Time-barred debt: what the statute of limitations means, and what to do about old debts

A statute of limitations is a time limit, set by state law, for suing over a debt. Once it has passed, the debt is time-barred.^[1][8]

A time-barred debt does not usually disappear. The CFPB explains that a debt generally does not expire until it is paid, and in most states collectors can still try to collect after the time limit has passed. What changes is that they cannot use the courts.^[1]

Zombie debt is the informal name for old debts that resurface, often after being sold to a debt buyer. Some are simply time-barred; others were paid, settled, discharged in bankruptcy or never yours.^[9][10]

Old accounts are usually held by debt buyers such as LVNV Funding, Crown Asset Management, Absolute Resolutions and Midland, which buy accounts years after the original default. Our guides to each explain who they are and how to dispute.

It depends on your state and the type of debt. Most states set limits of three to six years for debts, but some are longer, and the limit can vary with the type of debt and the state's law.^[1] Written contracts often have longer limits than open accounts such as store cards, and states disagree about how to classify credit cards.^[11]

Some debts have no time limit at all: federal student loans, for example, do not have a statute of limitations.^[1]

Within a state, the limit can differ by the kind of debt. Written contracts, such as a signed loan agreement, often have longer limits than open accounts; promissory notes can have their own limit; and some states set special rules for medical bills.^[1] In Nebraska, for example, most medical debts fall under the four-year oral contract period^[12]. So the first questions are always which state's law applies and what kind of debt it is; our state guides list each category with sources.

Our time-limit check works out your dates from your state, the type of debt and your last payment, and shows a range where the law is unsettled.

This table shows the time limit we have sourced for open accounts and most credit cards in each state, and whether a payment can restart it. Limits for written contracts, promissory notes and medical bills can differ, and some states treat credit cards as written contracts. Each state's guide explains the details and lists its sources.^[1]

"Check the guide" means we have not sourced a clear rule on restarting the clock for that state; the state guide explains what we do know. If you are unsure, assume a payment could restart it and get advice before paying.^[1]

In some states, the statute of limitations period begins once a required payment is missed.^[1] In practice, many limits run from the date of default or your last payment, which is why that date matters so much.

States set their own starting points. In Maine, for example, a debt collector may not start a collection lawsuit more than six years after the consumer's last activity on the debt, whatever any other time limit says, unless Maine law gives a shorter one (32 M.R.S. 11013(8))^[40][88]. In Virginia, since July 1, 2024, a lawsuit on medical debt must be filed within three years of the due date on the final invoice, or within three years of a missed payment-plan payment (Va. Code 8.01-246(B)); debts for care paid under Virginia's Medicaid programs are excluded^{[81][89][90][91]}.

Look at old statements, bank records and the collector's validation notice, which must include an itemization date and the creditor's details.^[92][93] If the dates do not match your records, dispute them in writing.^[2][94] Be especially careful if the notice shows a later charge-off or itemization date than you remember: ask what it is based on, because a later date could make an old debt look newer than it is.^[92][93]

Making a partial payment, or acknowledging that you owe an old debt, may restart the time period in many states, even after the statute of limitations has expired.^[1] This is sometimes called reviving the debt.

States differ sharply:

• In Tennessee, tennessee courts treat a part payment as an acknowledgment of the debt that keeps it alive for a new six-year period, and an unqualified acknowledgment can count as a new promise to pay^[75][95][96].
• In Georgia, under Georgia law a promise to pay an old debt must be in writing to revive it, and courts have held that a partial payment alone, without a writing, is not enough (O.C.G.A. 9-3-110). The Department of Law still warns that payments and promises can cause problems, so do not pay or sign anything on an old account before checking^[28][97].
• In New York, once the limit expires, any later payment, written or oral affirmation, or other activity on the debt does not revive or extend it^[60][98].
• In Maryland, any payment, written or spoken affirmation, or other activity on the debt after the time limit has expired does not revive or extend it (5-1202(b))^[42][99].
• In Wisconsin, when the time limit runs out, "the right is extinguished as well as the remedy" (Wis. Stat. 893.05): the debt itself ends, not just the right to sue^[85][100].

Because of this, never make a small "good faith" payment or sign anything acknowledging an old debt until you have checked your state's rule.^[1]

They can still contact you and ask you to pay a time-barred debt in most states.^[1]

They cannot sue you or threaten to sue you. Regulation F prohibits debt collectors from suing or threatening to sue to collect a time-barred debt, and makes them strictly liable, so it is no excuse that they did not know the debt was too old.^[4][101] The CFPB has explained that suing or threatening to sue on a time-barred debt explicitly or implicitly misrepresents the legal status of the debt.^[8]

Collectors also must not misrepresent the character, amount or legal status of any debt, which includes implying that an old debt can still be enforced in court when it cannot.^[102] Some states go further: in North Carolina, debt buyers are prohibited from collecting debts that are past the time limit; original creditors are not^[103][104].

A lawsuit filed after the statute of limitations expires violates the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, but a court may still award a judgment against you if you do not show up and raise the statute of limitations as a defense.^[1] The CFPB's advisory opinion makes the same point: the time limit bars collection when the consumer raises it as a defense.^[8]

So respond to the lawsuit by the deadline, and raise the time limit in your answer.^[105] Courts typically do not check it for you: in Vermont, for example, vermont does not require a debt collection complaint to state the applicable time limit or the date the claim arose, so you must raise the time limit yourself^[106]. Our guide to debt lawsuits explains how to respond.

A collector that sues on a time-barred debt may also owe you damages: actual damages, up to $1,000 in statutory damages, and attorney's fees.^[107]

The time limit to sue and the time limit for credit reporting are separate rules. A collection or charged-off account can stay on your credit report for seven years. The seven years start 180 days after the missed payment that led to collection or charge-off, so a later payment, or the debt being sold to a new collector, does not restart them.^[5][6][7]

So an old debt can drop off your credit report while it can still be sued on, in a state with a long time limit, or stay on your report after the time to sue has passed, in a state with a short one. Paying does not restart the credit reporting clock, even where it restarts the time limit to sue.^{[2][3][5][6][7]} Our credit report guide explains how to dispute entries that should have aged off.

Some zombie debts should not be collected at all. If a collector contacts you about a debt you already paid or do not think you owe, you can send a written request to dispute it.^[10] Within the validation period, that makes the collector stop collecting until it verifies the debt.^[2][94]

Debts discharged in bankruptcy are protected by a court order: the discharge operates as an injunction against acts to collect them as a personal liability.^[108] If a collector pursues a discharged debt, send it a copy of your discharge and talk to your bankruptcy lawyer.^[108]

If the debt is not yours, or came from identity theft, dispute it and keep a record of everything.^[10] Our scam guide covers fake collectors who use old or invented debts.

The same rules apply to some old mortgage debts. In 2023 the CFPB warned about collectors pursuing long-dormant second mortgages, inflated with interest and fees, and confirmed that the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and Regulation F prohibit covered collectors from suing or threatening to sue, including by threatening foreclosure, to collect a time-barred debt.^[8][9]

If you are contacted about an old second mortgage you thought was gone, get advice before paying anything: whether a foreclosure is time-barred depends on your state's law.^[8]

1. Do not pay, or promise to pay, straight away. In many states that can restart the time limit.^[1]
2. Work out the dates. Find your last payment and check your state's limit with our time-limit check.^[1]
3. Ask for the debt to be verified in writing, without acknowledging that you owe it. Every letter we prepare says it is not an acknowledgment of the debt or a promise to pay.^[2][94]
4. Tell the collector how to contact you, or to stop contacting you, if you prefer.^[109] Our rights guide has sample letters.
5. If you are sued, respond, and raise the time limit.^[1][105]
6. Report threats to sue on a time-barred debt to the CFPB and your state attorney general.^[9][110]

Our free check asks when you last paid and tells you whether a dispute letter is worth sending, including when the time limit may already have passed.

It is your choice. A time-barred debt is still a debt in most states, and some people choose to pay for their own reasons.^[1] But understand the trade-offs first:

• A payment may restart the time limit to sue, in states that allow revival.^[1]
• Paying does not remove the account from your credit report early.^[5][6][7]
• Settling for less may create taxable canceled-debt income.^[111]

If you do decide to pay, check your state's revival rule, get the agreement in writing first, and pay only a collector you have verified. Our guide to paying a collection agency walks through it.^[2][3]

If a creditor has already won a court judgment against you, the time limit to sue no longer matters: the judgment is governed by its own rules, which in many states give it a much longer life and allow it to be renewed.^{[112][113][114]}

In New Jersey, a judgment can be enforced for up to 20 years, and a wage execution stays in place until the judgment is paid or the job ends^[112]. In New Mexico, a judgment can be enforced for fourteen years (NMSA 37-1-2), and since 2021 a judgment renewed through a new lawsuit cannot be enforced more than fourteen years after the original judgment^[115][116]. In Nevada, a Nevada judgment lasts six years and can be renewed^[113][114].

If you find an old judgment you did not know about, act quickly: our lawsuit guide explains when a default judgment may be reopened.^[105]