I see so many people upset that dismissed bankruptcies are appearing on their reports....

[Jenntend]

15 U.S. Code § 1681c - Requirements relating to information contained in consumer reports:

• Section 1681c(a)(1): "Except as authorized under subsection (b), no consumer reporting agency may make any consumer report containing any of the following items of information: (1) Cases under title 11 or under the Bankruptcy Act that, from the date of entry of the order for relief or the date of adjudication, as the case may be, antedate the report by more than 10 years." If a bankruptcy case is dismissed without prejudice (not a final judgment), it should not be reported on your credit report.

  If a bankruptcy has been dismissed without prejudice and hasn't received a final judgment, it should not be reported on your credit report at all. This aligns with the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), which mandates that credit reporting agencies must ensure the accuracy and completeness of the information they report.

  Incorrectly reporting such a dismissal as an active bankruptcy is a violation of the FCRA, and you have the right to dispute this inaccurate information and have it removed from your credit report. If the credit bureaus do not correct the error, you can file a complaint with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and seek legal advice.

[despritfreya]

With all due respect and while you reference the correct Statute, your analysis is lacking. Filing bk, regardless of the outcome, has consequences. But for the extremely rare situation when one gets the filing “expunged” there are no “do-overs”.

As you indicated, 15 U.S.C. § 1681c states:

"(a) Information excluded from consumer reports. Except as authorized under subsection (b) of this section, no consumer reporting agency may make any consumer report containing any of the following items of information:
(1) Cases under title 11 or under the Bankruptcy Act that, from the date of entry of the order for relief or the date of adjudication, as the case may be, antedate the report by more than 10 years."

As it relates to a dismissed case,

1. If you are going to say there is no “entry of the order for relief” because a case was dismissed, you would be incorrect. Under bankruptcy law, the entry of the “order for relief” is the act of filing a Petition and has nothing to do with the eventual outcome of the case. See 11 U.S.C. § 301(b).

2. If you are going to say there is no “date of adjudication” because a case was dismissed you would again be incorrect. The term “date of adjudication” is just another way to say “entry of the order for relief”. The actual term, which, as far as I know, is not used in this day and age, dates as far back as the Bankruptcy Act of 1938.  That Act used the following definitions:

“Adjudication” shall mean a decree that a person is a bankrupt.
“Date of adjudication” shall mean the date of entry of the decree of adjudication.

Lastly, your reference to “dismissed without prejudice” has no general relevance. All bankruptcies that get dismissed are dismissed “without prejudice” unless there is a specific bar to refiling either by a Court Order or as provided under 11 U.S.C. § 109(g).

Just FYI

Des.