What Credit Repair Can and Cannot Do

Credit repair marketing runs on a blurry promise: somewhere between a dispute letter and a monthly fee, your negative history disappears. Federal law draws a much sharper line. Some things on a credit report can be fixed. Other things cannot be removed — not by you, not by a company, not by anyone else — until time removes them. Knowing which is which protects both your money and your expectations.

What can credit repair actually fix?

Each row on the left works through the same engine: the FCRA dispute process, explained start to finish in how credit repair works. Identity theft adds its own recovery track. An official report through IdentityTheft.gov lets people ask the bureaus to block accounts a thief opened. Medical collections follow extra rules of their own — see our guide to medical debt on credit reports.

What cannot be removed from your credit report?

The time windows are the one guaranteed exit. Most negative information must come off after 7 years, counted from the date of first delinquency — the first missed payment in the chain that led to the charge-off or collection. A Chapter 7 bankruptcy can remain for up to 10 years. Nothing about those clocks requires payment, disputes, or paid help. Aging off is automatic and free.

Can credit repair guarantee a score increase?

Correcting real errors can help a score, sometimes a lot, sometimes barely. It depends on facts no salesperson controls. That is why guarantees are a red flag rather than a selling point. The promise itself signals a company willing to say things the law forbids. For how to vet a company and what honest credit repair services cost, see that guide. The FTC's guidance is blunt: no one can legally remove accurate and timely negative information, and no one can promise you a specific result.

Why a new credit identity is fraud, not repair

Some operations pitch a shortcut around all of the above: a "new credit identity" built on a CPN — sold as a credit privacy number or credit profile number. Others sell an EIN used in place of your Social Security number. The pitch treats your credit history as something you can walk away from. Federal law treats it differently.

The honest alternative is slower but real: dispute what is wrong, let the reporting windows expire on schedule, and add positive history going forward — our rebuilding timeline guide maps that part out. Everything else being marketed sits somewhere between wishful thinking and a felony.

Common mistakes to avoid

• ✕Paying someone to remove accurate items — the promise itself is the red flag, because no legal process does that.
• ✕Disputing accurate accounts as “not mine” — false statements in disputes can backfire and may even be illegal.
• ✕Buying a CPN or using an EIN for personal credit — that is identity fraud, not a fresh start.
• ✕Confusing an item marked “in dispute” with a deletion — items verified as accurate stay after the investigation closes.
• ✕Forgetting that time is already working for you — most negatives age off after 7 years even if you do nothing.
• ✕Skipping the free do-it-yourself route before paying — companies cannot legally do anything more than you can do on your own.

Frequently asked questions

What can credit repair legally fix?

Legitimate credit repair addresses five categories: outright errors, accounts that belong to someone else (mixed files), accounts opened by identity thieves, items a furnisher cannot verify during an FCRA investigation, and negative items that stayed past their 7- or 10-year reporting window. All five are accuracy problems, which is why the law reaches them.

Can accurate late payments or collections be removed from my credit report?

No. Accurate, timely negative information cannot be forced off a credit report by any legal process, whether by the consumer, a credit repair company, or a lawyer. Real late payments, charge-offs, collections, and bankruptcies stay for their full reporting period unless the furnisher voluntarily changes them. Disputing them only tests their accuracy.

How long do negative items stay on a credit report?

Most negative information must come off after 7 years, counted from the date of first delinquency, meaning the first missed payment in the chain that led to the charge-off or collection. A Chapter 7 bankruptcy can remain for up to 10 years. Aging off is automatic and free and requires no payment, dispute, or paid help.

Can a credit repair company guarantee a higher score?

No. Score changes depend on everything else in the file, which scoring model a lender uses, and what remains after a correction. The Credit Repair Organizations Act makes it illegal for credit repair companies to make untrue or misleading claims, and a guaranteed score jump is exactly that kind of claim.

What is a CPN, and is it legal to use one?

A CPN is marketed as a "credit privacy number" or "credit profile number" for building a new credit identity. Many CPNs are recycled or stolen Social Security numbers, often taken from children, and using a substitute number on a credit application can mean federal crimes. Per the FTC, there is no legal way to create a second credit identity.

What if a negative item has been re-aged to a later date?

The 7-year window runs from the date of first delinquency, not from when a collector bought the debt or last updated the account. An item re-aged to a later date stays on the report longer than the law allows, which is a genuine inaccuracy people generally dispute. Once an item passes its window, reporting it at all is a violation.

When to talk to a professional