How Can I Remove a Judgment That Is Paid Off From My Credit Report?

A civil judgment is a public record reflecting a judge's decision against the defendant in a lawsuit. Civil judgments represent the amount that the court determines the defendant owes to the plaintiff and appear on the defendant's credit report. Paying off a judgment helps you avoid legal consequences, such as a property lien or wage garnishment, but doing so does not guarantee that the credit bureaus will remove the judgment from your credit record.

Paying the Judgment

The credit bureaus list judgments on consumer credit reports because the it serves as evidence that the defendant did not pay his debts responsibly -- leaving his creditor with no choice but to seek legal recourse. A history of irresponsibility with debt makes you a high risk for lenders. The judgment remains on your credit report after you pay it because paying off the debt does not erase the fact that your creditor was forced to sue you -- information other lenders deserve to take into consideration before extending credit to you or approving your loan application. Judgments -- whether paid or unpaid -- adversely affect your credit rating.

Timeframe

The length of time a civil judgment remains on your credit file depends upon the length of time your state permits creditors to secure payment of the original debt using the judgment. An exception to this rule occurs only if your state gives creditors less than seven years to enforce a judgment. In this case, the Fair Credit Reporting Act mandates that the judgment remain for a minimum of seven years.

Disputes

Paying a debt -- even one reflected by a judgment -- isn't an admission of guilt. Thus, you can still dispute the judgment's validity with the credit bureaus. If the court does not verify the judgment's accuracy during the credit bureaus' dispute investigations, each credit bureau will remove the paid judgment from your credit record. Remember, disputes are reserved for legitimate errors -- not valid items that simply damage your credit scores. If any feature of your paid judgment appears inaccurately on your credit report, such as the amount you owed or paid, you can dispute the error and possibly have it removed.

Considerations

Consumers have the right to re-open the original case and contest the grounds under which the creditor received a judgment. If successful, the court "vacates" the judgment and it vanishes from the consumer's credit report. If you already paid and satisfied your judgment, however, you lose this option.

If you cannot have the judgment legally removed from your credit repot, that does not necessarily mean that your credit rating will remain low until the reporting period on the item expires. Paid judgments hurt your scores less over time -- even if they still remain a feature of your credit history.