The Equifax $2.2M Settlement Claim Deadline Is September 1 — Here Is Exactly How to File

The situation

A class action in the Northern District of Georgia — Bradberry v. Equifax Information Services LLC — alleged that Equifax violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act's accuracy requirement by reporting the same collection account more than once on consumer credit files. Equifax agreed to a $2.2 million settlement to resolve the case. It has not admitted any wrongdoing.

The claim deadline is September 1, 2026, for both online submissions and mail-in forms. Class members who file a valid claim may receive up to $600 in cash. Class members who do not file automatically receive six months of free Equifax Complete credit monitoring — no action required for that benefit.

This article is a step-by-step filing guide. For the full background on the alleged FCRA violation and your ongoing dispute rights, the companion piece covers that ground.

Who is eligible

Eligibility turns on one document: a 'Duplicate Reporting Letter' that Equifax mailed or emailed to affected consumers in August and September 2022. That letter notified recipients that their Equifax file may have contained collection accounts reported more than once. Approximately 37,651 consumers received these notices.

If you received one, you are likely a class member. The settlement excludes Equifax affiliates, company officers and directors, the presiding judge and their immediate family, and anyone who has validly opted out.

• Eligibility anchor: receipt of an Equifax 'Duplicate Reporting Letter' in August or September 2022
• Class size: approximately 37,651 consumers
• Claim ceiling: up to $600 in cash, proportional to total valid claims against the $2.2M fund

How to file: online and by mail

The official claim portal is duplicateaccountfcrasettlement.com. Filing is free.

• Online: Go to duplicateaccountfcrasettlement.com, enter the Notice ID and PIN from your letter, confirm your information, attest to harm, select a payment method, and submit before September 1.
• By mail: Complete the paper Claim Form available at the settlement website, check the applicable harm boxes, sign the attestation, and mail to the settlement administrator. Must be postmarked by September 1, 2026.
• Payment options: PayPal, Venmo, Zelle, virtual prepaid card, or a paper check.
• Payments are distributed after the final approval hearing, currently scheduled for October 6, 2026.

What to do if you cannot find your letter

The Notice ID and PIN from your Duplicate Reporting Letter are what the settlement website uses to verify eligibility. If you cannot locate the letter, check both your physical mail archives and your email inbox — searching for 'Equifax' and 'duplicate' in mail from 2022 is often enough. The settlement website may also have a lookup tool or contact form for class members who cannot find their notice.

If you are running out of time and genuinely cannot locate your notice, contact the settlement administrator directly through duplicateaccountfcrasettlement.com. The September 1 deadline is hard — it cannot be waived after the fact.

The two settlement benefits are mutually exclusive

Filing a cash claim by September 1, 2026 makes you eligible for a cash payment of up to $600 drawn from the $2.2M fund. The more valid claims that are filed, the smaller each individual payment, subject to the $600 cap.

Class members who do not file a cash claim automatically receive six months of free Equifax Complete credit monitoring. That product also includes up to $500,000 in identity theft coverage for qualifying out-of-pocket costs. No claim form is required to receive the monitoring benefit.

Cash payment and the six months of monitoring are separate tracks. Filing the claim form puts you in the cash track. Not filing puts you in the monitoring track.

Your FCRA rights are separate from this settlement

The Bradberry settlement covers the specific class of consumers who were notified in 2022. If you were not in that class, or if the September 1 deadline has already passed, your right to dispute inaccurate information on your credit report is entirely independent of this settlement and has no deadline.

Under the FCRA's accuracy requirement (Section 607(b)) and reinvestigation provision (Section 611), if a collection account appears more than once on your Equifax report, you can dispute it in writing at any time. Equifax is generally required to reinvestigate within 30 days and correct or remove what it cannot verify.

Pull your free Equifax report at AnnualCreditReport.com — free weekly access is currently available. Look for the same collection account listed under two separate entries: same account number, same original creditor, similar balance, or two collectors that appear to be reporting the same underlying debt. A written dispute that specifically identifies both entries and states they appear to reflect the same collection event is a more concrete dispute than a general accuracy complaint.

What Athena Access does here

Athena Access is a credit report review tool, not a law firm and not a credit repair company. The pattern at the center of this case — one debt counted twice — is exactly what our software is designed to surface when you review your report.

Athena Access helps you read your Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion reports, flag entries that appear to be duplicates or inaccurate, and prepare FCRA dispute draft materials for your own review and use. It does not file disputes on your behalf, contact bureaus or creditors, give legal advice, or promise any outcome — including any outcome related to your credit score or credit report contents. The FCRA rights described above come from federal law. Our job is to make them easier to act on.