There is no set amount of time that a debt settlement will take. If you have a single account that you want to settle, you could have it done in no time. If your situation is more complicated, it could take much longer. Generally speaking, debt settlements take as long as it takes you to put together enough money to fund the settlement. It is important to remember that the longer your bills go unpaid, the higher your risk of being sued, so try not to take too long.