Medical Debt on Credit Reports by State in 2026

Medical Debt on Credit Reports by State: There Is No Nationwide Ban Anymore

Medical debt is not automatically off your credit report. The federal rule that would have removed it was vacated on July 11, 2025. So whether it appears now comes down to three things: your state, the amount, and whether it is paid.

Here is the honest version, because a lot of coverage still says medical debt is gone. A Texas federal court struck down the CFPB’s rule, ruling the agency overstepped and that the rule clashed with the Fair Credit Reporting Act. That means no national ban. What still protects you are the credit bureaus’ own voluntary rules, which leave off paid medical collections, unpaid medical debt under $500, and any medical debt less than a year past due, plus your state’s law, if you live in one of the fifteen that passed one.

So the real answer to whether medical debt is on your report is: it depends, and this page is about what it depends on.

Want to see whether a medical collection is actually on your file, and for how much? Download Credit Booster AI, free on iOS and Android, and read all three reports in one place.

What the Court Actually Did

This is the part most articles get wrong, so it is worth stating precisely.

On July 11, 2025, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas vacated the CFPB’s medical debt rule in full. The court found the Bureau exceeded its statutory authority and that the rule was contrary to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, which permits reporting coded medical debt in certain forms. So the rule that was supposed to wipe medical debt off reports never took effect.

The court’s opinion also said that state laws banning medical debt on reports are preempted by federal law. Here is the honest nuance: the National Consumer Law Center and other advocates argue that statement is dicta, meaning nonbinding commentary, because the validity of the state laws was not the question in front of the court. Nobody has cleanly resolved it. So the fifteen state laws are still on the books, and whether they hold up would take separate litigation to decide.

States With a Law

The table below lists the fifteen states that restrict medical debt on credit reports, with when each took effect and what it limits. Use it as a starting point, not a guarantee, because the preemption question above hangs over all of them.

What Still Protects You Everywhere

Even with no federal rule and an unsettled state picture, most smaller medical debts are still shielded, and it is by the bureaus’ own choice.

The three national bureaus, Equifax, Experian and TransUnion, voluntarily keep three categories off your report: paid medical collections, unpaid medical debt under $500, and any medical debt that is less than a year past due. Those policies came out of a 2022 and 2023 industry agreement and are still in force in 2026. They are why a small, paid, or recent medical bill usually is not the thing dragging a score.

The concession that keeps this honest: those rules are voluntary, not law, and they leave a real gap. A large, unpaid, older medical collection can still land on your report, and under the most common lender model, FICO 8, it is scored like any other collection. That is the case where medical debt still bites.

What This Means For Your File

Do not assume your medical debt is gone, and do not assume it is doomed either. Check what is actually reporting, for how much, and whether it is paid, because the amount and status decide almost everything here.

Credit Booster AI reads all three bureau reports, shows you every collection and what it is for, and flags a medical item that is inaccurate, duplicated, already paid, under the $500 floor, or too recent to be reported, so you can challenge the ones that should not be there. Clearing genuine errors typically moves a score 30 to 60 points, over one to a few months, when there is a real error to clear.

Plans start at $9.99 a month with a 7-day free trial. It cannot change your state’s law, and it will not remove an accurate, reportable medical collection; only correcting an error or time does that.

The Verdict

Is medical debt on credit reports in 2026? It can be, because the federal rule that would have removed it was vacated in July 2025. What protects you now is a patchwork: fifteen state laws whose future is contested, and the bureaus’ voluntary rules that leave off paid, small, and recent medical debt. A large, unpaid, older medical collection is the one that still shows and still scores.

Two things to remember. One, the state laws exist but are under a federal preemption cloud, so do not rely on yours as settled. Two, the paid, under-$500, and one-year rules still shield most smaller bills, so the amount and status of your debt matter more than the headlines.

For the removal angle, see how to remove medical debt from your credit report and the under-$500 rule.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is medical debt still on credit reports in 2026?

It can be. A federal court vacated the CFPB rule that would have removed medical debt from reports on July 11, 2025, so there is no nationwide ban. Whether medical debt shows on your report now depends on three things: your state’s law, the amount, and whether it is paid. The three bureaus still voluntarily leave off paid medical collections, unpaid medical debt under $500, and any medical debt less than a year delinquent.

What happened to the CFPB medical debt rule?

The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas vacated it entirely on July 11, 2025, finding the CFPB exceeded its authority and that the rule conflicted with the Fair Credit Reporting Act. So the rule never took effect as planned. The court also said in its opinion that state medical-debt laws are preempted, but consumer advocates argue that part is nonbinding dicta, because the court was not actually deciding the state laws.

Which states restrict medical debt on credit reports?

Fifteen as of mid-2026: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington. The scope and effective dates differ by state, and the table on this page lists each one. Because the federal court questioned whether these laws survive, their long-term standing is not settled.

Does paid medical debt still show on my credit report?

Generally no. The three national bureaus voluntarily removed paid medical collections and keep them off, and that policy is still in place in 2026. They also do not report unpaid medical debt under $500, or any medical debt that is less than a year past due. Those voluntary rules are separate from the vacated federal rule and from state laws, and they are what still protects most smaller medical debts.

How is medical debt scored if it does appear?

It depends on the model. The most widely used lender model, FICO 8, does not treat a medical collection differently from any other collection. Newer models, FICO 9 and VantageScore 3.0 and 4.0, weigh medical collections less and ignore paid collections. Since many lenders still pull FICO 8, an unpaid medical collection that lands on your report can still hurt, which is why the amount and paid status matter.

Related reading: See how to remove medical debt from your report, the rules on medical debt under 500 dollars, and the 2026 medical debt reporting rules. Timing matters, so read the date of first delinquency explained.

Sources

Every claim on this page traces to one of these, checked on July 20, 2026.

• National Consumer Law Center, The Latest on Keeping Medical Debt Out of Credit Reports
• Brownstein, Federal Court Vacates CFPB’s Medical Debt Rule, Finds FCRA Preempts State Laws
• Center for Consumer Law and Economic Justice, Berkeley, Court Overturns Federal Rule That Keeps Medical Debt Off Credit Reports