Age of Accounts: How Account Dates Shape a Credit Profile

Last updated October 7, 2026 · 1,311 words · Credit Profiles

The age of accounts on a credit profile measures how long a consumer's credit accounts have been open. It has three common parts: the oldest credit account, the newest account, and the average age of credit accounts across the file. Length of credit history carries an approximate 15% weight in the FICO model.

This guide is general educational information for U.S. readers. It is not financial advice and does not describe your individual credit file. Figures such as score ranges and timeline estimates are typical examples, not promises.

Key takeaways

The age of accounts is built from account opening dates that lenders report to Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion.
It is usually summarized as the age of the oldest credit account, the age of the newest account, and the average age of credit accounts.
Length of credit history carries an approximate 15% weight in the FICO model, while VantageScore uses its own weighting and does not publish fixed percentages.
Most negative information, including late payments, stays on a credit report for 7 years; a Chapter 7 bankruptcy stays 10 years and a Chapter 13 bankruptcy stays 7 years.
Hard inquiries typically remain on a credit report for 2 years.
A closed account keeps its original opening date, so closing an account does not reset how old it is.

The age of accounts on a credit profile is a measure of how long a consumer's credit accounts have been open. It is usually expressed three ways: the age of the oldest credit account, the age of the newest account, and the average age of credit accounts across the file. Scoring models read those dates together, because a single long-standing account and a file full of recently opened accounts describe very different credit histories.

Length of credit history is one of the factors in common scoring models. In the FICO model it carries an approximate 15% weight; VantageScore uses its own weighting and does not publish fixed percentages. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau publishes general explanations of how credit reports and scores relate to one another, and the mechanics are covered in the guide to how credit scores are calculated.

What the age of accounts measures

Age is built from the date an account was opened, which the lender reports to each of the three nationwide credit reporting agencies: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. That date travels with the account record. Age is therefore a function of elapsed time rather than activity — a payment does not make an account older, and an account does not become younger because it is used less often.

A profile's age measurements generally include several distinct parts:

Oldest credit account — the time since the earliest opening date still appearing on the file.
Average age of credit accounts — the mean age of the accounts a given model includes in its calculation.
Newest account — how recently the most recent account was opened.
Age by account type — how long revolving accounts, installment accounts, or a mortgage have each been on file.

Those parts can move in different directions at once. A profile can hold a very old account and still show a modest average if several accounts were opened recently. The guide to length of credit history covers how the components are grouped.

Where length of credit history sits in a scoring model

FICO publishes approximate weights for the factors it considers. Those weights describe the model as a whole, not a formula that can be applied account by account.

FICO factor	Approximate weight
Payment history	35%
Amounts owed	30%
Length of credit history	15%
New credit	10%
Credit mix	10%

VantageScore uses its own factor weighting and does not publish fixed percentages, so the two model families are not interchangeable. The differences are covered in FICO vs. VantageScore. Most credit scores, including FICO and VantageScore, use a range of 300 to 850; the bands inside that range are described in credit score ranges explained.

Average age compared with the oldest account

Two consumers can hold the same number of accounts and still have very different age profiles. The shape of the file matters more than any single number:

A consumer whose oldest account was opened many years ago and who also has several recent accounts has a high oldest-account age and a comparatively low average age.
A consumer whose accounts were all opened within a short window has a younger oldest account and a tighter spread of ages across the file.

Scoring models look at the oldest account, the average age, and the age of the newest account as separate inputs, because together they describe how a file has grown. A history built gradually over many years and a history created in one burst are not the same record, even when the number of accounts is identical.

How a new account enters the calculation

When a lender opens a new account and reports it, the account is added to the file with its opening date. The average age of accounts is recalculated with a new, younger account in the mix, and the newest account on the file is now the one just opened. The same event usually produces a hard inquiry, which typically remains on a credit report for 2 years. New credit carries an approximate 10% weight in the FICO model and is a separate factor from length of credit history.

How long accounts and related items stay on a credit report

The Fair Credit Reporting Act sets time limits for specific categories of information. The limits below are the general rules; the statute itself, at 15 U.S.C. section 1681, is the controlling text.

Item on the report	How long it generally stays
Most negative information, including late payments	7 years
Chapter 7 bankruptcy	10 years
Chapter 13 bankruptcy	7 years
Hard inquiries	2 years

Those limits apply to adverse information. Accounts that remain open and in good standing are reported for as long as the lender continues to furnish updates, which is one reason the oldest account on a file is often still open. A closed account keeps its original opening date, so its contribution to the age side of the profile does not restart when the account is closed. General credit education material from Experian describes how individual accounts and dates appear on a credit report.

Closed accounts and authorized user accounts

Closing an account ends new activity on it but does not change the date it was opened. Whether the closed account continues to appear, and how a model treats it, depends on the credit reporting agency and the scoring model involved. Because age is tied to the opening date, an older closed account and a recently opened account carry different weight in a history.

Authorized user accounts work differently again. When an issuer reports an authorized user account to the agencies, that account's opening date and payment record can appear on the authorized user's file as well. Scoring models vary in how they treat authorized user accounts, and some handle them differently from accounts the consumer holds directly.

How the three agencies report account ages

Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion each maintain a separate file. A lender may report an account to all three agencies, to two, or to one, so opening dates and account lists can differ from file to file. That is one reason two credit scores pulled on the same day can differ.

The FCRA gives consumers the right to a free credit report from each nationwide agency every 12 months, and the three agencies currently provide free reports weekly through AnnualCreditReport.com. Under the FCRA, an agency generally must investigate a dispute within 30 days; that period can extend to 45 days if the consumer provides additional information during the initial 30-day window. More detail is in the credit reports section.

What the age of accounts does not determine

Length of credit history is one factor among five in the FICO model, and it carries less weight than payment history at 35% or amounts owed at 30%. A long file with a recent late payment and high revolving balances is evaluated on all of those inputs rather than on age alone. A short file with no negative information is likewise evaluated on its own terms.

Age is also distinct from the balances and limits a consumer carries. Amounts owed refers to how balances compare with credit limits, which is covered in credit utilization explained. Reviewing a file over time is one way to see how dates, balances, and inquiries change together; that process is described under credit monitoring and credit check.

Why the oldest account is often the anchor

The oldest credit account usually anchors the age side of a profile because it carries the earliest opening date and therefore contributes the most to the average age. When a file holds one long-standing account alongside several recent ones, that single account does most of the work in the average. The credit profile section of this site covers how age, balances, payment records, and inquiries fit together as one picture.

This page is published for education only and is not financial advice.

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Frequently asked questions

What is the average age of credit accounts?

It is the mean age of the accounts a scoring model includes in its calculation, expressed in months or years. Models group accounts differently, and VantageScore does not publish fixed factor weights, so the average on any given file depends on the model reading it.

How long do accounts stay on a credit report?

Accounts that remain open and in good standing are reported for as long as the lender furnishes updates. The FCRA sets fixed limits for adverse information: most negative items, including late payments, stay 7 years; a Chapter 7 bankruptcy stays 10 years; a Chapter 13 bankruptcy stays 7 years; and hard inquiries typically stay 2 years.

Does the oldest credit account matter more than the average?

The oldest account carries the earliest opening date, so it typically contributes the most to the average age. Scoring models look at the oldest account, the average age, and the age of the newest account as separate inputs rather than as one combined number.

Does opening a new account change the age of accounts?

Yes. A newly reported account adds a younger account to the file, so the average age of accounts is recalculated and the newest account on the file becomes the one just opened. A hard inquiry is usually recorded at the same time and typically remains on the report for 2 years.

Can a closed account still count toward the age of accounts?

A closed account keeps its original opening date, and that date does not change when the account is closed. Whether the closed account continues to appear, and how a model weighs it, depends on the credit reporting agency and the scoring model.

Do all three credit reporting agencies show the same account ages?

Not necessarily. Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion maintain separate files, and a lender may report an account to all three, to two, or to one, so opening dates and account lists can differ between files.