Paid, Settled, Closed, or Deleted? How to Read Each Term on Your Credit Report

Payment status: how the account was paid

Payment status describes the payment history on the account—for example, paid as agreed, late payment marks, settled, or paid collection.

The CFPB defines a paid collection as an account that went to collection and was then paid in full, or where the debt collector accepted a partial payment to settle the entire debt. The CFPB says that if the original debt was reported, the paid debt should generally be reflected on credit reports as a zero balance.

Account status: whether the account is open

Account status describes whether an account is open, closed, or transferred. It does not by itself tell you whether the balance was paid.

Experian explains that a closed installment loan could be one that was paid off in full—or one that was closed and transferred to collections after missed payments.

Balance: the amount reported as owed

The balance is the amount the furnisher reported as owed as of its last update. It may differ from what you owe today.

The CFPB lists accounts with an incorrect current balance and closed accounts reported as open among the account-status errors to look for when reviewing a report.

Presence on the report: whether the entry appears

Removed or deleted generally describes whether an entry still appears on a particular report. It is a separate question from whether the debt was paid.

The CFPB says you generally cannot have accurate negative information removed from your credit report. You can dispute information that is inaccurate, appears more than once, resulted from identity theft, or is not about you.

The FTC explains that if a business finds disputed information inaccurate or incomplete, it must tell the credit bureau to update or delete that information. Removal from one bureau's report does not mean the other bureaus made the same change.

Fictional example 1: collection paid in full

Every account, amount, and date in this example is fictional.

Before: Collection account. Payment status: Collection. Balance: $820. Listed on the report.

After: Payment status: Paid collection. Balance: $0. Still listed on the report.

What changed: the payment status and balance. What did not change: the account still appears. Paying the debt did not by itself remove the entry.

Fictional example 2: collection settled for less

Every account, amount, and date in this example is fictional.

Before: Collection account. Balance: $1,500. Listed on the report.

After: The collector accepted a fictional $900 settlement. Payment status: Settled for less than full balance. Balance: $0. Still listed on the report.

What changed: the debt was resolved under that agreement, and the balance now shows $0. What did not change: the entry was not deleted. Experian states that settling a collection account will not remove it from your credit report.

Fictional example 3: closed card that still has a balance

Every account, amount, and date in this example is fictional.

Before: Credit card. Account status: Open. Balance: $2,300. Payment history: 60 days late.

After: Account status: Closed by credit grantor. Balance: $2,300. Payment history: 60 days late.

What changed: only the account status. Closing the account did not pay the balance or change the payment history.

What these terms do not establish

Paying or settling does not by itself remove an account from your report.

Deletion from a report does not by itself end a legal obligation to pay.

Closed does not mean paid, and a $0 balance does not mean there were never late payments.

None of these terms predicts a credit score or a lender's decision.

One bureau's report may differ from another's, so check all three.

These labels are not legal conclusions. Questions about what you owe depend on your agreements and applicable law.

Related guides

If a paid account still appears, read paid-off debt still on your credit report. For collections, see how to remove collections; for charge-offs, see what a charge-off means and how to remove charge-offs.

If a field is wrong, follow how to dispute a credit report entry and review credit report errors: what to check first. For section-by-section help, see how to read a credit report. Considering a deletion request? Read our pay-for-delete letter guide first.

Terminology matrix: what each term describes

Records-and-dates comparison checklist

1. STEP 1

   Identify the report

   Note the bureau and the date the report was pulled.

2. STEP 2

   Identify the furnisher

   Note whether the original lender or a debt collector is reporting the account.

3. STEP 3

   Record the four fields

   Write down the account status, payment status, reported balance, and whether the entry appears.

4. STEP 4

   Record the dates shown

   Note the date of last payment, date closed, and date reported or updated, if shown.

5. STEP 5

   Gather your documents

   Find your payment receipts or a written settlement agreement stating whether the amount resolves the full debt.

6. STEP 6

   Look for duplicates

   Check whether the same debt appears twice—for example, the original lender and a collector both showing a balance.

7. STEP 7

   Compare all three bureaus

   Check the same account on your Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion reports.

8. STEP 8

   Dispute only specific conflicts

   If a field conflicts with your documents, dispute that specific field with the bureau and the furnisher.

Frequently asked questions

Sources and further reading

• CFPB — What is a paid collection?
• CFPB — Is it possible to remove accurate but negative information from my credit report?
• CFPB — What are common credit report errors?
• FTC — Disputing errors on your credit reports
• Experian — What do “closed” and “paid in full” mean on credit reports?
• Experian — How do I handle settled collection accounts on my credit report?