How to Remove a Judgment from Your Credit Report

May 28, 2025 • Credit Repair

A judgment on your credit report can tank your credit score and limit your access to loans, housing, or even job opportunities. It might be from a lawsuit you lost, or worse—it could be a mistake. Maybe you’ve already paid it off and just want it gone.

Whatever the case, you’re not stuck with it forever. This guide walks you through how to remove a judgment from your credit report, legally and effectively. You’ll learn what judgments are, how they show up (or don’t) today, and what steps to take next.

What Is a Judgment on a Credit Report?

A judgment is a court order that says you legally owe money to another person or company. It usually comes after a creditor or debt collector sues you and wins. If you don’t respond to the lawsuit or lose the case, the court can issue a judgment against you.

Definition and Types

Judgments typically involve unpaid debt. This could be from:

Credit cards: Missed payments that went to collections, followed by a lawsuit
Medical bills: Unpaid balances that providers or agencies sued to collect
Loans: Personal loans, auto loans, or payday loans that defaulted

Judgments are public records. They can lead to wage garnishment, bank account levies, or liens against your property.

How Judgments Used to Appear on Credit Reports

Before 2017, judgments were commonly included in credit reports from all three major credit bureaus—Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. This changed after the National Consumer Assistance Plan (NCAP) took effect.

The NCAP required credit bureaus to improve the accuracy of public record data. Since many judgments lacked key identifying information like Social Security numbers or full names, the bureaus decided to remove them altogether.

Do Judgments Still Appear on Credit Reports in 2025?

No—judgments no longer appear on credit reports from Equifax, Experian, or TransUnion. That’s been the case since 2017.

However, that doesn’t mean a judgment can’t affect you. Lenders, landlords, or employers may still uncover them through public records searches, especially during manual underwriting.

A judgment may also still lead to:

Wage garnishment: A court can order your employer to withhold a portion of your paycheck
Bank levies: The creditor may be allowed to take funds directly from your bank account
Liens: If the creditor places a lien on your home or other property, it can block refinancing or sales

Many people think they’re seeing a judgment on their credit report when it’s actually a related account—like a collection or charge-off—that led to a judgment. These entries can still affect your credit score, even if the judgment itself doesn’t appear.

How a Judgment Can Still Affect Your Credit

Even though civil judgments no longer show up on your credit report, the damage they cause often does.

Indirect Credit Damage

Most judgments stem from unpaid debt. That usually means:

Charge-offs: The original creditor gave up on collecting and wrote off the account
Collections: A third-party collection agency may have bought the debt
Late payments: Missed payments leading up to the lawsuit stay on your credit report for up to seven years

These entries can pull down your credit score significantly, even without a formal judgment listed.

Legal Consequences That Can Still Hurt

Judgments carry legal weight, and creditors can take action to collect on them. This might include:

Wage garnishment: A set percentage of your paycheck gets withheld until the debt is paid
Bank levies: Your bank account can be frozen or drained by court order
Property liens: The creditor can place a legal claim on your home or other assets

These consequences won’t show up in your credit report, but they can still create major financial roadblocks.

How to Check if a Judgment Is on Your Credit Report

Even though credit bureaus don’t report judgments anymore, it’s still smart to check for related entries and confirm what’s actually showing.

Here’s how:

Pull your credit reports: Visit AnnualCreditReport.com to get free copies from Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion.
Look for red flags: Search for collections, charge-offs, or accounts with “closed by creditor” notations. These may be tied to a judgment.
Check the public record directly: Use PACER (for federal court cases), your county court’s website, or services like LexisNexis to search for judgments under your name. Some lenders and background check companies use these databases instead of credit bureaus.

If you find a judgment on file, even if it’s not on your credit report, you’ll still want to address it. The next steps can help you get it resolved—or possibly removed.

How to Remove a Judgment From Your Credit Report

Judgments can be frustrating—especially if they’re outdated, paid, or simply wrong. The good news is, there are ways to deal with them. Here’s what you can do to get a judgment removed from your credit report and minimize its impact.

1. Dispute the Judgment With the Credit Bureaus

Start by sending a dispute letter to each credit bureau that lists the judgment. Include your name, account details, and any evidence that supports your claim.

Valid reasons to dispute a judgment:

Mistaken identity: The judgment belongs to someone else with a similar name
Outdated information: The reporting period has passed (7 years from the filing date)
Already paid: The judgment was satisfied but not updated
Vacated judgment: A court vacated the ruling, but it still appears on your report

Attach documents like court records, payment receipts, or your motion to vacate. Credit bureaus have 30 days to investigate and respond.

2. Ask the Court to Vacate the Judgment

If the judgment was issued without your knowledge or under unfair circumstances, you may be able to get it vacated. This means the court formally cancels the judgment, as if it never happened.

When to file a motion to vacate:

You weren’t properly served
You had a valid defense but missed the hearing
There was a clerical error in the case

Visit the court that issued the judgment and ask how to file a motion to vacate. You may need to explain your reason in writing or attend a short hearing. If the court agrees, get a copy of the vacate order for your records and send it to the credit bureaus and third-party agencies.

3. Settle the Judgment and Request a ‘Satisfaction of Judgment’

If disputing or vacating isn’t an option, consider negotiating a settlement with the creditor or debt collector. You may be able to pay less than the full amount in exchange for closing the case.

Tips for settling:

Contact the creditor in writing
Get the settlement agreement in writing before paying
Ask for a “Satisfaction of Judgment” after payment

Once satisfied, the court should update its records. You’ll also want to send a copy of the satisfaction to the credit bureaus and LexisNexis to help prevent future reporting issues.

4. Follow Up With Credit Bureaus After Resolution

After the judgment is vacated or paid off, follow up with each credit bureau that listed it. Include supporting documents like:

Court order vacating the judgment
Satisfaction of judgment
Settlement agreement or proof of payment

Bureaus usually update or remove entries within 30 to 45 days. Keep copies of everything you send in case you need to follow up again.

5. Contact LexisNexis and Other Reporting Agencies

Even if the judgment is gone from your credit reports, it may still appear in third-party databases like LexisNexis or SageStream. These companies supply background and risk data to lenders, insurers, and employers.

To address this:

Request a copy of your LexisNexis Consumer Disclosure Report
If the judgment appears, submit a written dispute with proof that it’s vacated or satisfied
Ask for suppression or deletion of the record

This step helps ensure the judgment doesn’t follow you through other channels.

Sample Letter Templates

Written letters are still one of the most effective ways to handle disputes, court filings, and requests related to judgments. These templates can help you get started.

Credit Bureau Dispute Letter for a Judgment – Use this to challenge inaccurate, outdated, or vacated judgments with Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion.
Motion to Vacate Judgment Sample – Submit this to the court if you believe the judgment was issued in error or without proper notice.
Satisfaction of Judgment Request Letter – Use this to ask the creditor or court to update the status of your judgment after payment.

Here is a customizable credit dispute letter template you can use to get started.

What If the Judgment Is Legitimate and Still Active?

If the judgment is valid, and you can’t get it removed, your focus should shift to minimizing its impact and preventing future issues.

Pay it off: Negotiate a settlement or pay the balance in full. Then request a satisfaction of judgment from the court.
Let the statute of limitations run out: State laws limit how long a creditor can enforce a judgment (often 7–20 years). Once it expires, it becomes harder to collect.
Keep an eye on your credit report: Even if you can’t remove the judgment, you can dispute inaccurate entries tied to it, like collection accounts or outdated balances.

How Long Does a Judgment Stay on Your Credit Report?

Before 2017, judgments could appear on your credit report for up to 7 years from the date filed. That changed with the National Consumer Assistance Plan, which led the credit bureaus to stop including judgments entirely.

Still, the judgment remains a public record—and lenders may access it through other channels.

Key points:

Judgment reporting: Removed from credit reports since 2017
Public record presence: Can stay in court databases for 10–20 years
Underwriting checks: Mortgage lenders may still pull public records when evaluating applications

Can a Judgment Be Re-Reported After Removal?

It’s rare, but in some cases, a judgment can reappear—especially if it was deleted by mistake or shows up again through third-party data sources.

To protect yourself:

Keep documentation: Hold onto any court orders, satisfaction letters, or dispute confirmations
Act fast on reinsertions: If the judgment comes back, dispute it immediately and attach your records

Re-reporting isn’t common, but it can happen. Having your paperwork ready speeds up the removal process.

Final Tips to Rebuild Your Credit After a Judgment

Even if a judgment hurt your credit score, there are steps you can take to build it back up over time.

Open new positive accounts: Secured credit cards or credit-builder loans are a good place to start
Always pay on time: Payment history is the biggest factor in your credit score
Keep credit balances low: Aim to use less than 30% of your credit limit

Small, consistent wins make a big difference in rebuilding your credit.

Conclusion

A judgment doesn’t have to haunt your credit forever. Whether you’re disputing an error, negotiating a settlement, or asking the court to vacate it—there’s a path forward.

Start by pulling your credit report and looking for any signs of related damage. From there, follow the steps that fit your situation and keep good records along the way. You can clean up your credit—and move on.