Is There a Class Action Lawsuit Against Equifax in 2026?
Updated August 11, 2026 · By Class Action Buddy
Short answer: the 2017 breach settlement is completely closed — final approval 13 January 2020, claims deadlines 22 January 2020 and 22 January 2024. But a different Equifax class action is being settled right now: the court stayed it on 1 July 2026 so the parties could execute the agreement by 29 July.
What to do: stop looking for a way into the 2017 settlement — both claim windows closed and no third has been announced. Watch In Re: Equifax Fair Credit Reporting Act Litigation instead. It is not claimable yet: a claims process needs a named administrator, an official site and a published deadline, and none of those exists.
The short answer: the 2017 breach settlement is completely closed — but a new one is being signed right now
The famous one is closed to claims. The 2017 Equifax data-breach settlement received final approval on 13 January 2020, and both claim windows have passed: the initial one on 22 January 2020 and the extended one on 22 January 2024.
But closed to claims is not the same as closed. The FTC states that the administrator continues to review and issue benefits for identity theft and fraud claims related to the breach — and that even if you never filed a claim, you can still get free help recovering from identity theft if you discover your information has been misused.
But the answer for 2026 is not simply “no”. A separate Equifax class action is being settled as you read this — the court stayed it on 1 July 2026 specifically so the parties could execute the agreement.
What the record actually shows
In Re: Equifax Fair Credit Reporting Act Litigation, in the Northern District of Georgia, is the one to watch. On 30 June 2026 the plaintiffs filed a joint notice of settlement, and on 1 July 2026 the court entered an order staying the case pending finalisation of the settlement, directing the parties to execute their settlement agreement by 29 July 2026. That is the stage immediately before a motion for preliminary approval. Nothing is claimable yet — there is no administrator and no deadline — but this is the one that could produce one.
It is not alone. Schwartz v. Equifax Information Services LLC in Wisconsin filed notices of settlement on 31 July and 2 August 2026. LEE v. Equifax Information Services, LLC in the District of Columbia and Knosp v. Equifax Information Services, LLC in South Dakota were both filed in 2026 and neither has a termination date on file — which means unknown, not open.
The 2017 breach case itself is In re: Equifax, Inc., Customer Data Security Breach Litigation, the Northern District of Georgia MDL with 1,401 named parties and 2,054 docket entries. The docket was terminated on 13 April 2022, and yet it is still moving: the most recent entries, on 5 and 7 August 2026, concern a motion about disclosing information related to legal administration. A closed case can keep generating paperwork for years without any of it being claimable.
Cases on the public record
Each of these was matched on case name in the federal docket on 11 August 2026, and each links to its own record so you can read it yourself. Docket numbers repeat across districts, so a number on its own proves nothing — the case name is what identifies a case.
| Case | What the docket says |
|---|---|
| Equifax Data Breach Settlement — FTC refunds page FTC consumer information, Federal Trade Commission | Claims closed, benefits continuing. The FTC states the deadline to file was 22 January 2024, that the administrator continues to review and issue benefits for identity theft and fraud claims, and that free identity-recovery help is available even to people who never filed. It also names the only legitimate sender addresses: distribution@equifaxbreachsettlement.com and info@equifaxbreachsettlement.com. |
| In Re: Equifax Fair Credit Reporting Act Litigation 1:22-cv-03072, N.D. Ga. | Settling now. Joint notice of settlement 30 June 2026; on 1 July 2026 the court stayed the case pending finalisation and directed the parties to execute the agreement by 29 July 2026. No administrator or claim deadline exists yet. |
| Schwartz v. Equifax Information Services LLC 2:26-cv-00188, E.D. Wis. | Settling. Notices of settlement filed 31 July and 2 August 2026. No termination date on file. |
| IN RE: EQUIFAX, INC., Customer Data Security Breach Litigation 1:17-md-02800, N.D. Ga. | The 2017 breach MDL — closed to claims. 1,401 named parties, 2,054 entries; terminated 13 April 2022. Still generating administrative filings as recently as 7 August 2026, none of it claimable. |
| LEE v. EQUIFAX INFORMATION SERVICES, LLC 1:26-cv-01043, D.D.C. | Open. Filed 27 March 2026 in the District of Columbia; most recent entry 3 August 2026. No termination date on file, which means unknown. |
| Knosp v. Equifax Information Services, LLC 5:26-cv-05092, D.S.D. | Open. Filed 2026 in the District of South Dakota. Too early to say where it goes. |
| Meeks v. Equifax Information Services, LLC. 3:21-cv-07727, N.D. Cal. | Closed. Terminated 31 May 2024, after the court vacated the hearing on the motion for final approval of a class action settlement and injunctive relief. |
Where the status comes from. These are read from each docket’s own entries, not from a summary elsewhere. Two limits are worth knowing. The public docket mirror does not carry the text of every entry, so where an entry has no description this page says what it can date rather than invent what it said. And a case with no termination date on file is unknown, not open — a blank field is not a finding.
What we removed, and why. An earlier version of this page listed a “2022 credit-score coding glitch class action” and an “FCRA credit-reporting accuracy case”, neither of which carried a name or a docket, alongside a claim that the 2017 settlement closed “as of 2023”. Not one carried a case name, a court or a docket number, and none could be matched to a federal docket. They are gone. A claim you cannot check is worth less than no claim at all.
What you can actually do
1. Stop looking for a way into the 2017 settlement. Final approval was 13 January 2020. The initial claims deadline was 22 January 2020 and the extended one 22 January 2024. Both are gone, and no third window has been announced.
2. Watch the FCRA case, not the breach case. In Re: Equifax Fair Credit Reporting Act Litigation is at the stage where a settlement is being executed. If it produces a claims process there will be a named administrator, an official site and a published deadline — and until those three exist, there is nothing to file.
3. If your information was misused, the free recovery help is still open to you. The FTC states that free identity-recovery assistance is available even to people who never filed a claim, and that the administrator is still issuing benefits for identity-theft and fraud claims. Start at the settlement site or call 1-833-759-2982 — and treat any email that does not come from distribution@ or info@equifaxbreachsettlement.com as a scam.
4. Pull your own credit file and keep the disputes you file. Credit-reporting cases turn on what the file said and what you told the bureau. A dated dispute letter and the response to it are the evidence.
5. Ignore anyone charging to “sign you up”. Joining a class costs nothing and filing in a real settlement is free.
How we checked this page
Verified on 11 August 2026. Cases were found by searching the federal docket for Equifax’s corporate name, then each docket was opened and its entries read for the events that decide a class action — certification, dismissal, settlement approval, remand. The approval date and both claim deadlines were read from the settlement administrator’s own site, equifaxbreachsettlement.com, on the date above. We publish what the record shows and say plainly where it stops.
Class Action Buddy is a self-service tool: it fills in claim forms for settlements that have reached the claims stage so you can review, sign and submit them yourself. We do not file on anyone’s behalf, and we are not lawyers — nothing here is legal advice.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I still claim from the Equifax data breach settlement?
Not for a cash payment. The initial claims deadline was 22 January 2020 and the extended one 22 January 2024, and both have passed. But the FTC states the administrator continues to review and issue benefits for identity-theft and fraud claims, and that free identity-recovery help is available even to people who never filed.
Is there a new Equifax class action in 2026?
Yes, and one is close. In Re: Equifax Fair Credit Reporting Act Litigation was stayed on 1 July 2026 pending finalisation of a settlement, with the parties directed to execute the agreement by 29 July 2026. Two more Equifax cases were filed in 2026 and a third has filed notices of settlement.
When will there be a claim form for the new Equifax settlement?
There is no way to know yet, and anyone giving you a date is guessing. A claims process only exists once a court grants preliminary approval and an administrator is appointed. The signals to watch for are a named administrator, an official claim site and a published deadline.
Why does the old breach case still show activity in 2026?
Because a terminated docket can keep receiving administrative filings. The MDL was terminated on 13 April 2022, and the entries from August 2026 concern a motion about disclosing information related to legal administration. None of that reopens claims.
What is the difference between the breach case and the FCRA case?
The breach case was about the 2017 theft of consumer data. The Fair Credit Reporting Act case is about how credit information is reported and corrected. They are separate suits with separate classes, and being in one tells you nothing about the other.
Related Posts
More reading on similar topics.