or seven years. The exact amount of time varies by category and by province or territory. Positive information, such as accounts that you paid on time, may be kept longer.
Equifax Canada and TransUnion Canada keep your information for different lengths of time, up to the maximum time limits allowed by provincial laws. 

Length of time that credit reporting agencies keep information

Type of information

How long agencies Date when agencies keep information start counting

9

Credit transactions

• Negativeinformation about accounts such as credit cards, lines of credit and loans
  
• Alsocalled“trades”or “trade lines” by credit reporting agencies
  

• 6 years

• Equifax counts from date of last activity (for example, a payment you made)
  
• TransUnion counts from date of first delinquency – the date you first defaulted on the account (for example, by making a late payment) without returning to good standing.
  

Secured loans
• Loansbackedbyanasset, such as a mortgage, a car lease or loan

• 6years
• Equifax only: 7–10 years in P.E.I.

• Equifaxcountsfromdateoffiling
• TransUnioncountsfromdateof first delinquency

Banking items
• Negativeinformation, including:

• -  chequing and savings accounts closed “for cause” due to money owing or fraud committed by the account holder
  
• -  bad cheques (also called non-sufficient funds
  or NSF)
  

• 6years

• Equifaxcountsfromdateof transaction or default
  
• TransUnioncountsfromdate of write-off or date closed, whichever is sooner