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statute of limitations

Statute of Limitations on Debt

Consumers often pay off debt for which creditors can no longer seek legal action because the Statute of Limitations has already expired for the account. Consumers pay off these accounts perhaps because the accounts still appear on their credit reports, they fear court action, or they simply don’t know their rights.  There are even cases of “Zombie debt” where agencies are claiming to collect a debt from years ago that one may have already paid off, or never owed in the first place.

Know the Statute of Limitations for your state or the state where a potential creditor is based.  The chart below provides links to various state laws.

STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS ON DEBT; STATE BY STATE

State Oral Written Promissory Open-ended Accounts State Statute: Open Accounts
AL 6 6 6 3 §6-2-37
AR 5 5 5 3 §16-56-105
AK 6 6 3 3 §09.10.053
AZ 3 6 6 3 §12-543
CA 2 4 4 4 §337
CO 6 6 6 3 §13-80-101
CT 3 6 6 3 §52-581
DE 3 3 3 4 §2-725
DC 3 3 3 3 §12-301
FL 4 5 5 4 §95.11
GA 4 6 6 6 ** §9-3-25
HI 6 6 6 6 HRS 657-1(4)
IA 5 10 5 5 §614.5
ID 4 5 5 4 §5-222
IL 5 10 10 5 735 ILCS 5/13-205
IN 6 10 10 6 §34-11-2
KS 3 6 5 3 §84-3-118
KY 5 15 15 5 §413.120
LA 10 10 10 3 §3-118
ME 6 6 6 6 §5-511
MD 3 3 6 3 §5-101
MA 6 6 6 6 c.260, §2
MI 6 6 6 6 §600.5807
MN 6 6 6 6 §541.05
MO 5 10 10 5 §516.120
MS 3 3 3 3 §15-1-29
MT 3 8 8 5 27-2-202
NC 3 3 5 3 §1-52(1)
ND 6 6 6 6 28-01-16
NE 4 5 5 4 §25-206
NH 3 3 6 3 382-A:3-118
NJ 6 6 6 3 25:1-5
NM 4 6 6 4 §37-1-4
NV 4 6 3 4 NRS 11.190
NY 6 6 6 6 §2-213
OH 6 15 15 6 §2305.07
OK 3 5 5 3 §12-3-95
OR 6 6 6 6 §12.080
PA 4 4 4 4 §5525
RI 10 5 6 4 §6A-2-725
SC 3 3 3 3 SEC 15-3-530
SD 6 6 6 6 §15-2-13
TN 6 6 6 6 28-3-109
TX 4 4 4 4 §16.004
UT 4 6 6 4 70-09a
VA 3 5 6 3 8.01-246
VT 6 6 5 3 §3-118
WA 3 6 6 3 RCW 4.16.080
WI 6 6 10 6 893.43
WV 5 10 6 5 §55-2-6
WY 8 10 10 8 §1-3-102

** Georgia Court of Appeals came out with a decision on January 24, 2008 in Hill v. American Express that in Georgia the statute of limitations on a credit card is six years after the amount becomes due and payable

Note: This article was first published in September of 2009 and may not be current. We hope to update this article soon.

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