Home → Statute of limitations on debt
Every state sets a statute of limitations — a deadline for a lender or debt collector to take you to court over a debt. Once it passes, the debt is “time-barred.” But three things trip people up, and one of them can quietly hand the debt a fresh deadline.
1. It does not erase the debt. After the limit passes, you may still owe it, a collector may still ask you to pay, and it may still appear on your credit report until the separate federal 7-year reporting window ends.
2. It does not stop a lawsuit from being filed. A collector can still sue you on a time-barred debt. If you do nothing, you can lose by default judgment even on an expired debt — so you must respond and raise the time limit as a defence.
3. It may not be as old as you think — a payment can restart it. In many states, making a payment, or promising in writing to pay, resets the clock to zero. This is how “zombie debt” comes back to life. Do not pay or agree to pay an old debt until you know your state’s rule.
Find your state’s time limit
The figure shown is the limit for a written contract — the category a signed payday-loan agreement usually falls under. Some states set a different, often shorter, limit for other kinds of debt, and the clock and its resets are decided by facts specific to your loan. Treat this as a starting point, not a verdict.
A lawsuit you ignore usually ends in a default judgment against you — which can lead to wage garnishment or a bank levy — even if the debt was time-barred. Responding by the deadline on the papers is the single most important step.
The clock generally starts at your last payment or the date you first fell behind. Work out whether more than your state’s limit (below) has passed since then — and whether any later payment may have restarted it.
If the debt is time-barred, that is an affirmative defence you generally must assert yourself — the court will not raise it for you. A free legal aid office can tell you how, and whether it applies.
Legal aid and non-profit credit counsellors handle this every day, at no cost. Find legal aid →
Written-contract limitation for each state, with the statute cited. Sort by clicking a heading; pick your state above to highlight its row.
| State | Years (written contract) | Statute |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 6 | Ala. Code § 6-2-34 source ↗ Covers written promises not under seal and simple contracts. |
| Alaska | 3 | Alaska Stat. § 09.10.053 source ↗ Single 3-year period for contracts; no longer period for written vs. oral. |
| Arizona | 6 | Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 12-548 source ↗ 6 years where the debt is evidenced by a written contract executed in Arizona. |
| Arkansas | 5 | Ark. Code § 16-56-111 source ↗ |
| California | 4 | Cal. Civ. Proc. Code § 337 source ↗ Oral contracts get only 2 years (§ 339). |
| Colorado | 6 | Colo. Rev. Stat. § 13-80-103.5 source ↗ A signed loan agreement is a liquidated debt, which gets 6 years (general contracts are 3). |
| Connecticut | 6 | Conn. Gen. Stat. § 52-576 source ↗ Oral contracts get 3 years (§ 52-581). |
| Delaware | 3 | Del. Code tit. 10, § 8106 source ↗ 3 years for ordinary consumer loans. |
| District of Columbia | 3 | D.C. Code § 12-301(a)(7) source ↗ 3-year period for simple contracts; no separate longer period for written instruments. |
| Florida | 5 | Fla. Stat. § 95.11(2)(b) source ↗ Written-instrument contracts 5 years; non-written 4. |
| Georgia | 6 | O.C.G.A. § 9-3-24 source ↗ 6 years from when due; oral contracts 4 years (§ 9-3-25). |
| Hawaii | 6 | HRS § 657-1(1) source ↗ |
| Idaho | 5 | Idaho Code § 5-216 source ↗ |
| Illinois | 10 | 735 ILCS 5/13-206 source ↗ 10 years for written contracts, promissory notes and other written evidences of indebtedness; oral 5 years. |
| Indiana | 6 | Ind. Code § 34-11-2-9 source ↗ A signed loan agreement / note is a 'written contract for the payment of money' = 6 years. |
| Iowa | 10 | Iowa Code § 614.1(5) source ↗ Written contracts 10 years; oral 5 years. |
| Kansas | 5 | K.S.A. 60-511(1) source ↗ Written 5 years; oral 3 years (60-512). |
| Kentucky | 10 | KRS 413.160 source ↗ 10 years for written contracts executed after July 15, 2014; earlier ones are 15 years (KRS 413.090). Depends on execution date. |
| Louisiana | 10 | La. Civ. Code art. 3499 source ↗ Uses 'liberative prescription': breach of written contract prescribes in 10 years, but 'open account' debts in 3 years (art. 3494). |
| Maine | 6 | 14 M.R.S. § 752 source ↗ General 6-year civil limitation covering contract actions. |
| Maryland | 3 | Md. Code, Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 5-101 source ↗ General 3-year civil limitation; a contract under seal is 12 years (§ 5-102). |
| Massachusetts | 6 | Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 260, § 2 source ↗ 6 years for written and oral contracts. |
| Michigan | 6 | Mich. Comp. Laws § 600.5807(9) source ↗ |
| Minnesota | 6 | Minn. Stat. § 541.05, subd. 1(1) source ↗ |
| Mississippi | 3 | Miss. Code Ann. § 15-1-49 source ↗ No separate written-contract statute; the general 3-year catch-all applies. |
| Missouri | 10 | Mo. Rev. Stat. § 516.110(1) source ↗ 10 years for a writing for the payment of money (a signed loan agreement qualifies); other written contracts 5 years. |
| Montana | 6 | Mont. Code Ann. § 27-2-202(1) source ↗ Now 6 years (amended down from 8; many secondary sources still cite 8). |
| Nebraska | 5 | Neb. Rev. Stat. § 25-205 source ↗ 5 years for written agreements; oral 4 years (§ 25-206). |
| Nevada | 6 | Nev. Rev. Stat. § 11.190(1)(b) source ↗ |
| New Hampshire | 3 | N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 508:4, I source ↗ General 3-year period covers written contracts. |
| New Jersey | 6 | N.J.S.A. 2A:14-1 source ↗ |
| New Mexico | 6 | NMSA 1978, § 37-1-3 source ↗ |
| New York | 3 | CPLR 214-i (consumer credit); CPLR 213(2) (general 6 yr) source ↗ For payday/consumer debt the limit is 3 years under the Consumer Credit Fairness Act (2022), and a later payment or written affirmation does NOT revive it. The general written-contract limit is 6 years. |
| North Carolina | 3 | N.C. Gen. Stat. § 1-52(1) source ↗ 3 years for both written and oral contracts. |
| North Dakota | 6 | N.D.C.C. § 28-01-16(1) source ↗ |
| Ohio | 6 | Ohio R.C. § 2305.06 source ↗ Shortened from 8 to 6 years by S.B. 13, effective June 16, 2021. |
| Oklahoma | 5 | 12 O.S. § 95(A)(1) source ↗ Oral contracts 3 years; written 5. |
| Oregon | 6 | ORS 12.080(1) source ↗ |
| Pennsylvania | 4 | 42 Pa.C.S. § 5525(a) source ↗ Instruments signed 'under seal' get 20 years (§ 5529(b)). |
| Rhode Island | 10 | R.I. Gen. Laws § 9-1-13(a) source ↗ 10-year general civil SOL covers written and oral contracts. |
| South Carolina | 3 | S.C. Code Ann. § 15-3-530(1) source ↗ Unusually short: 3 years for written AND oral contracts. |
| South Dakota | 6 | S.D. Codified Laws § 15-2-13(1) source ↗ Same 6-year period for written and oral contracts. |
| Tennessee | 6 | Tenn. Code Ann. § 28-3-109(a)(3) source ↗ |
| Texas | 4 | Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.004 source ↗ A signed loan agreement is 'debt,' covered at 4 years; written and oral share the 4-year period. |
| Utah | 6 | Utah Code § 78B-2-309(1)(b) source ↗ For a credit agreement, the 6-year clock runs from the later of when the debt arose, a written acknowledgment, or the last payment. |
| Vermont | 6 | 12 V.S.A. § 511 source ↗ General 6-year civil limitation governs contract actions. |
| Virginia | 5 | Va. Code § 8.01-246(2) source ↗ Only 3 years for unwritten or unsigned contracts; the written contract must be signed by the party charged. |
| Washington | 6 | RCW 4.16.040(1) source ↗ Oral contracts 3 years (RCW 4.16.080). |
| West Virginia | 10 | W. Va. Code § 55-2-6 source ↗ Oral contracts 5 years. |
| Wisconsin | 6 | Wis. Stat. § 893.43(1) source ↗ |
| Wyoming | 10 | Wyo. Stat. § 1-3-105(a)(i) source ↗ Oral/unwritten contracts 8 years. |
Each state’s figure is the general statute of limitations for a written contract, traced to that state’s own code, with the citation shown. The statute of limitations on debt is genuinely complicated: the category of debt, when the clock starts, tolling, and revival by payment all vary and are decided on the facts. Nothing here is legal advice, and a limitation defence must usually be raised by you in court. For your situation, confirm with a lawyer or a free legal aid office.