Equifax’s $100 Million Credit Score Settlement Is Open for Claims: Who Qualifies, What You Could Get and the December 28 Deadline

October 1, 2026
Posted by AmyGinsburg

In the spring of 2022, a coding problem inside one of Equifax’s systems changed the credit scores and credit data it sent to lenders and other businesses. For about three weeks, from March 17 to April 8, 2022, some consumers who applied for credit or other services were judged on numbers that were simply wrong.

Four years later, the people affected can finally get paid. A proposed $100 million class-action settlement in In re Equifax Fair Credit Reporting Act Litigation, No. 1:22-cv-03072 (N.D. Ga.), is now taking claims. Class counsel calls it the largest class settlement ever reached under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). Notices are going out by email and mail now, and you have to file a claim by December 28, 2026 to receive money.

What happened

The lawsuit centers on what the court papers call the “OMS Issue,” a coding error in Equifax’s systems. According to the plaintiffs’ motion for preliminary approval, the error caused certain credit scores and credit “attributes” (the data points lenders use to make decisions) to differ from what they should have been when Equifax reported them to third parties during that window.

The consumers who sued say Equifax broke a core rule of the FCRA: credit bureaus must follow reasonable procedures to assure the maximum possible accuracy of the information they report (15 U.S.C. § 1681e(b)). Equifax denies that it did anything wrong. After nearly four years of litigation, discovery and two in-person mediations, the parties agreed to settle. The settlement is not an admission of liability.

Who qualifies

The settlement class is defined narrowly. It covers individuals in the United States for whom, according to Equifax’s own internal analysis, a credit score or credit attribute that was affected by the coding error was reported to a third party in connection with a transaction Equifax identified. The court filings estimate the class at about four million people.

You don’t need to live in any particular state. The case is pending in federal court in Atlanta, but the class is nationwide.
Your membership depends on Equifax’s records, not on whether you noticed a problem yourself. If you are in the class, you should have received a notice by email or mail with a Claim ID.
Not everyone who applied for credit in spring 2022 is included. Only people whose reported data actually differed because of the error, as Equifax’s analysis identified, are class members.

How much you could get

Every class member who files a valid claim gets an equal (pro rata) share of what remains of the $100 million after court-approved attorneys’ fees, expenses and the costs of notice and administration. Class counsel plans to ask for up to one-third of the fund ($33,333,333) in fees plus up to $500,000 in expenses. The court decides what is actually awarded.

Based on typical claims rates, the plaintiffs estimate payments of roughly $95 to $280 per person. The real figure could be higher or lower. The fund is non-reversionary, meaning unclaimed money does not go back to Equifax. Fewer claims means bigger checks for those who file.

Key dates and your options

File a claim by December 28, 2026. The claim form is short: your contact information, how you want to be paid and your signature. You can file online at the official settlement website or mail a paper form postmarked by the deadline.
Opt out or object by the deadline in your notice. Under the settlement agreement, the opt-out and objection deadlines fall 60 days after notices went out, in late November 2026. Check your notice for the exact date.
Final approval hearing: January 22, 2027. No payments go out until the court grants final approval and any appeals are resolved.
If you do nothing, you get no money but are still bound by the settlement and give up your right to sue Equifax over the coding error, including claims under state consumer protection laws.

Should you file or opt out?

For most people, filing a claim is the simple choice. Opting out only makes sense if the error caused you significant, provable harm. For example, you may have been denied a mortgage, charged a noticeably higher interest rate on a car loan or turned down for an apartment because of a lower Equifax score in March or April 2022. In that situation, an individual FCRA claim could be worth more than a pro rata share of the fund. The FCRA allows recovery of actual damages, and for willful violations, statutory and punitive damages plus attorney’s fees. If you think that describes you, talk to a consumer lawyer before the opt-out deadline, because once it passes, your individual claim is gone.

Protect yourself from settlement scams

Big settlements attract copycats. Use only the official site named in your notice (EquifaxFairCreditReportingSettlement.com) or the administrator’s toll-free number. The claim form never asks for payment, and you shouldn’t give your full Social Security number to anyone who contacts you out of the blue about “your Equifax money.”

The bigger lesson: credit reports are often wrong

This case is a reminder that the data lenders rely on can be wrong, and you may not find out unless you look. You’re entitled to free credit reports from Equifax, Experian and TransUnion at AnnualCreditReport.com. If you find an error, dispute it in writing with the bureau and keep copies. If the bureau doesn’t fix a real mistake, the FCRA gives you the right to sue. Our step-by-step guide to disputing credit report errors walks through the process.

Ginsburg Law Group represents consumers in Fair Credit Reporting Act cases against credit bureaus, lenders and data furnishers. If an Equifax error cost you a loan, a better rate or an apartment, or if a bureau won’t correct a mistake on your report, contact us for a free review.

This article is for general informational purposes only and is not legal advice. The Equifax settlement is preliminarily approved and is not final. Its terms, deadlines and payment amounts may change, and the court has not decided who is right. Rely on your official notice and the settlement website for your deadlines, and consult a licensed attorney about your situation.