Credit reporting agencies usually report bankruptcy information for a period of ten (10) years. This does not mean that your credit rating will remain low for much of that time. Credit scoring takes into account the age of derogatory info, and discounts the value of that information as it ages.  Moreover, because you eliminate all of your unsecured debt in a bankruptcy, your income to debt ratio improves exponentially. 

You should review your credit reports at least every six months to make sure that no innacuracies appear on the reports. For people who have finished a  bankruptcy, the most common error involves creditors failing to update their reporting to reflect that the debt was discharged in bankruptcy and has $0 due.

The most reliable way to contest innacuracies is reliance on the Fair Credit Reporting Act. While the requirements for a dispute to be processed properly are pretty strict, a failure on the part of the creditor to properly update the report once the errors is brought to its attention can result in an extremely costly claim for violation of the bankruptcy discharge, Fair Credit Reporting Act and either Oregon or Washington state law. That in turn can result in a very satisfying and profitable payoff for the consumer.