A Judgment relates to court proceedings filed against you and the subsequent order made by a court that you owe a debt.

The order becomes public record and the credit reporting bureaus upload the data directly from the courts onto their credit reporting  databases.

You may also have other public record listings on your credit files including court actions and court writs.

Judgments and court actions stay listed on your report for 5 years while court writs are listed for 4 years.