Do Civil Judgments Appear on a Credit Report?

A civil judgment is a legal affirmation that you are responsible for paying a debt. A creditor typically seeks a judgment as a last resort after making numerous attempts to compel you to pay your debt. Incurring a judgment as a debtor can cause significant financial problems, and can also negatively affect your credit score.

Credit Reporting

After a county or district court issues a judgment against you in favor of a creditor, the county or district recorder receives notification of the judgment. The judgment then enters the public record files -- these files are freely available to anyone. Experian, TransUnion and Equifax, the three primary credit-reporting bureaus in the United States, routinely review entries on public records and add judgments to credit files.

Duration of Entry

Unlike late payment reports, judgments do not automatically fall off your credit history after seven years. If you pay off the judgment within seven years of when the credit-reporting agencies entered the judgment, they remove the judgment. If you do not pay off the judgment, it stays on your credit file until the statute of limitations expires. The length of the statute of limitations varies by state. For example, judgments are valid for seven years in Georgia and five years in Ohio.

Renewal of Judgment

Most states permit judgment creditors to apply for renewal of judgment near the end of the statute of limitations if you have not satisfied your judgment debt. Renewal extends the judgment by a number of years equal to the statute of limitations. For example, a renewal in Georgia increases the length of a valid judgment to a total of 14 years. This can also extend the length of time that a civil judgment stays on your credit report.

Satisfying a Judgment

If you satisfy a judgment, the creditor must notify the court within 30 days of payment that you no longer have a financial obligation under the judgment, and it will appear as satisfied in your public records file. The judgment will also appear as satisfied in your credit file. Although a satisfied judgment may still negatively affect your creditworthiness, it may have a less dramatic impact than an unpaid judgment.