How to Have Clear Judgment

Judgments can certainly impact your life; their negative effects keep you from being able to borrow money or if you do get financing, judgments will cause you to pay a higher interest rate. Time is the only thing that will clear judgments from your record, however if the judgment has not been satisfied, you will have to wait much longer than if you simply paid off your debt and let time do the rest. The statute of limitations on judgments is 20 years in the majority of states, whereas credit reporting agencies reflect paid judgments for only seven years.

Instructions

1

Pay off outstanding judgments or liens in full. Give the creditor about one month to file a satisfaction of judgment with the court. The judgment will remain on your credit report, however the creditor should notify the credit bureau the debt has been paid in full. Your credit report will be modified to show the judgment as paid.

2

Request a copy of your credit report to verify the payment status. If the creditor has not updated the record to show the payoff, contact him immediately. Document all conversations and correspondence between you and the creditor. Ask him if he will update the records to show the debt has been paid in full. If he won't, advise him that you will send him a blank judgment form for him to complete.

3

Locate a blank satisfaction of judgment form from an office supply store or your county clerk's office. Fill out the information on the form, such as your name and address, and the creditor's name and address as reflected on the judgment. Deliver the form to the creditor either by mail or in person. After he has filled out the appropriate information on the form, file the original in the same county and state courts that the judgment first appeared. Pay any additional costs necessary to obtain a certified copy for yourself.

4

Contact the credit bureau to find out where to send a copy of the satisfied judgment. Send a copy to the credit bureau, together with a request for an updated credit file. Send all documentation by certified mail. Allow for about a month for the changes to be made.