Statute of Limitations on Debt in Florida (2026): 5-Year Rule Explained

Last updated 07/23/2026 by

Andrew Latham

Edited by

Andrew Latham

Summary:

The statute of limitations on debt in Florida is five years for written contracts, including most credit card debt, and four years for open accounts and oral agreements, measured from your last payment.

How the debt is classified sets the deadline.

Written contracts: Five years under Florida Statute 95.11.
Credit cards: Usually five years, treated as written contracts.
Open accounts and oral agreements: Four years.

Florida debt cases often turn on a single question: can the collector prove a signed agreement exists.

That one detail can move your deadline by a full year.

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What is the statute of limitations on debt in Florida

Florida gives creditors and collectors five years to sue on a written contract and four years on an open account or oral agreement, set by Florida Statute 95.11.

Most credit card debt is treated as a written contract in Florida, so it carries the five-year limit. Once the window closes, the debt is time-barred and a collector cannot win a lawsuit to force payment.

The debt still exists after the limit passes. You continue to owe it, but the legal power to sue over it is gone.

Florida statute of limitations by debt type

The limit that applies depends on how your debt is classified under Florida law.

Debt type	Time limit	Florida statute
Written contract	5 years	Florida Statute 95.11(2)(b)
Credit card (written)	5 years	Florida Statute 95.11(2)(b)
Open account	4 years	Florida Statute 95.11(3)
Oral agreement	4 years	Florida Statute 95.11(3)
Promissory note	5 years	Florida Statute 95.11(2)(b)

How credit card debt is classified in Florida

Credit card debt in Florida carries either a five-year or a four-year limit depending on whether the creditor can produce a signed cardholder agreement.

If the collector can show a written contract exists, the five-year written-contract limit applies. If a debt buyer cannot produce the original signed agreement, a court may treat the balance as an open account, shortening the window to four years.

This matters most with older debts that have been sold between collectors, where the original paperwork is often missing.

When the clock starts in Florida

The clock starts on the date of your last payment or last account activity, not the day the account opened.

If you made your final credit card payment in May 2022, a five-year window would generally close around May 2027.

Pro Tip: In Florida, making a payment or acknowledging an old debt in writing can restart the clock from zero.

Before you respond to a collector, pull your credit report and confirm the date of last payment. A single partial payment can hand the collector a fresh five-year window to sue.

Can you be sued after the statute of limitations in Florida

A collector can still file suit on a time-barred Florida debt, but you can defeat it by appearing in court and raising the expired statute of limitations as a defense.

If you ignore a debt lawsuit, the court can enter a default judgment against you even on a time-barred debt, so responding to a summons matters.

Time-barred debt and your Florida credit report

The lawsuit limit is separate from credit reporting. Under the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act, most negative debts stay on your report for seven years from the first delinquency.

A Florida credit card debt can be time-barred for suing after five years yet remain on your credit report for two more.

Key takeaways

Florida allows five years to sue on written contracts, including most credit card debt, under Florida Statute 95.11.
Open accounts and oral agreements carry a shorter four-year limit.
Credit card debt drops to four years if the collector cannot produce a signed agreement.
The clock starts on your last payment or account activity.
A payment or written acknowledgment can restart the clock from zero.
Time-barred debt can still appear on your credit report for up to seven years.

Frequently asked questions

What is the statute of limitations on credit card debt in Florida?

Usually five years. Florida treats most credit card agreements as written contracts under Statute 95.11, running from your last payment. If the collector cannot produce the signed agreement, a court may apply the four-year open-account limit instead.

Can a debt collector still contact me after five years in Florida?

Yes. The statute of limitations only bars lawsuits, not contact. A collector can still ask you to pay a time-barred debt, but under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act they cannot sue or threaten to sue over it.

Does paying an old debt restart the clock in Florida?

It can. A payment or a written acknowledgment that the debt is yours generally restarts the limitations period, so confirm whether the debt is already time-barred before you pay anything.

If old balances are piling up, comparing structured debt relief options can fold several collector accounts into one negotiated plan.