Chapter 7 and Chapter 13

Among the findings:

    The average credit score for somebody who filed Chapter 7, the most frequent type of bankruptcy, in 2010 was 538.2 on Equifax's 280 into 850 range. (Scores in the low 600s and below are generally considered poor.) From the time the filers' cases were discharged, generally within six months, their average rating was 620.3.

    The other type of bankruptcy, Chapter 13, requires a three- to - repayment plan, which most people don't complete. Those who did and obtained a discharge, though, saw their scores increase from 535.2 to 610.8, the Philadelphia Fed researchers found.

A recent analysis by FICO, the company that made the Top credit Score, found considerably smaller gains. Median credit scores for those who filed for bankruptcy between October 2009 and October 2010 climbed from the 550s before they filed to the 560s afterward, says Ethan Dornhelm, senior director for FICO's scores and analytics team.
above. After four decades, 48% had scores of 620 or above, and only 1% scored 700 or above.

But the FICO study didn't distinguish between Chapter 7 and Chapter 13, or between individuals who got a discharge and those who didn't. Those With undischarged debt may be skewing the results. In other words, Individuals with completed bankruptcies could have seen bigger gains than What is reflected in the median figures, Dornhelm states.