DOFD
Date of First Delinquency — the date a consumer first became delinquent on an account that eventually went to charge-off or collection.
The Date of First Delinquency (DOFD) is the date on which a consumer first became delinquent on an account that subsequently went to charge-off, collection, or otherwise adverse status. It's the anchor point for the 7-year FCRA §605(a) reporting clock.
Critical rule: the DOFD does NOT reset when debt is sold, transferred, paid, or restructured. It remains the original date of first delinquency with the original creditor. Resetting the DOFD — known as re-aging — is illegal under FCRA §605(a) and represents a strong dispute angle.
Common DOFD errors: a collector reporting a more recent DOFD than the actual first delinquency; an account reopening or restructuring inadvertently resetting the date; cross-bureau inconsistencies where Equifax and TransUnion show different DOFDs for the same account.
Also called
Related terms
FCRA §605(a) limits how long negative items can stay on a credit report — 7 years from date of first delinquency.
Resetting the date of first delinquency on a credit report — illegal under FCRA §605(a).
An accounting status creditors apply to delinquent accounts (typically 180+ days late). The debt is still owed.
A debt that has been turned over to a collection agency, typically appearing as a separate account on credit reports.
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