Medical debt on a credit report is often inaccurate or shouldn’t be there at all. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) you can dispute it — both with the credit bureau and with the company that reported it (the “furnisher”). They must investigate, usually within 30 days, and correct or delete anything they can’t verify as accurate.
What shouldn’t be on your report
The three major bureaus (Equifax, Experian, TransUnion) have voluntarily stopped reporting:
- Paid medical collections — removed regardless of the amount.
- Unpaid medical collections under $500 — removed.
- Medical debt less than one year old — a 12-month grace period before it can appear.
If any of those is still showing, it’s a clear dispute. (A federal rule that would have removed all medical debt from credit reports was vacated by a court in July 2025, so these bureau policies — plus any stricter law in your state — are what currently apply. Verify your state’s rules, several of which go further.)
The letter (send to each bureau reporting it)
[Your full name]
[Your address]
[City, State ZIP]
[Date of birth] | [Last 4 of SSN]
[Date]
[Equifax / Experian / TransUnion - dispute address]
Re: Dispute of inaccurate medical collection account
Account/item disputed: [creditor or collector name, account number as shown]
To whom it may concern:
I am disputing the following item on my credit report as inaccurate under the
Fair Credit Reporting Act:
Item: [collection account name and partial number as it appears]
Reason it is inaccurate:
[ Choose what applies: ]
- This medical collection has been PAID and should be removed.
- This medical collection is under $500 and should not be reported.
- This medical debt is less than one year old and should not yet appear.
- This debt is not mine / the amount is wrong / it is a duplicate.
- The debt was never validated after my timely dispute to the collector.
Please investigate this item, and correct or delete it if it cannot be verified
as accurate and reportable. Please send me the results of your investigation and
an updated copy of my credit report.
Enclosed: [proof of payment / EOB / any supporting documents].
Sincerely,
[Your signature]
[Your printed name]
How to send it
Get your reports free at annualcreditreport.com, then dispute with each bureau showing the item (online, or by certified mail with copies of your evidence). It’s also worth disputing directly with the furnisher (the collector/provider). Keep everything; if the item comes back unchanged but you have proof, escalate with a complaint to the CFPB (consumerfinance.gov/complaint).
Notes. A bureau dispute is separate from a debt-validation letter to the collector — for a debt that’s both on your report and being collected, you may need both. Don’t pay a collection just to remove it without confirming the deletion in writing first. The $500 threshold and reporting rules described here reflect the bureaus’ current policies and can change, and several states have their own (often stricter) laws — confirm what applies to you. General information, not legal advice.