The date of first delinquency, often shortened to DOFD, is used to anchor how long certain negative account information can remain on a credit report. It should not be moved forward just because a debt was sold, transferred, or placed with a new collector.
The practical meaning.
A wrong or re-aged delinquency date can keep negative information on a report longer than it should. For old charge-offs and collections, the DOFD is often more important than the date a collector opened its file.
Compare the reported removal date, payment history, charge-off date, and collector placement date.
A sale or transfer to a debt buyer should not create a newer first-delinquency date for the same delinquency.
Dispute with documents when the account appears re-aged or too old to report.
- Most negative information generally falls off after seven years.
- Bankruptcies can remain for up to ten years.
