How long does a debt collector have until they report a debt to a credit reporting agency?

Under normal circumstances, credit activity should be reported monthly. Answer 2 There really is no time limit unless there's a statute on how long a company has to colelct a debt. However, usually creditors will wait about 30-90 days to see if you'll pay. You'll get past due notices in the mail. You'll probably get 30 day overdue notices in the mail, then 60 days, then 90 days. In between 30 and 60 days you'll start getting calls from the companies you owe money to. After about 90 days when the creditor has done everything in their power to contact and collect from you, they will then contact a debt collection agency to do it for them.