When considering how to pay off debt in collections, you should know your rights in the debt collection process, verify the debt being collected is yours, educate yourself on the statute of limitations in your state, and negotiate a payment plan or lump-sum payment that you can afford. A debt collection can impact your credit if the debt is sold to a third-party collection agency (instead of the creditor's internal collections department) and if that agency reports it to the three credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion). While paying off a debt in collections may not help repair your credit report right away, it's still worth paying the debt rather than ignoring it, especially if the statute of limitations hasn't expired.