How can I remove a bankruptcy from my credit history?

Understanding bankruptcy and credit is important before you file for a bankruptcy. While bankruptcy can provide much needed relief from unmanageable debts, it does so at the expensive of your credit score.

A Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy can remain on your credit report for up to ten years from the date you filed for bankruptcy. During this time period, you cannot remove the bankruptcy from your credit report. 

There are, however, some things you can try to do in order to mitigate the damage of the bankruptcy on your credit report. For example, get and use credit responsibly so that you can begin to rebuild a positive credit history. This means getting a small amount of credit and making all payments on time. Although you might not qualify for a regular credit card right away, you can start by getting a secured credit card, getting a cosigner for a small loan, or perhaps getting a department store credit card. To learn more about getting and building credit, see How to Get a Credit Card After Bankruptcy.

At the end of the ten year period, the bankruptcy should drop off of your credit report. If it doesn't, you can write to the credit reporting agencies and request that they remove the bankruptcy notation. To learn how to do this, see Credit Repair: Removing Old Information from Your Credit Report.