A charge-off stays on your credit report for up to seven years from the date of the first missed payment that led to the charge-off. This seven-year period typically begins with the first delinquency that caused the account to be charged off, not the date the creditor officially charges off the debt. After this period, the charge-off should automatically be removed from your credit reports

. Even if you pay the charged-off debt, the charge-off will remain on your credit report for the full seven years but will be marked as "paid," which may lessen its negative impact on your credit score depending on the scoring model used

. The charge-off can significantly harm your credit score because it reflects a serious delinquency. However, its impact lessens over time as the seven-year mark approaches

. In summary:

• Charge-off remains on credit report for 7 years from first missed payment leading to charge-off.
• Paying the debt changes status to "paid charge-off" but does not remove it early.
• After 7 years, the charge-off should be removed automatically.
• The charge-off negatively affects credit score but impact diminishes over time.

This timeline and effect are consistent across major credit bureaus like Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion