A civil judgment should not appear on your credit report at all. Since July 2017, Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion have removed civil judgment data from consumer credit reports and stopped adding new judgments, so the answer to how long a judgment stays on your credit report is, in practice, zero. The seven-year rule you may have read about still exists in federal law, but the bureaus voluntarily stopped reporting judgments under a settlement with state attorneys general and have not resumed.1Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Public Records, Credit Scores, and Credit Performance
That’s the short answer. The longer answer matters, because a judgment that isn’t on your credit report can still garnish your wages, block a mortgage, and sit in court records for decades.
What Changed in 2017
In 2015 the three nationwide credit bureaus reached an agreement with more than 30 state attorneys general known as the National Consumer Assistance Plan. The plan tightened accuracy standards for public records on credit reports.2Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. A New Retrospective on the Removal of Public Records
Starting July 1, 2017, any civil public record had to include the consumer’s name, address, and either a Social Security number or date of birth before a bureau could report it. Court files for judgments almost never carry that level of personal identifying information, so the data couldn’t meet the threshold.3Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Removal of Public Records Has Little Effect on Consumers’ Credit Scores
By the end of July 2017, all civil judgments had been removed from credit reports, according to the CFPB. Zero percent of consumers had a civil judgment on file after implementation. Bankruptcies are the only type of public record that still appears on bureau credit reports today.1Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Public Records, Credit Scores, and Credit Performance
The Seven-Year Rule Is Still on the Books
Under 15 U.S.C. ยง 1681c(a)(2), credit bureaus are permitted to report civil judgments for seven years from the date the court entered the judgment, or until the governing statute of limitations expires, whichever is longer.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 US Code 1681c – Requirements Relating to Information Contained in Consumer Reports
Congress didn’t repeal that provision. The bureaus simply chose to stop reporting judgments because they couldn’t verify them to the NCAP standard. If they ever find a reliable way to match court records to consumers, the seven-year clock could apply again. For now, no civil judgments appear on standard credit reports from Equifax, Experian, or TransUnion regardless of how recent they are.
The Debt Behind the Judgment Can Still Be on Your Report
A creditor usually reports a debt as delinquent and sends it to collections before ever suing you. That collection account is a separate entry on your credit report, and it follows its own seven-year reporting clock measured from the date you first fell behind on the original debt.
So the judgment itself is invisible to the bureaus, but the collection tradeline from the same underlying debt may still be sitting on your report and pulling your score down. If you see one tied to a debt that was reduced to judgment, addressing it means dealing with the collection entry directly: paying it, negotiating a deletion, or disputing it if the information is wrong.
A Judgment Off Your Credit Report Is Still Enforceable
Dropping off a credit report is not the same as going away. A judgment remains a legally enforceable court order, and the creditor keeps a full set of collection tools.
- Wage garnishment. Federal law caps garnishment for ordinary debts at the lesser of 25 percent of your disposable earnings or the amount by which your weekly disposable earnings exceed 30 times the federal minimum wage. Some states set lower limits.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 US Code 1673 – Restriction on Garnishment
- Bank levy. A creditor can get a court order to seize funds directly from your bank account, sometimes with little advance warning.
- Property lien. Under federal law, a judgment lien lasts 20 years and can be renewed for another 20. State-level judgment liens vary but commonly last 10 to 20 years, often with renewal options.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 US Code 3201 – Judgment Liens
None of that runs through the credit reporting system. A creditor doesn’t need the judgment to appear on your credit report to garnish your paycheck or freeze your account. In many jurisdictions a judgment’s legal life is 10 years or longer, with the option to renew before it expires.
Where a Judgment Still Shows Up
Mortgage Underwriting
Mortgage lenders don’t rely only on the three bureaus. Underwriters search public court records during the loan process, and any outstanding judgment will surface there.
FHA loans have explicit rules. A borrower with an outstanding judgment must either pay it off before closing or show at least three months of timely payments under a written repayment agreement with the creditor, and the judgment cannot take priority over the FHA mortgage lien.7FHA Single Family Housing Policy Handbook. Origination Through Post-Closing/Endorsement – Underwriting the Borrower
Conventional loans backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have similar requirements. If you’re planning to buy a home, deal with any outstanding judgment well before you apply.
Specialty Reports and Background Checks
Companies like LexisNexis Risk Solutions collect public record data including court judgments and sell reports to landlords, employers, insurers, and some lenders. These files are completely separate from your Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion reports.
Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, you can request a free copy of your file from any specialty reporting agency once per year. LexisNexis accepts requests online or by phone at 1-888-497-0011.8LexisNexis Risk Solutions. Order Your Report Online
If you’ve been denied housing, insurance, or employment based on a specialty report, you’re entitled to a free copy of that specific report. Old judgments have a way of surfacing in these files even years after they’ve faded from everywhere else.
Clearing the Judgment from Public Records
Because the judgment lives on in court records long after credit bureaus stopped tracking it, getting it cleared at the court is the only way to truly resolve it. Two routes are available, and they aren’t equivalent.
Satisfying the Judgment
Paying the judgment in full, or the settlement amount you negotiated, entitles you to a satisfaction of judgment. The creditor signs a document confirming the debt is paid and files it with the court, and the record then shows the judgment as satisfied rather than outstanding. If a lien was placed on your property, you can have the satisfaction recorded with the county recorder to release it.9Legal Information Institute. Satisfaction of Judgment
A satisfied judgment is better than an open one, but the record still shows that a judgment existed. Mortgage underwriters and background check companies can still see it.
Vacating the Judgment
Vacating a judgment means the court sets it aside entirely, as if it had never been entered. That is a stronger outcome than satisfaction because the judgment comes off the court record rather than being marked paid. Courts may vacate a judgment for reasons like improper service, a procedural defect, or a settlement agreement that includes vacatur as a term. You file a motion with the court that entered the judgment. Not every court will vacate simply because you paid, so if vacatur matters to you, negotiate it as part of the settlement before you send any money.
If a Judgment Does Appear on Your Credit Report
Under current bureau practice, a civil judgment showing up on a report from Equifax, Experian, or TransUnion is almost certainly an error. The FCRA gives you the right to dispute it, and the bureau must investigate.10Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. What If I Disagree with the Results of My Credit Report Dispute
Pull your reports from all three bureaus to see which is reporting the judgment. Free weekly reports are available at AnnualCreditReport.com under a program the bureaus have permanently extended.11Federal Trade Commission. Free Credit Reports
Submit your dispute in writing to the bureau reporting the item. Include your name, address, enough detail to identify the entry, and an explanation of why it’s inaccurate. Attach copies of supporting documents, keep the originals, and use certified mail with a return receipt.
The bureau has 30 days to investigate. If you supply additional relevant information during that period, the bureau may take up to 15 more days. If the judgment cannot be verified or is found inaccurate, the bureau must remove it.12Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1681i – Procedure in Case of Disputed Accuracy
If the Judgment Came from Identity Theft
If someone used your identity and a judgment was entered against you for a debt you never incurred, FCRA Section 605B requires the bureau to block the reporting of information resulting from identity theft within four business days of receiving your identity theft report, proof of your identity, and a statement identifying the fraudulent item.13Federal Trade Commission. FCRA 605B – 15 USC 1681c-2
Blocking the credit report entry isn’t enough on its own. Move to vacate the judgment in court as well, because a fraudulent judgment left in public records can still cause problems with mortgage applications, background checks, and specialty reports.