Judgments: How Long Do They Last and Will Bankruptcy Help?

How Long Do Judgments Last?

In most states, judgments last 5–10 years. However, in some states, like New York, they can be enforced for up to 20 years. State law determines how long a money judgment lasts.

💸 A money judgment is the most common type of judgment. It confirms that you owe a debt and allows the creditor to collect it through actions like wage garnishment or bank levies. 

However, creditors may also get other types of judgments, like a judgment lien, which gives them a legal claim against your property.

Some states also have different time limits depending on the type of judgment. For example, a money judgment may expire sooner than a judgment lien placed on real estate.

What Is a Judgment?

If you fall behind on credit card bills, loan payments, or other debts, your creditor may sue you to collect the money. If they win, the court will issue a judgment. This is a court order confirming that you owe the debt and giving the creditor the legal right to collect it.

A judgment isn’t just a piece of paper. It allows creditors to take serious steps to get their money. This includes:

• Wage garnishment, which allows them to take money directly from your paycheck

• Bank account levy, which allows them to freeze and withdraw money from your bank account

• Property liens, which are attached to property you own and may prevent you from selling it

If you don’t respond to a lawsuit, the creditor can still win by default judgment, meaning they automatically get the court order because you didn’t show up.

If you've been sued, you can avoid a default judgment by responding to the lawsuit. Many people do this successfully on their own, but you can also get help from a trusted service like Solo. Solo has helped hundreds of thousands of people respond to debt lawsuits, and they have a money-back guarantee.

Solo is an affiliate partner, which means Upsolve may earn a small commission if you choose to use their paid service. This helps keep our services free.

Can a Judgment Be Renewed?

Many states allow creditors to renew a judgment before it expires, which extends the time they have to collect on it. Renewal rules vary by state. 

For example, judgment creditors in Idaho have five years to collect on a judgment. After five years, they can renew the judgment for five more years. Some states only allow judgment creditors to renew judgments once, while other states allow them to renew judgments indefinitely. 

🏛️A judgment creditor is a creditor that has won a lawsuit and has a court order (judgment) against you to collect on a debt.

If a creditor doesn’t renew the judgment, it expires, and you no longer owe the remaining balance. However, in some states, even an expired judgment can be revived later with a simple renewal request.

👉 To find out how long a judgment lasts in your state, you can contact your state court, a local legal aid office, or your state’s attorney general.

How Long Do Judgments Stay on Your Credit Report?

Judgments don't appear on credit reports. This means a judgment itself won’t hurt your credit score.

However, the debt that led to the judgment can still impact your credit. If you missed payments or had an account sent to collections or if the creditor charged off the debt, those negative marks can stay on your credit report for seven years. So while the judgment won’t be listed, the financial trouble that led to it may still affect your credit score.

How Do Creditors Collect on Judgments?

As long as a judgment is valid and collectible, the judgment creditor can pursue serious collection measures. This includes garnishing your wages, levying your bank account, and putting a lien against your property. Below we explain each of these.

Wage Garnishment

Wage garnishment allows a judgment creditor to take money directly from your paycheck. 

Federal law limits how much they can take. Typically, creditors can garnish up to 25% of your weekly disposable earnings or the amount that your weekly disposable earnings exceed 30 times the federal minimum wage. 

Certain types of income can’t be garnished, including Social Security income.

Bank Levy

A bank levy is similar to wage garnishment, but instead of taking funds from your paycheck, a creditor takes money directly from your bank account. Once a creditor gets a court order allowing them to levy your bank account, the bank will freeze your account so you can’t access it. Then the bank will send funds to your judgment creditor. 

Creditors can levy your bank account as many times as they need in order to pay the judgment off. 

As with a wage garnishment, certain types of income are safe from levy. For example, creditors can’t levy Social Security income or child support payments. 

Property Lien

If you own property and a creditor gets a court judgment against you, they can place a lien on your real estate and/or personal property. This is known as a judgment lien. 

A judgment lien is recorded with the county recorder, just like a mortgage or any other property lien. If your property has a judgment lien against it, you usually have to pay the lien before you can sell or transfer the property. In some cases, you can pay off the lien using the proceeds from the sale.

Getting a lien can be expensive for debt collectors, so they often prefer to garnish your wages or bank account instead.

Can You Get Rid of a Judgment?

You can deal with a judgment in a few ways.

• Pay the judgment: Many people with judgments against them (judgment debtors) can’t afford to pay them in full. But you can try to negotiate a payment plan with the judgment creditor. If you don’t negotiate a payment plan, the judgment creditor can get an order to garnish your wages. Once the judgment is satisfied — paid in full — it goes away.

• Wait it out: You can try to wait for the judgment collection period to lapse. But recall that most judgments last for a minimum of five years and some can last for a 20-year period or more if they’re renewed. While you may be tempted to wait it out and not pay on the judgment, you’ll put yourself at risk of the serious collection measures described above unless you’re judgment-proof.

• File bankruptcy: Filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy can be an effective way to eliminate judgment debt for unpaid credit card debt, medical bills, or other unsecured debt.

✨ Most judgments for debts can be erased in Chapter 7. If you're eligible, Upsolve's free filing tool can help you prepare your case and support you through the filing process.

Filing Bankruptcy To Get Rid of Judgments

Bankruptcy erases certain types of debts, including judgments for credit card debt, medical bills, and other unsecured debt. While Chapter 7 can take up to six months, there are some immediate advantages to filing if you’re facing a judgment you can’t afford to pay on top of other debt.

For example, filing for bankruptcy puts an immediate stop to debt collection lawsuits, wage garnishments, and bank levies. If your Chapter 7 bankruptcy is successful, your unsecured debts will be discharged. That said, if a creditor has a lien against your property, that won’t be discharged in Chapter 7 because it’s a secured debt.

Let’s Summarize…

If you don’t pay a debt you owe, a creditor or debt collector can sue you. If they win the case they’ll get a  court judgment, which gives them access to serious debt collection methods like wage garnishment. In most states, judgments last for 5–10 years, but in some states the time frame is longer. Some states also allow judgments to be renewed.

If you can’t afford to pay a judgment against you and you also have a lot of other debt, Chapter 7 bankruptcy can be an effective way to wipe out the debt and judgments tied to unsecured debt. If you want to file Chapter 7 and your case is simple, see if you’re eligible to use Upsolve’s free filing tool to file your case without a lawyer. If you want legal advice about your case, Upsolve can help you schedule a free consultation with a local bankruptcy attorney.