Massachusetts debt: six years, two calls a week, and 85% of your pay protected

Six years for consumer-related debt, including credit cards and written and oral contracts (M.G.L. c. 260, section 2).

The Massachusetts Senate unanimously passed the Debt Collection Fairness Act in July 2025. It would cut the time limit to five years, stop later payments restarting it, protect 90% of wages and lower judgment interest to 3%. As of May 2026 it was still before the House, so current law still applies.. Check for updates before relying on the five-year figure.

The Attorney General's debt collection regulations (940 CMR 7.00) apply to creditors collecting their own debts as well as to collectors. Under those rules, a creditor may not make more than two telephone calls or messages to a consumer's home in each seven-day period for each debt, and calls must be between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m..

A spoken request not to be called at work lasts only ten days unless you confirm it in writing within seven days. So if you want work calls to stop for good, put it in writing. Massachusetts has two sets of collection rules: 940 CMR 7.00 from the Attorney General and 209 CMR 18.00 from the Division of Banks, which licenses collectors.

Compare the 6-year limit with every other state in our statute of limitations on debt by state table.

Limits vary a lot between states: by comparison, Nevada sets 4 years and South Carolina sets 3 years for similar debts.

Before paying anything in Massachusetts, read whether to pay a collection agency and how to request debt validation.

National collectors active in Massachusetts include LVNV Funding and Midland Credit Management; our guides list their official dispute addresses.

Most debt lawsuits end in default because people do not respond; our page on what to do if a debt collector sues you explains how to avoid that in Massachusetts.

The greater of 85% of gross wages or 50 times the higher of the state or federal minimum wage is protected from garnishment each week (M.G.L. c. 246, section 28). In practice most people can lose at most 15% of gross pay to an ordinary creditor.

The federal dispute right applies too: a written dispute inside the validation period makes the collector stop until it mails verification.

For the federal floor beneath Massachusetts's rule, and what to do if your pay is already being garnished, see how much of your wages can be garnished.