How Long a Judgment Lasts in Ontario — and Stays on Your Credit Report
A common belief about Ontario judgments is that they go stale after two years, the way an unsued debt does. They do not. Under the Limitations Act, 2002 there is no limitation period at all for a proceeding to enforce a court order, so a judgment can sit indefinitely while interest accumulates. What runs out is the enforcement machinery: writs expire on their sixth anniversary unless renewed, and after six years a creditor needs leave of the court to start anything new. Credit reporting runs on a third clock. Here is how all three work, and what “paying it off” has to look like before a judgment stops following you.
The judgment itself has no expiry date
Section 16(1)(b) of the Limitations Act, 2002 says there is no limitation period in respect of “a proceeding to enforce an order of a court, or any other order that may be enforced in the same way as an order of a court.” The two-year clock in section 4 governs suing on a debt; once a creditor has won, that clock is spent. A judgment obtained in 2010 is still live today.
This cuts both ways. A judgment entered years ago without your knowledge — a default judgment on a claim you never received — will not dissolve on its own. The route is a motion to set aside the default judgment, and delay is something the court weighs there, so age argues for moving sooner.
What does expire: the writs and the garnishments
The judgment is permanent. The tools used to collect on it are not.
In the Superior Court of Justice, a writ of seizure and sale expires on the sixth anniversary of its issue, and can be renewed before then — without limit — for six years at a time (Rules of Civil Procedure, rr. 60.07(6), (8), (9)). Once six years have elapsed since the date of the order, a new writ “shall not be issued unless leave of the court is first obtained” (r. 60.07(2)); the same goes for a new notice of garnishment (r. 60.08(2)).
The Small Claims Court mirrors this: writs of seizure and sale of personal property and of land expire on the sixth anniversary of issue, are renewable before then, and need leave more than six years after the order (rr. 20.06(1.1)–(3), 20.07(1.1), (3)–(4)). Garnishment needs leave after six years too, and an issued notice runs six years, renewable for six more each time (rr. 20.08(2.1), (5.1)).
So six years is a renewal deadline, then a permission step — not an expiry date for the debt. A creditor who renews on schedule can keep a writ of seizure and sale registered against your property for decades, while postjudgment interest runs “from the date of the order” throughout (Courts of Justice Act, s. 129(1)).
How long it stays on your Ontario credit report
Credit reporting runs on its own clock, and the two national bureaus do not answer it identically.
Ontario’s Consumer Reporting Act sets the outer limit. Section 9(3)(c) says an agency shall not include in a consumer report “information as to judgments after seven years after the judgment was given, unless the creditor or the creditor’s agent confirms that it remains unpaid in whole or in part, and such confirmation appears in the file.” That exception matters — seven years is not automatic.
- TransUnion Canada’s FAQ says it keeps judgment information “for the maximum length of time permitted by provincial credit reporting legislation,” and that for “ON, PQ & NL” this is “seven (7) years from the date of judgment.”
- Equifax Canada’s education page gives no provincial breakdown. For judgments: “This information stays on your Equifax credit report for 6 years.”
A bureau may report for less time than the statute allows, so the two do not conflict — the same judgment simply falls off one file about a year before the other. Both periods run from the date of the judgment, not the date you pay.
“Paid” and “satisfied” are not the same word
Paying the creditor settles the money. On its own it tells the court and the sheriff nothing.
In the Superior Court, rule 59.07 lets a party “acknowledge satisfaction of an order in a document signed by the party before a witness,” filed in the court office where the order was entered — the satisfaction piece. A creditor who receives a payment must notify the sheriff forthwith, and once the order is satisfied in full must withdraw all writs from every sheriff’s office holding them (rr. 60.16(1), (2)); if it does not, the debtor can move for an order withdrawing the writ (r. 60.16(3)).
In Small Claims Court, rule 20.12 gives two routes: where all parties consent, file a request for clerk’s order on consent (Form 11.2A) stating that payment has been made in full satisfaction; otherwise the debtor may move for an order confirming it. Because r. 20.07(2) treats an issued Small Claims writ of land as a rule 60.07 writ, the withdrawal machinery reaches it too.
Negotiate the satisfaction paperwork and the writ withdrawal at the same time as the payment — chasing a dissolved collection agency three years later is a hard errand.
Why an old judgment surfaces when you sell or refinance
A writ filed with the sheriff goes into the index of writs of execution — the electronic database the sheriff maintains (Execution Act, s. 10(0.1)) — flagged where it affects land governed by the Land Titles Act. Land is liable to execution (s. 13), and the sheriff may seize and sell the debtor’s lands, including an interest held in joint tenancy (s. 9).
On essentially every residential sale and refinance, the lawyer runs an execution search against the names on title. A subsisting writ surfaces, and the deal does not close until it is discharged, paid from the proceeds, or otherwise removed. That is why people who have ignored a judgment for years hear about it from their real estate lawyer rather than a collection agent — and why the payout, carrying interest since the date of the order, is often far larger than the number they remember. If a judgment has already become a claim against your home, deal with that piece first.
Frequently asked questions
Does a judgment expire after two years in Ontario? No. Section 16(1)(b) of the Limitations Act, 2002 removes any limitation period for a proceeding to enforce a court order. The two-year period in s. 4 applies to starting a lawsuit, not to enforcing one already granted.
If the writ expired, is the debt gone? No. An expired writ only means that instrument is spent. The judgment survives, and the creditor can seek leave to issue a new one.
Will paying take the judgment off my credit report right away? Generally no. The period runs from the date of the judgment, so payment updates the status rather than erasing the entry. But s. 13(1) of the Consumer Reporting Act lets you dispute the accuracy or completeness of any item in your file, and an entry still reading “unpaid” after you paid is worth disputing with both bureaus.
Can a creditor still question me about my finances years later? Yes. A judgment debtor examination is available while an order for the payment of money remains in default.
Where to start
If a judgment from years ago has just resurfaced — on a credit report, in an execution search, or in a payout statement with more interest than principal — the questions are narrow. Is the writ current or expired? Does the creditor need leave? Is the arithmetic right? Is the judgment itself vulnerable? Send us what you have received and we will tell you which is worth pursuing.
Sources: Limitations Act, 2002, S.O. 2002, c. 24, Sched. B, ss. 4, 16 · Rules of Civil Procedure, R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 194, rr. 59.07, 60.07, 60.08, 60.15, 60.16 · Rules of the Small Claims Court, O. Reg. 258/98, rr. 20.06–20.08, 20.12 · Courts of Justice Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. C.43, ss. 127, 129 · Execution Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. E.24, ss. 9, 10, 13 · Consumer Reporting Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. C.33, ss. 9, 13 · TransUnion Canada, Frequently Asked Credit Questions · Equifax Canada, How Long Does Information Stay on My Credit Report? · Small Claims Court forms — Ontario Court Forms. General information for Ontario, not legal advice.
General information for Ontario, not legal advice. Reviewed by Angelos Spingos. Last reviewed September 21, 2026.