It will look better on your file but the CCJ will obviously still show up. If you obtained the CCJ through no fault of your own (eg an unknown debt) you can contact the credit agency and register an explanation with them that can also help a bit. However, any organisation looking at your file will still take it into consideration for at least 3 years and it stays on the file even longer than that. Regarding CCJs and defaults in general, the speed with which you pay them off is also a factor. For example if you receive a CCJ when you've disputed a payment and it's gone to court, you lose the case and then immediately pay the debt, this doesn't affect your rating anywhere near as badly - people reading your report know what they're looking for, and can spot a good or bad payer. So, the short answer is yes, your credit rating will improve but won't be perfect - or cleared - yet.