Statute of Limitations on Debt: How Long Creditors Can Sue (2026 State Chart)

Last updated 07/23/2026 by

Andrew Latham

Edited by

Andrew Latham

Summary:

The statute of limitations on debt is a state law that sets how long a creditor or debt collector has to sue you over an unpaid balance, usually three to six years from your last payment.

The exact deadline depends on where you live and what kind of debt you owe.

Written contracts: Personal and installment loans that carry the longer limits in most states.
Open-ended accounts: Credit cards and lines of credit, the category most consumer debt falls under.
Oral agreements: Unwritten promises to repay, usually the shortest window.
Promissory notes: Signed promises to pay a set sum, often the longest limit of all.

Finding out an old debt might be too old to sue over can feel like relief and confusion at the same time.

The rule is simpler than it looks once you know your state and your debt type. Both decide the deadline, and a single payment can move it.

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What is the statute of limitations on debt

The statute of limitations on debt is the maximum time a creditor or collector has to file a lawsuit to force you to pay. Once that window closes, the debt becomes time-barred and can no longer be enforced in court.

The limit is set by each state and runs from three years in states like New York and South Carolina to ten years in Kentucky and Iowa, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and state statute.

A time-barred debt does not vanish. You still owe it, a collector can still ask you to pay, and it can still sit on your credit report. The only thing that expires is the right to win a lawsuit over it.

Statute of limitations on debt by state (2026)

The table below shows the statute of limitations in years for each state and Washington, D.C., split by the four debt types that courts recognize. Figures are current as of July 2026.

Credit cards fall under the open-ended account column, which is the one that applies to most consumer debt.

State	Written contract	Oral	Promissory note	Open account / credit card
Alabama	6	6	6	3
Alaska	6	6	3	3
Arizona	6	3	6	6
Arkansas	5	3	5	5
California	4	2	4	4
Colorado	6	6	6	6
Connecticut	6	3	6	6
Delaware	3	3	3	4
District of Columbia	3	3	3	3
Florida	5	4	5	5
Georgia	6	4	6	6
Hawaii	6	6	6	6
Idaho	5	4	5	4
Illinois	10	5	10	5
Indiana	10	5	10	6
Iowa	10	5	10	5
Kansas	5	3	5	3
Kentucky	10	5	15	10
Louisiana	10	10	10	3
Maine	6	6	20	6
Maryland	3	3	6	3
Massachusetts	6	6	6	6
Michigan	6	6	6	6
Minnesota	6	6	6	6
Mississippi	3	3	3	3
Missouri	10	5	10	5
Montana	8	5	8	5
Nebraska	5	4	5	4
Nevada	6	4	3	4
New Hampshire	3	3	6	3
New Jersey	6	6	6	6
New Mexico	6	4	6	4
New York	3	3	3	3
North Carolina	3	3	5	3
North Dakota	6	6	6	6
Ohio	6	4	8	6
Oklahoma	5	3	6	3
Oregon	6	6	6	6
Pennsylvania	4	4	4	4
Rhode Island	4	10	10	10
South Carolina	3	3	3	3
South Dakota	6	6	6	6
Tennessee	6	6	6	6
Texas	4	4	4	4
Utah	6	4	6	4
Vermont	6	6	14	6
Virginia	5	3	6	3
Washington	6	3	6	6
West Virginia	10	5	6	5
Wisconsin	6	6	10	6
Wyoming	10	8	10	8

Several states have shortened their limits in recent years, and card agreements sometimes name a different state’s law, so confirm your current state statute before you rely on a deadline.

What counts as each type of debt

The statute of limitations that applies to you depends on which of four legal categories your debt falls into.

Open-ended account: A revolving balance you can borrow, repay, and borrow again, such as a credit card or line of credit. Most consumer debt sits here.
Written contract: A signed agreement setting the amount, rate, and repayment terms, such as a personal loan or auto loan.
Oral contract: A spoken promise to repay with nothing signed. It is binding but hard to prove, so states give it the shortest window.
Promissory note: A signed promise to pay a fixed sum by a set date, common with private and family loans.

When a collector cannot produce the original signed agreement for a credit card, a court may treat the balance as an open account rather than a written contract, which can shorten the deadline.

When does the statute of limitations clock start

The clock usually starts on the date of your last payment or last account activity, not the day you opened the account. In most states this is the date of the first missed payment that was never cured.

If you stopped paying a credit card in January 2023 and live in a four-year state, the window would close around January 2027.

The starting date matters because collectors sometimes report an inaccurate date of first delinquency to make a debt look newer than it is. Pull your credit report and check that date against your own records.

Pro Tip: Do not make a payment or promise to pay on an old debt until you confirm whether the statute of limitations has passed.

In most states, a single payment or even a written acknowledgment that the debt is yours can restart the clock from zero, handing the collector a fresh multi-year window to sue. New York is a notable exception: under its Consumer Credit Fairness Act, a payment made after the period expires cannot revive a time-barred consumer debt.

What resets or extends the clock

Certain actions can restart the statute of limitations in many states, giving a creditor a brand-new window to sue.

Making a payment: Even a small partial payment can reset the clock to zero in most states.
Acknowledging the debt in writing: A signed or emailed statement admitting the debt is yours can restart it.
Agreeing to a payment plan: A new promise to pay often revives the old obligation.
Charging new activity: Adding to a balance can reset an open account.

The clock can also pause. If you leave the state or the debtor is a minor or legally incapacitated, some states stop the countdown until the condition ends.

Time-barred debt and your credit report

A debt passing the statute of limitations is not the same as it leaving your credit report. These run on two separate clocks.

Under the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act, most negative debts stay on your credit report for seven years from the date of first delinquency, regardless of whether the lawsuit window has closed.

So a credit card debt in a three-year state can be time-barred for suing but still visible to lenders for four more years. The reverse also happens: a debt can age off your report while still being legally collectible in a ten-year state.

How to handle a possibly time-barred debt

Work through these steps before you respond to a collector or make any payment.

Request a written debt validation notice, which a collector must send within five days of first contact.
Find your date of last payment and compare it to your state’s limit for that debt type.
Do not admit the debt is yours or offer any payment until you have confirmed the deadline.
If it is time-barred and you are sued, show up to court and raise the statute of limitations as a defense.
Get any settlement agreement in writing and signed by both parties before paying a cent.

You still owe a time-barred debt, and a collector can keep asking for payment, but the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act bars them from suing or threatening to sue over it. If several old balances are piling up, comparing structured debt relief options can fold them into one negotiated plan.

What to do if a debt is past the statute of limitations

If you are contacted about a debt you think is time-barred, the goal is to confirm the timeline without accidentally reviving it.

Key takeaways

The statute of limitations on debt runs three to ten years depending on your state and the type of debt.
Most consumer debt is an open-ended account, the same category as credit cards.
The clock usually starts on your last payment or last account activity.
A payment or written acknowledgment can restart the clock in most states, though New York bars reviving time-barred consumer debt.
Time-barred debt still appears on your credit report for up to seven years under the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
Collectors can still ask you to pay a time-barred debt but cannot legally sue over it under the FDCPA.

Frequently asked questions

Does debt go away after the statute of limitations expires?

No. The debt still exists and you still owe it, but it becomes time-barred, meaning a collector generally cannot sue or threaten to sue to force payment. They can still contact you and ask you to pay, as long as they follow federal and state collection rules.

What restarts the statute of limitations on old debt?

In most states, making a payment, agreeing to a payment plan, or acknowledging in writing that the debt is yours can reset the clock to zero. That gives the creditor a fresh window to sue, so confirm the deadline before you respond to an old account.

How do I find out which state’s law applies to my debt?

Start with your credit card or loan agreement, which often contains a choice-of-venue clause naming the state whose law governs disputes. Where the agreement is silent, courts usually apply the law of the state where you live, though this can be contested.

Knowing your state’s exact limit is the difference between a debt you must address and one a collector can no longer enforce, so it is worth confirming before you act on any old balance.