Credit dispute deadline calculator

Enter the date a credit bureau received your dispute, and this calculator shows when the 30-day investigation period ends and when it ends if the bureau took the 15-day extension.

Date the bureau received your dispute

Show my deadlines

How it counts

The Fair Credit Reporting Act gives a bureau 30 days beginning on the date it receives your dispute. The calculator counts the receipt date as the first day, so the last day of the 30-day period is 29 days after the receipt date. The 45-day end is 44 days after the receipt date.

The calculator uses calendar days, not business days.

Which date to enter

Enter the date the bureau received the dispute, not the date you sent it. For a mailed dispute, use the delivery date on your certified mail return receipt. For an online dispute, use the date on your confirmation.

What the dates mean

• 30-day period ends. The bureau’s investigation is due by this date.
• 45-day period ends. If you sent the bureau relevant information during the 30 days, the bureau may have taken up to 15 more days, and this is the last day.

If the bureau misses the date that applies to you, follow up in writing and see how to file a CFPB complaint.

What it does not do

It does not send your date anywhere. It runs in your browser. It does not calculate the 5-business-day deadlines, such as the bureau’s notice to the furnisher or the deadline for sending results after the investigation ends. Those depend on business days. See the 30-day timeline.

It also does not tell you whether the bureau had to extend, whether your dispute qualified, or what the result will be.

Sources

• Cornell LII: 15 U.S.C. 1681i (procedure in case of disputed accuracy)
• FTC: disputing errors on your credit reports

Next steps

• What happens after you file a dispute: the 30-day timeline

  The credit dispute timeline under the FCRA: when the 30 days start, the 5-business-day notice to the furnisher, the possible 15-day extension, and the results.

• How to dispute by mail: certified mail and what to enclose

  How to dispute a credit report by mail: bureau addresses, what the letter must say, what to enclose, why certified mail with return receipt matters.

• Your dispute came back “verified”: what to do next

  A verified result is not the end. Your next steps under the FCRA: request the method of verification, dispute with the furnisher, add a statement, complain.