Debt statute of limitations by state

How long a creditor or debt collector has to sue you over a debt in each state, for written contracts and for open accounts, and whether a payment restarts the clock.

Credit cards count as written contracts in some states and as open accounts in others. The clock usually starts at the last payment or the default; read your state's rule before you rely on a date.

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State	Written contracts	Open accounts	Does a payment restart the clock?
Alabama	6 years	3 years	A partial payment restarts the clock only if you make it before the time limit runs out.
Alaska	3 years	3 years	Usually yes.
Arizona	6 years	3 years	Once the deadline has passed, an acknowledgment of the debt only counts if it is in writing and signed by you (A.R.S. § 12-508).
Arkansas	5 years	3 years	Not confirmed
California	4 years	4 years	A new promise or acknowledgment only counts if it is in writing and signed by you (Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 360).
Colorado	6 years	6 years	A new promise or acknowledgment counts only if it is in writing and signed by you.
Connecticut	6 years	6 years	Usually yes.
Delaware	3 years	3 years	Delaware gives 6 years to sue on 'an acknowledgment under the hand of the party of a subsisting demand' (a signed written acknowledgment of a debt), the same as for promissory notes (10 Del. C. § 8109).
District of Columbia	3 years	3 years	No. Once the time limit has run out, a payment or a written or spoken promise to pay does not restart it (D.C. Code § 28-3814(l)).
Florida	5 years	4 years	A promise to pay, or acknowledgment of, a debt that is already time-barred only counts if it is in writing and signed by you (Fla. Stat. § 95.04).
Georgia	6 years	Check your state	Yes. The Georgia Attorney General says that making a payment, promising to pay, entering a payment agreement, or using the account for a new charge can restart the time limit, and it restarts at zero (Georgia AG Consumer Protection Division, 'Ask Consumer Ed', July 17, 2018).
Hawaii	6 years	6 years	No Hawaii statute sets this rule.
Idaho	5 years	4 years	Yes. Any payment of principal or interest restarts the clock.
Illinois	10 years	5 years	Yes, for written debts, if the payment or new promise to pay is in writing: you can then be sued within 10 years after that payment or promise.
Indiana	6 years	6 years	A promise or acknowledgment only restarts the clock if it is in writing and signed by you (IC 34-11-9-1).
Iowa	10 years	5 years	A written, signed admission that the debt is unpaid, or a new promise to pay, revives a contract claim (Iowa Code § 614.11).
Kansas	5 years	3 years	Yes. If you make any payment on the principal or interest, the full limitation period starts over from that payment.
Kentucky	10 years	5 years	Not confirmed
Louisiana	10 years	3 years	Yes, while the time limit is still running: acknowledging the debt interrupts prescription and the clock starts over (La. Civ. Code art. 3464).
Maine	6 years	6 years	Not for debt collectors: once the 6 years since your last activity have passed, a later payment, written or oral promise, or other activity does not revive or extend the time to sue.
Maryland	3 years	3 years	No. After the time limit expires, a payment, a written or spoken promise, or any other activity on the debt does not revive or extend it (Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 5-1202(b)).
Massachusetts	6 years	6 years	An acknowledgment or new promise only restarts the time limit if it is in a writing signed by you (M.G.L. c.
Michigan	6 years	6 years	A time-barred contract debt is revived only by an acknowledgment or promise to pay that is in writing and signed by you.
Minnesota	6 years	6 years	For consumer debt, once the 6 years run out, a payment, a bankruptcy discharge, or an oral or written promise to pay does not restart the clock.
Mississippi CFPB debt collection help	Not covered yet
Missouri	10 years	5 years	A promise or acknowledgment restarts the clock only if it is in writing and signed by you (Mo. Rev. Stat. § 516.320).
Montana	6 years	5 years	Yes. A part payment (of principal or interest), or an acknowledgment of the debt in a writing you sign, starts the time limit over (Mont. Code Ann. § 27-2-409).
Nebraska	5 years	4 years	Yes. A voluntary payment of principal or interest, or a written acknowledgment or promise to pay, starts the time limit over (Neb. Rev. Stat. § 25-216).
Nevada	6 years	4 years	No, not once the time limit has passed.
New Hampshire CFPB debt collection help	Not covered yet
New Jersey	6 years	6 years	A spoken promise does not restart the clock.
New Mexico	6 years	4 years	Yes. A payment, or a signed admission or new promise to pay, can restart the time limit (NMSA 1978, § 37-1-16, as described in 12.2.12.9 NMAC).
New York	3 years	3 years	No for consumer credit debts: after the 3 years run out, any payment, written or spoken promise, or other activity on the debt does not revive or extend the limit (CPLR 214-i).
North Carolina	3 years	3 years	A new promise or acknowledgment must be in a writing signed by you to restart the clock; the statute keeps the effect of any payment of principal or interest (N.C. Gen. Stat. § 1-26).
North Dakota	6 years	6 years	A new promise or acknowledgment counts only if it is in writing and signed by you.
Ohio	6 years	6 years	Yes. If you make a payment, or sign a written acknowledgment or promise to pay, a new time limit starts from that date.
Oklahoma	5 years	3 years	Yes. Paying any part of the principal or interest restarts the clock.
Oregon	6 years	6 years	Yes for most creditors.
Pennsylvania	4 years	4 years	Not confirmed
Rhode Island	10 years	10 years	Not confirmed
South Carolina	3 years	3 years	Yes. Paying any part of the principal or interest counts as a written promise and can restart the time limit.
South Dakota	6 years	6 years	A new acknowledgment or promise counts only if it is in writing and signed by you.
Tennessee CFPB debt collection help	Not covered yet
Texas	4 years	4 years	For most creditors, a signed written acknowledgment of an old debt can matter in court; an oral one does not (Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.065).
Utah	6 years	4 years	Yes, for a credit agreement: the 6 years start again on the later of when the debt arose, when you acknowledge it or promise to pay in writing, or when you or someone else makes a payment (Utah Code § 78B-2-309(2)).
Vermont	6 years	6 years	The limitations chapter keeps the effect of a payment of principal or interest (12 V.S.A. § 592), which generally restarts the clock; a note of payment written by the creditor alone is not enough proof.
Virginia	5 years	3 years	A written promise to pay, or a written acknowledgment that implies one, that you sign gives the creditor a new full period to sue from the date of the promise (Va. Code § 8.01-229(G)).
Washington	6 years	6 years	A payment made before the 6 years run out restarts the clock.
West Virginia	10 years	5 years	A new promise to pay restarts the clock only if it is in writing and signed by you, or is a signed written acknowledgment from which a promise can be implied (W. Va. Code § 55-2-8).
Wisconsin	Check your state	Check your state	Not confirmed
Wyoming	10 years	8 years	Yes. A payment, or a written acknowledgment or promise to pay that you sign, starts the time limit over from that date (Wyo. Stat. § 1-3-119).

Is your debt too old to sue on? Check your state's time limit.

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