How long does a CCJ stay on my credit file?
Short answer
Six years from the date it was issued — paid or unpaid. Pay in full within 30 days and you can have it cancelled, so it never appears at all. Pay later and it is marked “satisfied”, which lenders treat far more kindly, but it still runs the full six years.
A CCJ records a court order, not the debt itself, and its life on your file is fixed: six years from the date the judgment was issued, whether or not you pay. Paying does not shorten that period. The one exception comes right at the start.
The 30-day cancellation window
Pay the judgment in full within 30 days of the date it was issued and you can have it cancelled — removed from the Register of Judgments, Orders and Fines altogether, so it never reaches your credit file. To do it, get written proof of payment from the creditor and apply to the court that issued the CCJ on Form N443, enclosing that proof and the £19 fee; the court then notifies the Registry Trust. Our CCJ 30-day satisfaction window calculator gives you the exact deadline from your judgment date.
Pay after day 30 and the same form marks the judgment satisfied. It stays visible for the rest of the six years but shows as paid. Either way the entry appears with Experian, Equifax and TransUnion, and while it is there a mortgage or mainstream credit will be hard to get on reasonable terms.
If the judgment should never have been made
Removal is a different thing from expiry. If you were not properly served — the claim went to an old address and never reached you — or you have a real prospect of defending it, for example because you already paid or the debt is statute-barred, you can apply to set the judgment aside on Form N244. The fee is £321, and you should file a draft defence and a witness statement setting out your grounds. Speed counts: the longer you wait after learning of the CCJ, the less willing the court is to set it aside.
Check what is actually recorded by searching the register at TrustOnline and by getting your free statutory credit report from each of the three agencies. If a satisfied judgment still shows as outstanding, or an entry over six years old has not dropped off, dispute it with the credit reference agency — it must investigate and respond within 28 days.
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