Statute of Limitations on Debt by State (Is Yours Expired?)

If a collector keeps calling about a balance from years ago, the question on your mind is simple: has the deadline to sue you already passed? The answer comes down to the statute of limitations on debt by state — the window your state gives a creditor or collector to file a lawsuit and win. Once that window closes, the debt doesn’t vanish, but the collector loses the one piece of leverage that actually forces you to pay: a court judgment.

The hard part is that the deadline isn’t the same everywhere, and it doesn’t always start when you think it does. A debt that’s time-barred in one state could still be sue-able in another, and one offhand payment can wind the clock all the way back to zero. This guide lays out the limitations period for all 50 states (plus D.C.) in one chart, explains when the clock starts ticking, and walks through what to do if a collector takes you to court anyway.

What “time-barred debt” means

Every state sets a limitations period for suing on a debt. Once that period runs out, the debt becomes time-barred. A collector can still write to you, call you, and ask you to pay — but they can no longer win a lawsuit that forces you to.

Time-barred does not mean the debt is erased. It may still sit on your credit report for its normal reporting period, and a collector can keep contacting you within the limits of consumer-protection law. What changes is the courtroom math: if the deadline has passed and you say so, the case should be thrown out. For a deeper look at what actually happens to old “zombie” debt after the clock runs — and why collectors still pursue it — see our companion guide, Can a Debt Collector Sue After the Statute of Limitations Expires?.

The FDCPA: collectors can’t sue on expired debt

The federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) governs how third-party debt collectors behave, and courts have consistently held that filing — or even threatening to file — a lawsuit on a debt the collector knows is time-barred is an illegal practice. A collector who sues on an expired debt and loses can end up owing you statutory damages and attorney’s fees under the FDCPA.

That protection only works if you raise it, though. The expired statute of limitations is what lawyers call an affirmative defense: the court won’t apply it for you automatically. If a collector files suit on a time-barred debt and you simply ignore the summons, you can still lose by default judgment — and a judgment can be enforced through wage garnishment or bank levies for years. The expiration of the deadline is a shield, but only if you show up and use it.

When does the debt clock start?

For most consumer debts, the limitations clock starts on the date of first delinquency — the date you first missed a payment and never brought the account current again. Some states instead measure from the date of your last payment or last activity on the account.

This start date matters enormously, because collectors and the original creditor don’t always agree on it. When a debt is sold and resold between buyers, the paperwork can get muddy, and a collector may claim a later start date to make the debt look fresher than it is. To estimate where you stand, find the date you last paid or first fell behind, then add your state’s period from the chart below. Our statute of limitations calculator does the date math for you once you know that starting point.

The trap: how a single payment restarts the clock

Here’s the part that catches people off guard: in many states, making a payment, agreeing in writing to pay, or sometimes just acknowledging that the debt is yours can reset the limitations clock back to zero. A collector who knows a debt is nearly time-barred may push hard for a small “good faith” payment for exactly this reason — that one payment can revive the full limitations period and reopen the door to a lawsuit.

This restart trap is the single most important thing to understand before you respond to an old debt, so we cover it in full — including how it works state to state and the exact scripts collectors use — in our dedicated post on suing after the statute expires. The short version: don’t pay anything or sign anything on an old debt until you know your state’s period and whether the clock has already run.

State-by-state ranges (3 to 10 years)

Debt limitations periods cluster between 3 and 10 years. Several states sit at the short end — Delaware, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, New Hampshire, North Carolina, South Carolina, and D.C. all use a 3-year period for this category. At the long end, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri, Rhode Island, West Virginia, and Wyoming reach 10 years. Most other states land at 5 or 6 years, with Montana and Ohio at 8 years.

The figures below reflect each state’s written-contract debt period. Find your state, note the number of years, and pair it with the start date from the section above to see whether the deadline has passed.

State	Deadline	Statute
Alabama	6 yrs	AL debt / written-contract limitations statute
Alaska	3 yrs	AK debt / written-contract limitations statute
Arizona	6 yrs	AZ debt / written-contract limitations statute
Arkansas	5 yrs	AR debt / written-contract limitations statute
California	4 yrs	CA debt / written-contract limitations statute
Colorado	6 yrs	CO debt / written-contract limitations statute
Connecticut	6 yrs	CT debt / written-contract limitations statute
Delaware	3 yrs	DE debt / written-contract limitations statute
District of Columbia	3 yrs	DC debt / written-contract limitations statute
Florida	5 yrs	FL debt / written-contract limitations statute
Georgia	6 yrs	GA debt / written-contract limitations statute
Hawaii	6 yrs	HI debt / written-contract limitations statute
Idaho	5 yrs	ID debt / written-contract limitations statute
Illinois	10 yrs	IL debt / written-contract limitations statute
Indiana	6 yrs	IN debt / written-contract limitations statute
Iowa	10 yrs	IA debt / written-contract limitations statute
Kansas	5 yrs	KS debt / written-contract limitations statute
Kentucky	10 yrs	KY debt / written-contract limitations statute
Louisiana	3 yrs	LA debt / written-contract limitations statute
Maine	6 yrs	ME debt / written-contract limitations statute
Maryland	3 yrs	MD debt / written-contract limitations statute
Massachusetts	6 yrs	MA debt / written-contract limitations statute
Michigan	6 yrs	MI debt / written-contract limitations statute
Minnesota	6 yrs	MN debt / written-contract limitations statute
Mississippi	3 yrs	MS debt / written-contract limitations statute
Missouri	10 yrs	MO debt / written-contract limitations statute
Montana	8 yrs	MT debt / written-contract limitations statute
Nebraska	5 yrs	NE debt / written-contract limitations statute
Nevada	6 yrs	NV debt / written-contract limitations statute
New Hampshire	3 yrs	NH debt / written-contract limitations statute
New Jersey	6 yrs	NJ debt / written-contract limitations statute
New Mexico	6 yrs	NM debt / written-contract limitations statute
New York	6 yrs	NY debt / written-contract limitations statute
North Carolina	3 yrs	NC debt / written-contract limitations statute
North Dakota	6 yrs	ND debt / written-contract limitations statute
Ohio	8 yrs	OH debt / written-contract limitations statute
Oklahoma	5 yrs	OK debt / written-contract limitations statute
Oregon	6 yrs	OR debt / written-contract limitations statute
Pennsylvania	4 yrs	PA debt / written-contract limitations statute
Rhode Island	10 yrs	RI debt / written-contract limitations statute
South Carolina	3 yrs	SC debt / written-contract limitations statute
South Dakota	6 yrs	SD debt / written-contract limitations statute
Tennessee	6 yrs	TN debt / written-contract limitations statute
Texas	4 yrs	TX debt / written-contract limitations statute
Utah	6 yrs	UT debt / written-contract limitations statute
Vermont	6 yrs	VT debt / written-contract limitations statute
Virginia	5 yrs	VA debt / written-contract limitations statute
Washington	6 yrs	WA debt / written-contract limitations statute
West Virginia	10 yrs	WV debt / written-contract limitations statute
Wisconsin	6 yrs	WI debt / written-contract limitations statute
Wyoming	10 yrs	WY debt / written-contract limitations statute

A note on the figures above: these deadlines are for written-contract debt, which is how most credit cards, loans, and financed purchases are treated. Other categories — oral agreements, promissory notes, and open accounts — can carry different periods within the same state, sometimes shorter and sometimes longer. If your debt doesn’t fit the written-contract mold, check your state page for the type that applies before relying on a number here.

Want the detail for a specific state? Start with the high-volume ones: California debt collection, Texas debt collection, and New York debt collection. And if you’re juggling more than one kind of claim, the statute of limitations by state overview maps every category side by side.

What to do if a collector sues you

Getting served is alarming, but a lawsuit on an old debt is often weaker than it looks. Take these steps in order:

1. Don’t ignore the summons. A no-show almost always means a default judgment against you, regardless of how old the debt is. Note the deadline to respond — it’s usually printed on the papers and can be as short as 20 to 30 days.
2. Check the dates against your state’s period. Use the chart above and the deadline calculator to figure out whether the limitations period has already expired based on your first missed payment or last activity.
3. Demand validation. Collectors who bought the debt secondhand often can’t produce the original signed agreement or a clean payment history. If they can’t prove the debt is yours and how old it is, their case can collapse.
4. Raise the expired statute of limitations in your written answer. If the deadline has passed, say so in the response you file with the court. This is the affirmative defense the FDCPA backs up — but only when you assert it.
5. Don’t restart the clock by accident. As covered in our companion guide, avoid making payments or signing acknowledgments until you understand the consequences.

Debt-collection and consumer-protection rules vary by state and by the type of debt, so this is general information rather than legal advice — when a lawsuit is on the table, talk to a consumer-rights attorney before you pay or sign anything.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the statute of limitations erase the debt from my credit report?

No. The limitations period only controls how long a collector can sue you. Negative items generally stay on your credit report for their own reporting period regardless of whether the lawsuit deadline has passed.

If I move to a different state, which state’s deadline applies?

It depends on the contract and the court, and many agreements specify which state’s law governs. Because the periods range from 3 to 10 years, a debt that’s expired where you used to live may not be expired under the rules a new court applies. This is a question worth running past an attorney.

The collector says my debt has a different start date than I remember. Who’s right?

Often neither side can prove it without documents. The start date is usually your first missed payment or last activity, and you’re entitled to ask the collector to validate the debt and show how they calculated its age. Don’t accept a later start date just because they assert it.

My debt is an old credit card balance. Which row of the chart applies?

Credit cards are typically treated as written or open-account debt, and the chart above reflects the written-contract period. Some states handle open accounts under a separate, sometimes shorter rule, so confirm on your state’s debt-collection page before relying on the number.

Find your deadline

The fastest way to know where you stand is to put a date to it. Pull up your first missed payment or last payment, match your state’s period from the chart, and run the numbers in the statute of limitations calculator. If the deadline has passed, you have a defense worth protecting — so understand the restart trap before you respond to any collector.