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Credit Advice
Topics addressed on July 4, 2012:
How a settled judgment appears in a credit report
Dear Experian,
I settled a judgment with a creditor. Is it still showing as judgment, or is reported as settled?
- KDH
Dear KDH,
Once a judgment is paid it should be updated to reflect satisfied on your credit report. It would not show settled, because it is paid in full. The term “settled” refers to debts that are repaid, but for less than agreed in the original contract.
The judgment will remain in your credit report for seven years from filing date.
If you paid the debt directly to the plaintiff, the plaintiff should report this information to the court so that its records are updated. It may be a good idea to contact the court to make sure the public record information has been updated.
Once updated with the court, the information will be collected by the credit reporting agencies and will be updated on your credit report.
Thank you for asking.
- The "Ask Experian" team