A judgment is the court’s final decision in a lawsuit.
What does a judgment say?
If a debt collector wins, the judgment will say how much you owe. This amount can include:
- Court costs,
- Lawyer’s fees, and
- Interest on the debt.
Default judgments
If you do not file an Appearance or go to your court date, the judge may issue a default judgment. This means the debt collector automatically wins. You may be able to ask the court to cancel, or vacate, the judgment. It is best to do this within 30 days.
What happens if a creditor gets a judgment?
Once there is a judgment, the creditor can try to collect the money by:
- Taking part of your wages (but at least $675 of your weekly take-home pay is protected),
- Freezing your bank account, and
- Putting a lien on your home, if you own one.
You have rights. You can file a court document to protect some of your property from collections, including up to $4,000 in a bank account.
👉 Learn what property you can protect from collections.
If a judgment was entered against you after 1/1/2020, $1,000 of the money in your checking or savings accounts is automatically protected until the court hears the post-judgment citation.
Other ways a judgment could impact you
Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, civil suits and judgments generally stay on your credit report for seven years. Judgments may show up in background checks done when you apply for a job or housing. Most credit reports do not contain information about court judgments.
A judgment does not usually affect your credit score, and it does not appear on typical credit reports.