The Process of Removing Dismissed Bankruptcies from Your Credit Report

iEditorial Note: These blog posts represent the opinion of DoNotPay’s Writers, but each person’s situation and circumstances vary greatly. As a result, you should make sure to do your own independent research. Because everyone is unique, our self-help tools are never guaranteed to help with any specific situation. DoNotPay is not a law firm and is not licensed to practice law. DoNotPay provides a platform for legal information and self-help.

The Complete Guide to Removing Dismissed Bankruptcies from Your Credit Report

In recent years, it has become more difficult to have a dismissed bankruptcy removed from your credit report as it is now considered a public record. Federal law requires all public records to remain on a credit report for 7-10 years.

As you are probably aware, the financial impact of these blemishes is compounded. Banks are reluctant to lend money to you or offer you a mortgage, lease, or other credit. Credit cards are denied without hesitation. Even employers, landlords, utility companies, and cell phone providers may be less likely to work with you.

The process of removing a dismissed bankruptcy from your credit report can be time-consuming and frustrating. To make matters worse, the burden is on you - the consumer - to remove them yourself! DoNotPay is working to make it easier than ever before to remove dismissed bankruptcies from your credit report.

What is Bankruptcy?

Bankruptcy is a type of insolvency proceeding or corporate reorganization that allows an individual or company to handle their debt better. This process usually involves the liquidation of assets to pay off creditors. Bankruptcies are usually filed to relieve debts that are too large for an individual or company to repay over time.

A bankruptcy filing means that a judge has issued an order for your creditors to stop trying to collect on your debt and for your assets to be sold to repay the debts.

The two most common types of bankruptcies are:

  1. Chapter 7 Bankruptcy. This is sometimes called "straight" or "liquidation" bankruptcy because it eliminates most of your debt. Under Chapter 7, you will have to give up most of your assets and property to satisfy some of your debts. You are not required to pay any taxes or administrative expenses incurred by the bankruptcy trustee.
  2. Chapter 13 Bankruptcy. Also called "wage-earner" bankruptcy, under this plan, you enter into a repayment plan to pay back your creditors over time. You must prove that you can afford this plan by showing how much you earn and your expenses. The length of the repayment plans can vary greatly depending on your income level, but they typically last three to five years.

What is a Bankruptcy Dismissal?

A dismissal occurs when the debtor (the person who owes money in this situation) or the creditor (the entity that is owed money) does not want to continue with the case after it has been filed. A court order dismissing a bankruptcy may still affect your credit score, despite not making any changes to your debt.

Once you file for bankruptcy, your credit report is frozen. When you have a bankruptcy dismissed, it will still show up on your file for 10 years from the filing date of the original case.

It's important to note that even though a bankruptcy may be dismissed, there are still major limitations on what you can do with your finances. For example, if you are able to owe a creditor money, then you will have to pay that back. In addition, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) may still be able to take action against you if they feel you under-reported your income during this time period or didn't report it at all.

The Difference between Discharged vs. Dismissed Bankruptcies on Credit Reports

Credit reporting agencies are required by law to report the following two types of bankruptcy filings to the credit bureaus:

  • Discharged bankruptcy
  • Dismissed bankruptcy

If the bankruptcy was dismissed or if it wasn 't completed (known as an "incomplete filing"), then only the fact that you filed for bankruptcy will be shown on your credit report. There is no period in which this data can be removed, unlike when a discharged bankruptcy is expunged. However, in most cases where a debt has been listed as "discharged in bankruptcy," it will be removed from your credit report after the period of time that is required by law.

How Long Do Discharged Bankruptcies Remain on a Credit Report?Bankruptcies are one of the worst things that can happen to your credit score. Fortunately, they will not stay on your credit report forever. Bankruptcy stays on your credit report for up to 10 years. However, you might be able to remove it sooner than that if you complete a bankruptcy plan or file Chapter 13 instead of Chapter 7 bankruptcy.
How Long Do Dismissed Bankruptcies Remain on a Credit Report?Dismissed bankruptcies will stay on your credit report for up to 10 years unless you fail to pay a debt listed in the bankruptcy. In this case, the creditor may request that the Court reinstate (reopen) your bankruptcy and force you to pay back all of the debts listed in it.

How to Remove Dismissed Bankruptcies From Your Credit Report Yourself

Removing dismissed bankruptcies from your credit report is possible, but it is not easy. There are two ways you can go about removing bankruptcy information from your credit report:

  1. Disputing the item with all three major credit bureaus (Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion) to get the information removed entirely. The dispute process will be different for each credit bureau.
  2. Asking the court to remove the bankruptcy filing directly from your record.

To dispute a dismissed bankruptcy, you will need to gather as much of the following information as possible:

  • Your name and address associated with the bankruptcy case
  • The individual or business that filed for bankruptcy
  • Court-related documents showing that the case was dismissed (this can involve a trip to the bankruptcy court where the case was filed, and paying a fee for them to provide you with certified dismissal papers)
  • Date of dismissal

How to Remove a Dismissed Bankruptcy From Your Credit Report With the Help of DoNotPay

DoNotPay is a service that offers a way to remove bankruptcy from credit reports. Bankruptcy is, often, a difficult process to resolve and takes a lot of time and effort. Thankfully, the team at DoNotPay has simplified this process by providing an easy-to-use interface that can be accessed from any device with an internet connection.

How to clean up your credit report using DoNotPay:

If you want to clean up your credit report but don't know where to start, DoNotPay has you covered in 3 easy steps:

  1. Search Clean Credit Report on DoNotPay.
  2. Prepare a recent copy of your credit report that you can use as reference.
  3. Let us guide you through the 4 potential options:
    1. If you've already paid off your debt, we'll help you file a Goodwill Removal Request to get it removed.

    2. If you notice any errors in your report (we have a list of common errors you can use!), we'll help you file a credit dispute to the creditor or major credit bureaus.
    3. If there are no errors, we'll check if you're still eligible to file a debt validation request. If they can't validate your debt, they're required to remove it from your report and they can't collect it!
    4. Lastly, if none of the above options work, we'll help you file a pay-to-delete negotiation letter. You can customize the amount you are willing to pay in exchange for getting the item removed.

You can also check out our other credit products, including Credit Limit Increase, Get My Credit Report, Keep Unused Cards Active, and more!

Why Use DoNotPay to Remove a Dismissed Bankruptcy from Your Credit Report

DoNotPay is the best way to clean up your credit report. The team behind it understands that filing for bankruptcy can be difficult and stressful, which is why they want to take care of this process for you.

Using their simple interface, you will be able to dispute all three major credit reporting companies in just five minutes or less.

It's quick, easy, and accurate.

What Else Can DoNotPay Do?

DoNotPay can do a lot more than just removing bankruptcies from your credit report. Check out the other tasks you can complete with the help of DoNotPay:

  • Stop wasting time and money on parking tickets! Appeals are possible for any violation in any city.
  • Get rid of your unwanted services and subscriptions. We'll cancel your gym membership, phone contracts, and more in minutes. Easy and hassle-free!
  • When online shopping turns into a nightmare, you need chargebacks and refunds to get your money back. With our 100% customer satisfaction guarantee, you can get your money back for items bought on the internet.
  • Free trials make it easy to try new products without the risk of paying for something you may not like.

Don't delay - sign up for DoNotPay today!

Want your issue solved now?