A Chapter 7 will stay on your credit report for 10 years. A Chapter 13 will stay on your credit report for 7 years. You are not prohibited from applying for or receiving credit during that time but rather it will impact the terms under which you can borrow (interest rates, down payments, payment terms, etc.). You may rebuild your credit during the 7-10 years and there are many free and useful websites and articles on how to responsibly improve your credit score.