Having a judgment on your credit report can be devastating. The impact it has on your credit score and your over-all ability to obtain financing is daunting to say the least. A judgment can stay on your credit reports for up to 20 years! Even after the 20 year period passes, it can be updated and remain for another 20. How did you get the judgment in the first place? A judgment is basically a court verified debt. Failure to make payment on a contract led to being sued from a creditor. Once the judge verifies that the debt is owed, he or she places judgment against you for the amount owed plus reasonable fees. The judgment is recorded publicly and also on your credit reports.

Even after you have paid off the court ordered judgment, the mere fact that you had it in the first place will remain on your credit reports. Let’s face it; having a judgment on your credit reports is less than ideal. You have a right to dispute the judgment with the credit bureaus, if it is not verified; it will be removed from your credit reports! Usually the best way to dispute a paid judgment is to dispute something in particular about the way it is reporting such as incorrect date, balance is wrong etc. The credit bureaus must verify by law, that the information they are reporting is 100% accurate. Once the judgment is paid off, it is much easier to have it removed as usually they will not be as easy for the bureaus to validate.