How long does a Cifas marker last?

Updated 28 October 2026. General information, not legal advice.

In short

A Cifas marker usually stays on the National Fraud Database for 6 years from the date it was filed. It does not expire just because you close the account or move. The only way to end it sooner is to have it reviewed: through the bank that filed it, a Cifas review and the Financial Ombudsman Service.

Six years

A marker on the Cifas National Fraud Database usually stays for six years. During that time other Cifas members can see it when you apply to them for an account, credit or a contract.

What it can affect

  • opening bank accounts,
  • credit cards, loans and car finance,
  • phone contracts and some other services that check with Cifas.

Each member decides for itself. A marker does not mean an automatic no everywhere, but many people find it shuts doors.

Can you wait it out?

You can, but six years is a long time without a normal bank account. And the routes to challenge it have time limits of their own. The Financial Ombudsman generally needs your complaint within 6 months of the bank's final response, and there is a wider limit of 6 years from the event, or 3 years from when you knew or should have known about the problem.

Ending it sooner

The member that filed the marker can remove it at any time. To get it to look again:

  1. Get your free Cifas report and your data from the bank.
  2. Complain to the bank with your evidence and ask for a final response.
  3. Ask Cifas to review it.
  4. Take it to the Financial Ombudsman Service, which can tell the bank to remove it.

Here is the full route, step by step.

After a marker is removed

Ask the bank to confirm in writing that it asked Cifas to delete the marker. After a few weeks, get a new Cifas report to check it has gone, then ask any bank that turned you down to look at your application again.

Questions

How long does a Cifas marker stay on file?

Usually six years from the date it was filed.

Does closing the account remove the marker?

No. The marker is separate from the account and stays unless the member that filed it removes it.

Can a marker be removed early?

Yes, if the member that filed it agrees, or after a Cifas review or a Financial Ombudsman decision finds it should not stand.

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