How Can I Remove a Satisfied Judgment From My Credit Report?

If you have applied for financing, you have crossed paths with the credit triumvirate: the big three credit reporting agencies -- TransUnion, Experian, and Equifax -- that together keep track of your personal financial data relating to your creditworthiness. These agencies must comply with the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) in keeping your information updated and accurate, and you can help by reviewing your reports periodically and disputing any inaccuracies.

Fair Credit Reporting Act

This federal legislation protects Americans' right to privacy, fairness and accuracy in reports regarding their credit histories. Under FCRA, you have the right to dispute any inaccuracies in any personal or business credit report that either the big three or any local agencies distribute by filing a written dispute that the agency is obligated by law to investigate. The FCRA requires credit reporting bureaus to delete any inaccurate or unverifiable information from your report. In addition, FCRA limits them to reporting most negative information for seven years -- or 10 years for bankruptcies -- at which time they must delete it.

Credit Bureau Policy

According to Experian, "Civil judgments ... remain for seven years from the filing date. When an individual judgment is paid, the status is updated to show that it is satisfied. Like the business credit report, the judgment will show the new status for the remainder of the time until it is deleted." When you pay a legal judgment, the credit agencies update your report, according to court information, to indicate the judgment is satisfied, but unless you take further action, the record will not be deleted for seven years from the judgment date.

Removing a Vacated Judgment

One way to have a judgment record removed from your credit report is to make an advance agreement with your creditor that when you have paid the court-ordered amount, the creditor will vacate the judgment -- dismiss it -- on the grounds that it has been satisfied, released or discharged. You can submit a copy of the signed order to vacate to any credit bureaus that have listed the judgment on your report. Because it is no longer valid, as far as the court is concerned, the FCRA prohibits its inclusion on your record.

Tips For Dealing with Credit Agencies

Even if you are not successful with your first credit report dispute, persistence can pay off. You can file a request that the credit bureau re-investigate your dispute if you believe that the initial investigation was incomplete. In addition, if you encounter insurmountable difficulties in dealing with any of the big three credit reporting agencies, you can submit a complaint to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and although FTC does not resolve consumer complaints, it enters them in a national database accessible by law enforcement agencies worldwide.