The statute of limitations on debt, and what to do if you are sued

A statute of limitations is the time a creditor or collector has to sue you over a debt. Each state sets its own, and the period can depend on the kind of debt and on which state's law your agreement names. A debt past that period is called time-barred.

What changes when a debt is time-barred

• Under the Debt Collection Rule, a debt collector may not sue or threaten to sue you on a time-barred debt.
• The debt does not disappear. A collector can still ask you to pay it, unless you have told it in writing to stop contacting you.
• If you are sued on a time-barred debt, the expired limit can be a defense, but usually only if you raise it. Courts generally expect the person being sued to point it out.

Two clocks, not one

The statute of limitations is about lawsuits. The credit reporting period is separate: a collection can be reported for seven years from the delinquency (plus 180 days), whatever your state's limit is. A debt can be too old to sue on and still on your report, or still reportable and already time-barred. See collections on your credit report.

Be careful about restarting it

In some states, a partial payment or a written acknowledgment that you owe an old debt can restart the limitations period. Before paying anything on an old debt, find out the limit that applies. A validation request asks the collector for the account's history, which tells you when the clock began.

If you are sued

Do not ignore it. Read the papers and respond by the date they give, yourself or through a lawyer. If you do not respond, the court can enter a default judgment against you, which can lead to wage garnishment or a frozen bank account. Responding does not mean you agree that you owe the debt; it makes the collector prove it.

Legal aid offices and some lawyers who handle debt collection cases offer free or reduced-fee help. If the collector sued on a debt that is time-barred, or broke the collection rules, you may have a claim of your own.

Where to look up your state's limit

Your state attorney general's consumer protection office, the state court system's self-help pages, or a legal aid office. This site does not publish a state table until each entry can be checked against the statute it cites.