Statute of Limitations on Credit Card Debt by State

A statute of limitations sets how long a creditor or debt collector has to file a lawsuit to collect a debt. For credit card debt there is no single national figure. Each state sets its own periods, and most states do not have a period written specifically for credit cards. Instead, the period depends on which kind of claim the debt is treated as: a written contract, an oral contract, a promissory note, or an open account. A few states also have special periods for certain consumer debts.

This page sets out the general rule for each of those categories in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Every figure in the table below is tied to the official statutory text, with a link to the source and the date it was last checked against that text. Where a rule has not been checked against an official source, the table says so instead of showing a number.

The page describes general rules only. Whether a particular lawsuit was filed in time depends on facts this page does not address, and courts decide those questions case by case.

What a Statute of Limitations Is — and Is Not

The federal courts’ glossary defines a statute of limitations as “the time within which a lawsuit must be filed or a criminal prosecution must begin,” and adds that “the deadline can vary, depending on the type of civil case or the crime charged” (U.S. Courts, Glossary of Legal Terms). For debts, the Federal Trade Commission explains that how long the period lasts “depends on what kind of debt it is and the law in your state — or the state specified in your credit contract or agreement creating the debt” (FTC, Debt Collection FAQs).

Three points are often misunderstood.

It is raised as a defense. A limitations period is something the party being sued raises, not something a court necessarily applies on its own. In federal court, a party responding to a pleading “must affirmatively state any avoidance or affirmative defense, including: … statute of limitations” (Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(c)(1)). State courts follow their own procedural rules about how and when a defense must be raised.

Collection contact after the period runs depends on the state. The FTC notes that “some state laws say it’s illegal for a debt collector to contact you about a time-barred debt, but other states allow it” (FTC, Debt Collection FAQs).

A payment can matter. According to the FTC, “in some states, if you make a payment or even acknowledge in writing that you owe the debt, the clock resets and a new statute of limitations period begins” (FTC, Debt Collection FAQs). The rules on this point are discussed below.

How States Classify Credit Card Debt

Most state limitations statutes were written long before credit cards existed, and they do not mention credit cards at all. They set periods for categories of claims instead. The categories that matter most for consumer debt are:

• Written contracts — an obligation founded on a written instrument.
• Oral contracts — an obligation not founded on a written instrument.
• Promissory notes — a signed promise to pay a sum of money.
• Open accounts — a running account with a balance that changes as charges and payments are made.

The same state can assign very different periods to these categories. California, for example, allows four years for “an action upon any contract, obligation or liability founded upon an instrument in writing” (Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 337(a)), four years for an action “upon a book account” or on “a mutual, open and current account, the items of which are in writing” (§ 337(b)), and two years for “an action upon a contract, obligation or liability not founded upon an instrument of writing” (§ 339(1)).

Georgia draws the line differently. “All actions upon simple contracts in writing” have six years (Ga. Code Ann. § 9-3-24), while “all actions upon open account” have four years (§ 9-3-25).

Virginia turns on whether the writing was signed. A written contract “signed by the party to be charged thereby, or by his agent” has five years (Va. Code Ann. § 8.01-246(A)(2)); a written contract that was not signed, and any unwritten contract, has three years (§ 8.01-246(A)(4)).

Because the categories carry different periods, which category a credit card debt falls into can change the answer by years. Statutes generally do not say which category a credit card account belongs to, and that question is decided under each state’s own law. This page does not choose a category for credit card debt. The table shows all four side by side, so a reader can see the full range for a state.

A small number of states do address credit cards or consumer debt directly:

• Arizona sets six years for “an action for debt” where “the indebtedness is evidenced by or founded on” a credit card (Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 12-548(A)(2)).
• The District of Columbia sets three years for “any action for the collection of a consumer debt that is commenced on or after September 1, 2021,” and that period applies “whether the legal basis of the claim sounds in contract, account stated, open account, or other cause” (D.C. Code § 28-3814(o)).
• New York sets three years for “an action arising out of a consumer credit transaction where a purchaser, borrower or debtor is a defendant” (N.Y. C.P.L.R. § 214-i).

The Range of Periods

Counting only the entries that have been checked against official text (as of October 12, 2026):

• Written contracts: periods range from 3 to 10 years. Six years is the most common, in 23 of the 48 verified jurisdictions.
• Oral contracts: periods range from 2 to 10 years. Three years and six years are the most common, in 15 of the 49 verified jurisdictions each.
• Promissory notes: periods range from 5 to 10 years. Six years applies in 36 of the 41 verified jurisdictions.
• Open accounts: periods range from 3 to 10 years. Six years is the most common, in 16 of the 37 verified jurisdictions.

These figures describe the general categories only. They do not reflect the special rules described below, and in any one state the category that applies to a particular debt can make a difference of several years.

Special Rules for Consumer Debt

Some states have a statute that sets a separate period for a particular kind of consumer debt, such as consumer credit, medical debt, or debts pursued by debt collectors. Where such a statute exists and has been checked against the official text, it appears in the table as a note under that state’s row, and the calculator lists it with the result.

These special rules sit alongside the general categories; they do not replace the table entries. Whether a special rule applies to a particular debt depends on the statute’s own terms, and some of them start the period from a different event than the general rules do. The special rules verified so far are:

• Arizona: 6 years for an action for a debt evidenced by or founded on a credit card (Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 12-548(A)(2)).
• Arkansas: 2 years for an action to recover charges for medical services provided by a physician or other medical service provider, counted from the date of the services or the most recent partial payment, whichever is later (Ark. Code Ann. § 16-56-106(b)).
• District of Columbia: 3 years for an action to collect a consumer debt commenced on or after September 1, 2021, whether the claim is based on a contract, an account stated, an open account, or another cause (D.C. Code § 28-3814(o)).
• Florida: 3 years for an action to collect medical debt for services rendered by a facility licensed under chapter 395, counted from the date the facility refers the debt to a third party for collection (Fla. Stat. § 95.11(4)).
• Maine: 6 years for a collection action by a debt collector, including a debt buyer, on a consumer debt, counted from the consumer’s last activity on the debt (Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 32, § 11013(8)).
• Minnesota: 6 years for actions upon an obligation arising out of a consumer debt primarily for personal, family, or household purposes (Minn. Stat. § 541.053).
• Nevada: 4 years for an action to recover an amount owed to a hospital for hospital care, counted from the date a payment due for the services is not paid (Nev. Rev. Stat. § 11.2095).
• New York: 3 years for an action on a medical debt by a licensed hospital or health care professional, counted from the date of treatment (N.Y. C.P.L.R. § 213-d).
• New York: 3 years for an action arising out of a consumer credit transaction in which a purchaser, borrower or debtor is a defendant (N.Y. C.P.L.R. § 214-i).
• Ohio: 6 years for an action arising out of a consumer transaction incurred primarily for personal, family, or household purposes, whether or not the agreement was put in writing (Ohio Rev. Code Ann. § 2305.07(C)).
• Virginia: 3 years for an action on a contract to collect medical debt, counted from the due date of the final invoice for the health care service (Va. Code Ann. § 8.01-246(B)).

Ohio’s consumer-transaction rule applies “whether or not reduced to writing or signed by the party to be charged by that transaction” (Ohio Rev. Code Ann. § 2305.07(C)), and the District of Columbia’s applies “whether the legal basis of the claim sounds in contract, account stated, open account, or other cause” (D.C. Code § 28-3814(o)). Rules like these can apply regardless of which of the four general categories a debt would otherwise fall into.

How to Read the 50-State Table

Each row of the table is a state or the District of Columbia. Each column is one of the four categories described above. A cell shows:

• The period, in years (or years and months).
• The statute, linked to the official text published by the state legislature or another official source.

Below the table, a line gives the range of dates on which the entries were last verified. Each entry’s own verification date appears in the calculator result for that state and category.

Some cells say “Not yet verified.” That means no figure has been checked against an official source for that state and category, either because the official text could not be read, because two statutes on their face point to different periods, or because the state has no statute that sets a period for that category by name. A blank is not the same as “no limit,” and “Not yet verified” should never be read that way.

Some entries rest on a general provision rather than one that names the category. For example, several states set a single period for contracts generally, “express or implied,” without distinguishing written from oral agreements. In those states the table shows the same statute in more than one column. A few states have no period specific to contracts at all; there the table shows the state’s general period for civil actions. The notes behind each entry record which kind of provision it is.

When the Period Starts

A limitations period runs from the date the claim “accrues.” When a debt claim accrues is itself a legal question, and states answer it differently. Some statutes set the starting point for particular kinds of debt:

• Utah counts its four-year period for open accounts “after the last charge is made or the last payment is received” (Utah Code § 78B-2-307).
• Ohio provides that a consumer-transaction claim “accrues thirty calendar days after the date of the last charge or payment by, or on behalf of, the consumer, whichever is later” (Ohio Rev. Code Ann. § 2305.07(C)).
• Texas provides that for an action on an open or stated account, “the cause of action accrues on the day that the dealings in which the parties were interested together cease” (Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.004(c)).
• Delaware provides that for “a mutual and running account between parties,” the limitation “shall not begin to run while such account continues open and current” (Del. Code Ann. tit. 10, § 8108).
• Maine’s debt-collector rule runs from “the date of the consumer’s last activity on the debt” (Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 32, § 11013(8)).

Where a statute does not say, the starting point comes from court decisions in that state. The calculator does not decide when a claim accrued. It counts forward from whatever start date is entered.

What Can Pause, Extend, or Restart the Period

Several kinds of events can change when a period ends. The rules differ from state to state.

Payments and written acknowledgments. In some states, a payment or a signed acknowledgment of the debt can start a new period. Arkansas, for example, provides for actions on written obligations that “partial payment or written acknowledgment of default shall toll this statute of limitations” (Ark. Code Ann. § 16-56-111). California’s statute shows how detailed these rules can be. An acknowledgment or promise does not restart the period “unless the same is contained in some writing, signed by the party to be charged thereby”; a payment on a promissory note starts “the running of a new period of time”; “but no such payment of itself shall revive a cause of action once barred” (Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 360). New York goes further for consumer credit: once the period expires, “any subsequent payment toward, written or oral affirmation of or other activity on the debt does not revive or extend the limitations period” (N.Y. C.P.L.R. § 214-i).

Absence from the state. Some states stop the clock while the person being sued is out of the state. California, for example, provides that if a person “departs from the State, the time of his absence is not part of the time limited for the commencement of the action” (Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 351).

Bankruptcy. Federal bankruptcy law can extend a period that is still running when a bankruptcy case is filed. If the period for suing on a claim against the debtor “has not expired before the date of the filing of the petition, then such period does not expire until the later of” the end of the period or “30 days after notice of the termination or expiration of the stay” (11 U.S.C. § 108(c)). That is an extension, not a restart.

Military service. Under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, “the period of a servicemember’s military service may not be included in computing any period limited by law, regulation, or order for the bringing of any action or proceeding in a court” by or against the servicemember (50 U.S.C. § 3936(a)).

Which State’s Law Applies

A credit card account can involve more than one state: the state where the cardholder lives, the state where the bank is located, and the state named in the cardholder agreement. Which state’s limitations period applies is a separate legal question.

The FTC notes that the length of the period depends on “the law in your state — or the state specified in your credit contract or agreement creating the debt” (FTC, Debt Collection FAQs). Many credit card agreements name the law of the state where the bank is located.

Some states also have “borrowing” statutes for claims that arose somewhere else. New York’s provides that “an action based upon a cause of action accruing without the state cannot be commenced after the expiration of the time limited by the laws of either the state or the place without the state where the cause of action accrued,” with an exception for claims that “accrued in favor of a resident of the state” (N.Y. C.P.L.R. § 202). Rules like this can make another state’s period relevant even when a lawsuit is filed in New York.

How these rules fit together for a particular account depends on the agreement, the parties, and the court. The table and the calculator show each state’s own general rule; they do not decide which state’s law applies.

Time-Barred Debt and Federal Debt-Collection Rules

A federal rule addresses lawsuits on debts whose limitations period has run. Regulation F, issued under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, defines the terms:

• “Statute of limitations means the period prescribed by applicable law for bringing a legal action against the consumer to collect a debt.”
• “Time-barred debt means a debt for which the applicable statute of limitations has expired.”

(12 C.F.R. § 1006.26(a))

It then provides: “A debt collector must not bring or threaten to bring a legal action against a consumer to collect a time-barred debt.” The same paragraph states that it “does not apply to proofs of claim filed in connection with a bankruptcy proceeding” (12 C.F.R. § 1006.26(b)).

Two definitions limit who and what the rule covers.

Who is a “debt collector.” Regulation F defines a debt collector as “any person who uses any instrumentality of interstate commerce or mail in any business the principal purpose of which is the collection of debts, or who regularly collects or attempts to collect, directly or indirectly, debts owed or due, or asserted to be owed or due, to another” (12 C.F.R. § 1006.2(i)). The statute’s definition also “includes any creditor who, in the process of collecting his own debts, uses any name other than his own which would indicate that a third person is collecting or attempting to collect such debts” (15 U.S.C. § 1692a(6)). Read together, these words describe collection businesses and those collecting debts owed to someone else; by their terms they do not describe a creditor collecting its own debts under its own name. State laws may impose their own limits.

What is a “debt.” The Act covers “any obligation or alleged obligation of a consumer to pay money arising out of a transaction in which the money, property, insurance, or services which are the subject of the transaction are primarily for personal, family, or household purposes” (15 U.S.C. § 1692a(5)). A business credit card used for business purposes falls outside that definition.

The FTC summarizes the federal rule for consumers this way: whether or not state law allows collection contact on a time-barred debt, “they can’t sue or threaten you over it” (FTC, Debt Collection FAQs).

How to Use the Calculator

The calculator below the table asks for three things: a state, a type of agreement, and a start date. It returns the general period for that state and category, the date that period would end if counted from the start date entered, and the statute the period comes from, with a link to the official text. If the state has special rules for certain consumer debts, they are listed with the result.

The calculator does not ask about, and does not account for, anything else: when the claim actually accrued, payments, acknowledgments, absences, bankruptcy, military service, or which state’s law applies. It does not determine whether any claim is still timely.

Checking a Rule Against the Official Text

Every entry links to the official text so that it can be checked directly. A few habits make that check more reliable:

• Read the whole section, not only the sentence quoted. Limitations statutes are often written as a list under a single opening clause, such as “within six years,” followed by numbered items. The period stated at the top applies to every item beneath it, and exceptions often appear at the end of the section or in a later one.
• Follow cross-references. Phrases like “except as provided in” or “notwithstanding” point to other sections that can change the result. Minnesota’s consumer-debt provision, for example, begins “Notwithstanding section 541.31, subdivision 1” (Minn. Stat. § 541.053).
• Look at the history line. Official codes usually list the laws that added or amended a section. A recent amendment may apply only to claims filed after its effective date.
• Check for more than one version. Some official codes show two versions of a section when an amendment takes effect later or only if a condition is met. The version in effect today is the one that matters for the table.
• Note the date of the source. Each entry on this page shows when it was last verified. A statute can change after that date.

None of these steps answers how a statute applies to a particular debt. They help confirm what the statute says.

Terms Used on This Page

These definitions come from the federal courts’ Glossary of Legal Terms (U.S. Courts).

• Toll: “To stop the running of a time period, such as one set by a statute of limitations, essentially extending the time for parties to take legal action.”
• Plaintiff: “A person or entity that files a civil lawsuit.”
• Defendant: “In a civil case, the person or entity against whom the plaintiff brings suit.”
• Answer: “The formal written statement by a defendant in a civil case that responds to a complaint, articulating the grounds for defense.”
• Default judgment: “A judgment rendered in favor of the plaintiff because of the defendant’s failure to answer or appear to contest the plaintiff’s claim.”
• Pro se: “A Latin term meaning “on one’s own behalf.” In courts, it refers to persons who present their own cases without lawyers.”

The other terms on this page are used in their ordinary sense: an open account is an account with a running balance, and accrual is the event that starts a limitations period. How a particular state defines those terms is set by its own statutes and court decisions.

Sources and Methodology

Every entry was checked against the statute’s official text: the state legislature’s website, the state’s official code publisher, or, for states whose official code is published by LexisNexis, that public-access site. Each quotation was matched word for word against the page itself.

Where an official site could not be reached, the entry was checked against an Internet Archive copy of the same official page, and the entry’s verification date is the date of that copy, not the date of the check. Entries are re-checked on a regular schedule and whenever a source link stops working.

Statutes are amended and courts interpret them. The rules on this page may not reflect recent changes, and they are not a substitute for advice from an attorney licensed in the relevant state.