It would depend on whether they actually went to the county courthouse and filed a lien through the judicial system. If so then it becomes a public record and COULD end up on your credit reports. Note that in most jurisdictions (if not all) the court itself does not make reports to the credit bureaus. (This is not always true in child support cases but that's a different issue.) There are data collectors who go through the court files and gather public record information for the credit bureaus, but that does not mean they will catch all of them. And since yours was opened and satisfied so quickly they may not even bother to report if they do discover it.
I'm sure you know but it's always best to head these things off if possible and avoid the necessity of liens and judgments which can affect our credit files for a long time. The first response, even if you can't afford to pay or settle is to simply show up in court and challenge them so they don't get a default entry.
Starting Score: 500's
I believe the answers here are correct. Unless it was filed with the courts as a public record, it doesn't show on your CR as a baddie. Now, your HOA may classify it as a collection account, so I'd check on that. Or, they may not report it at all and keep it in house. Keep your records!
I have a lien on my auto (I went myself and did it at the DMV), which turned my USAA personal loan into an auto loan. The fact that it's a lien is not mentioned in the CR, and just shows up as an auto loan.
