A man sitting at a kitchen counter holds a phone to his ear while holding a paper document in his other hand.

How to Remove Collection Accounts from Your Credit Report

5 min read

Last Updated: May 30, 2025

Table of contents

Key Takeaways

Collections accounts typically remain on your credit report for seven years.
You can dispute incorrect information in your report, including collections accounts.
Once you’ve repaid the debt, consider writing a goodwill letter to the credit bureau asking to have the collections account removed.

Creditors may send an account to collections if it’s overdue. The account may go to an in-house collections agency or a third-party agency. Either way, collections can seriously impact your credit and may affect your ability to secure loans or credit cards in the future. Learning how collections impact your credit and how to remove collections from a credit report may be beneficial to your financial health and help you fix errors that may damage your credit.

How collections affect your credit

Late and missed payments may likely lower your score even before your creditor sends your account to collections. The damage gets worse when lenders send the account to collections. The exact reduction in your credit score is difficult to predict–it depends on the credit bureau's scoring model as well as the score you started with.

While you can rebuild your credit report and credit score over time, it’s tougher to get rid of a bad credit mark on your credit report. This negative information remains in your report for seven years. When a lender pulls your credit report they’ll see that you have an account in collections—even if you repay the debt during that time.

Note that not all collections appear on your credit report. Newer scoring models may ignore paid collections or collections for smaller amounts (less than $100), according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Newer models may also distinguish between the type of debt. For instance, medical debt sent to collections may impact your credit score differently compared to unpaid credit card bills.

Did you know?

While negative information may stay on your credit report for years, you can take steps to start repairing your credit score now. A new credit card could help improve your credit score if you make on-time payments, and help improve your credit utilization ratio. See if a Discover credit card can help improve your financial health.

See If You're Pre-Approved

How to remove collections from a credit report

Credit bureaus may be willing to remove the collections account from your credit report under the right circumstances. For example, you can dispute erroneous information or write a goodwill letter. Here are some steps you can take.

Review your credit reports

The first step is to examine your credit reports carefully.

Is the account information accurate and up to date?
Is your overdue amount reported correctly?
Is there a collections debt in your report that you’ve already repaid?
Is there an account that isn’t overdue?

It’s also possible that a negative mark is still in your report even after seven years. It’s important to dispute any errors that affect your credit score.

Do you want a free credit report? You can it free every week at AnnualCreditReport.com. This is the only website authorized by the federal government. Remember: your credit reports may not all have the same payment information since different creditors report to different credit bureaus.

Research the collection account

Start by examining the account information pertaining to the collections account. Is it your account? Does the information look unfamiliar? If the account is yours, there’s not much you can do. However, credit reports may contain mistakes, so if it isn’t your account, you can dispute the information and have it removed.

Is there an error on your credit report?

All three credit bureaus allow you to dispute errors online, by mail, or phone. Anyone mailing a credit report dispute letter must print and fill out a dispute form. Include a copy of your credit report and highlight the erroneous account. The links and addresses you need to file a dispute with each bureau are below.

Equifax:

Submit a dispute online, call (866) 378-4329 or the number on your credit report, or mail your dispute form to:

Equifax Information Services LLC

P.O. Box 740256

Atlanta, GA 30348

Experian:

Submit a dispute online, call (855) 414-6048 or the number on your credit report, or mail your dispute form to:

Experian

P.O. Box 4500

Allen, TX 75013

TransUnion:

Submit a dispute online, call (800) 916-8800 or the number on your credit report, or mail your dispute form to:

TransUnion Consumer Solutions

P.O. Box 2000

Chester, PA 19016-2000

Did the debt collector make an error?

Once a debt goes to collections, a debt collection agency will contact you to get back the funds. What if the collection agency mistakenly contacts you about a debt? You can ask them to provide proof of the debt. Debt collectors have 30 days to provide proof. The collections may come off your report if they can't provide you with an accurate debt validation letter.

How to remove a paid collection account from your credit report

Collections accounts can remain in your credit report for the full seven-year period, even if you’ve paid back what you owe. However, you can try sending a goodwill letter. Write a goodwill letter to the credit bureau asking them to remove the closed collections account from your report. Use your letter to explain why you couldn't make payments. Include evidence to support your creditworthiness, such as a record of timely payments. While there's no guarantee that the credit bureau will comply with your request, it doesn't hurt to try.

The bottom line

Collections debt can significantly impact your credit history, but it falls off your report after seven years, so it’s not a permanent problem. However, if the debt on your credit report is a mistake, it’s important to act quickly and have it removed. If you’ve repaid the debt, consider writing a goodwill letter to the credit reporting bureau to have it removed from your report. Credit bureaus may include space on your report for you to remark on your accounts–you can use this space to explain why you missed payments or explain the negative mark on your report.

Important Information >