- BBB's national page says three years from the filing date, not from the closing date.
- One local BBB page counts 36 months from closing. The gap is usually about a month.
- Resolving a complaint changes its status, not how long it shows.
- Consumers cannot delete a submitted complaint, and BBB does not publish a way for a business to shorten the period.
- Age matters for the rating. BBB lists complaint volume weighted by age and the age of resolved complaints as factors.
On this page
The Short Answer: Three Years, and Which Clock Starts It
A BBB complaint stays visible for three years, and BBB's national page starts that clock on the filing date.
BBB's complaint process page says complaints will appear on Business Profiles for three years from the date the complaint was filed. It also says submitted complaints cannot be deleted. Those two sentences answer most of the question, but three details decide how it plays out for your business: the start date, what a status change does and what happens as the complaint ages.
| Question | What BBB publishes |
|---|---|
| How long is a complaint displayed? | Three years |
| When does the clock start? | From the filing date, per BBB's national complaint page |
| Does resolving it shorten the period? | BBB does not say so. A local BBB page says complaints remain visible after resolution |
| Can the consumer delete it? | No. Submitted complaints cannot be deleted |
| Can the business have it deleted? | Not by asking. See can you remove a BBB complaint |
| What about very high volumes? | BBB may publish a representative sample and disclose the percentage published |
This guide covers the display period only. For the path from filing to closing, see what happens when a complaint is filed, and for the wider hub, see BBB complaints.
Filing Date or Closing Date? The Clocks Do Not Match
The national page counts from filing, one local page counts from closing, and the difference is roughly the length of the process.
BBB is made up of independently incorporated local bureaus under a national standards body. That is why you can find different wording on different pages. The national complaint page says three years from the date the complaint was filed. A local BBB page we reviewed says complaints stay on the record for 36 months from the closing date, not the filing date.
Because complaints are generally closed about 30 calendar days after filing, the two readings differ by about a month in a typical case. The gap grows if a second response or a mediation step delays the closing.
| Example complaint | Filed | Closed | Three years from filing | 36 months from closing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A typical case, for example a hypothetical landscaping company | January 10, 2026 | February 9, 2026 | January 10, 2029 | February 9, 2029 |
| A delayed case, for example a hypothetical dental billing office | January 10, 2026 | March 12, 2026 | January 10, 2029 | March 12, 2029 |
We tell owners to plan on the national page and ask the local BBB which clock it uses. The extra weeks rarely change a decision, but they matter if you are timing an application or a sale around a clean profile.
Want a Specialist to Look at Your BBB Profile?
We will check every published rating element on your file and tell you exactly what is costing you points. Free, and honest about what can and cannot change.
Does a Resolved Complaint Come Off Sooner?
No. A Resolved status changes how a complaint reads, not how long it is displayed.
BBB's page does not tie the display period to the closing status. A local BBB page says complaints remain visible after resolution so consumers can review a company's complaint history. A Resolved complaint with a clear response from you reads very differently from an Unanswered one, which is why the status still matters. The five outcomes are explained in the five complaint statuses.
| Status | Displayed for three years? | How it reads to a customer |
|---|---|---|
| Resolved | Yes, per BBB's general display rule | The consumer confirmed satisfaction |
| Answered | Yes | You addressed it and the consumer did not confirm |
| Unresolved | Yes | The response lacked a good-faith effort |
| Unanswered | Yes | No response is on record |
| Unpursuable | Yes | BBB could not locate the business |
The point is that every status sits there for the same stretch. What you can change is the story the complaint tells while it is there.
How Age Affects Your Rating Before Three Years Are Up
BBB lists age as a factor in complaint history, so a complaint's effect is not constant across its three years.
BBB's overview of ratings lists complaint history factors including the number of complaints filed, the size of the business, timely and appropriate responses, good-faith efforts to resolve, patterns of unresolved issues and the age of resolved complaints. It also lists complaint volume, weighted by age, at 15 to 0 points.
What BBB does not publish is the weighting formula. So we do not say how fast a complaint fades or how many points return at any age. We say only what BBB says: age is a factor, and complaint volume is weighted by age. For the rest of the scale, see how BBB ratings work.
What Happens When the Three Years End?
BBB's complaint page says a complaint appears for three years, and it does not say what happens to the underlying record afterward.
We could not find a BBB page that states whether an expired complaint is archived or deleted. So we limit ourselves to this: after three years from filing, the complaint is no longer listed as appearing on the profile under BBB's published rule. If a date matters to you, ask your local BBB to confirm in writing when a specific complaint is scheduled to stop appearing.
Can Anything Shorten It?
For a genuine, accepted complaint, BBB does not publish a way to shorten the display period.
The national page says submitted complaints cannot be deleted, and BBB's FAQ says accreditation dues do not remove a complaint. One local BBB page we reviewed adds that if a complaint meets BBB standards, it cannot be removed when a business requests it, and it advises businesses not to ask the consumer to withdraw it. The realistic exception is a complaint that BBB should not have handled. See complaints the BBB does not handle.
| Idea | Does it shorten the period? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Resolving the complaint | No | Status changes, display period does not |
| Paying for or keeping accreditation | No | BBB says dues do not remove a complaint |
| Asking the customer to withdraw it | No | A local BBB page advises against it, and it can look like pressure |
| Posting positive reviews | No | Reviews do not affect the rating, and the complaint still shows |
| Showing the complaint is outside what BBB handles | Possibly | Only BBB decides, and only if the complaint fits a published type |
Never ask a reviewer or consumer to remove feedback in exchange for a reward, and never threaten anyone. Those are not strategies, and the FTC has a rule on fake and suppressed reviews. Our site does not do them and neither should you.
A Plan for the Years a Complaint Stays
You cannot shorten the display, but you can control what accumulates around it.
- Write down the filing and closing date of every complaint on your profile
- Add three years to each filing date and keep that list
- Confirm with your local BBB whether it counts from filing or from closing
- Make sure each complaint has a clear, professional response on record
- Answer every new complaint inside the window so the pile stays Answered or Resolved
- Check your profile contacts so no new notice is missed
- Review your complaint volume against your size once a quarter
If you want a second set of eyes on what is on your profile and what is realistic, our BBB audit reviews the file against BBB's published elements, and our rating improvement service works inside them. Before work starts we agree the result in writing, such as moving from a B+ to an A, and you pay when it is delivered.
What You Can and Cannot Do
You can plan around the three years, but you cannot shorten them for a genuine complaint.
What you can do
- Track every complaint's three-year date
- Confirm the clock with your local BBB
- Keep each response professional and visible
- Prevent new complaints with fast handling
- Challenge complaints that fit a published exclusion
What you cannot do
- Delete a submitted complaint
- Shorten the period with a Resolved status
- Remove it with accreditation dues
- Pressure a customer to withdraw it
- Rely on reviews to push it down
We are not affiliated with the BBB. We cannot delete a genuine complaint, shorten the three years it stays on your profile or assign a rating. Only the BBB does those things.
Anthony Will
Founder and CEO, Reputation Resolutions
Anthony Will founded Reputation Resolutions and has worked in online reputation management since 2013. Reputation Resolutions is BBB Accredited with an A+ rating and is a Google Partner. Business Rating Fix is its Better Business Bureau rating division.
- In online reputation management since 2013
- Reputation Resolutions: BBB Accredited, A+ rated
- Google Partner
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Fact-checked against bbb.org · Updated November 2026
