How Long Does a SCHUFA Entry Stay on Your Record?

Negative SCHUFA entries must, as a rule, be deleted three years after they are settled. Shorter or different periods apply to particular types of entry, for example six months for a discharge of residual debt. You can find waitlists in Hamburg and Berlin in one place at Waitly.

Last updated: 13 September 2026.

In short

There is no single deadline, there are several. What matters is the type of entry and whether the debt has been settled. The Verbraucherzentrale gives three years after settlement as the rule for negative entries, and six months for a discharge of residual debt. Check the dates in your free Datenkopie before you start applying for apartments.

Negative entries: three years after settlement

The clock starts at settlement, not at the entry. Unpaid invoices and similar payment defaults must generally be deleted three years after they are settled.

In plain terms: a claim you have paid does not disappear immediately, but the clock runs from the payment. So settle outstanding claims promptly, even though the entry will not vanish straight away.

Loans and accounts: term plus a settlement note

For running loans, the data stays stored for as long as the loan runs. After repayment, a settlement note remains for three years.

This applies to loans repaid early as well. Paying off sooner does not shorten how long that note is stored.

Company enquiries: visible for twelve months

Enquiries are logged. In your own report, the enquiries of the past twelve months are visible.

For an apartment search, that is an argument against having reports pulled indiscriminately. A modest number of enquiries is normal, while a conspicuously high number in a short period can call for explanation.

Debtor register: three years

Entries in the debtor register are deleted after three years. They carry some of the greatest weight, because they follow from court proceedings.

Here too it is worth checking whether the period has already expired. Deletion does not always happen automatically at the earliest possible date.

Discharge of residual debt: only six months

This is the shortest deadline and the most important one for those affected. The granting of a discharge of residual debt in insolvency proceedings, and all debts connected with it, may be stored for only six months.

If you still find entries about it after those six months have passed, request their deletion explicitly, both from the credit agency and from the reporting company. What credit agencies may do in general is described by the Verbraucherzentrale.

How to check and correct your entries

Four steps cover most cases:

Request the free Datenkopie under Art. 15 GDPR
Work through every entry with its date and status
Dispute expired or incorrect entries with the agency and the reporting company
Check the result with a new Datenkopie

While a disputed entry is being examined, the agency must block it from disclosure to third parties. Additional reports after a correction are free.

Key takeaways

Anyone who knows the deadlines often finds entries in their own report that should have been deleted long ago. That is the fastest lever before a rental application, and it costs nothing. Plan the check before the pressure of applying begins, and keep several lists open in parallel. We explain the difference between a waitlist and an interest list in Waitlist vs interest list, and you can find active lists through Waitly search.

The free Datenkopie is how you check these deadlines yourself. What to do about a negative entry and how the SCHUFA score is built are covered separately. For practical search tips, see finding an apartment in Hamburg.