Statute of limitations on debt

A statute of limitations is the time to file a lawsuit. It is not a delete button on a credit report, and it does not make the balance evaporate. This site prints a number only when the statute was read and dated. Choice of law, accrual, and revival are fact questions this page does not decide.

Texas
Verified 2026-10-28
California
Verified 2026-10-28
Florida
Verified 2026-10-28
New York
Verified 2026-10-28
Illinois
Verified 2026-10-28

Other states: use the collection decision flow and read the statute that applies. The CFPB explains time-barred debt without a fifty-state table: Can debt collectors collect a debt that’s several years old? . Collectors of time-barred debt are also under 12 C.F.R. § 1006.26 — Collection of time-barred debts.

Try the flow

Lawsuit deadline and credit-report period are different clocks. This is not a ruling.

State whose law you think applies Kind of debt Month of last payment or written acknowledgment, if you know it

What the collector sent

A first collection notice, within 30 days A collection notice, but the 30-day window has passed Calls or letters I want stopped An offer to pay if they stop reporting the item A lawsuit threat, or papers from a court Nothing yet — I am trying to decide whether to pay

The lawsuit clock may have run. The reporting clock is a different clock.

Texas lists 4 years for credit card under Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.004(a)(3). Counting months from the date you entered, that period looks expired. That is not a ruling. Accrual, choice of law, and revival can move the date. For a debt buyer, Texas Finance Code § 392.307 says a payment or agreement that the debt is owed does not revive the limitations period. That section is about debt buyers. It is not a general rule for every original creditor. How long the item stays on a United States credit report is 15 U.S.C. §1681c, generally seven years plus up to 180 days from the delinquency, even after you pay.

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State lawsuit-deadline notes · How long a debt stays on a credit report

Questions

Is the statute of limitations the same as how long a debt stays on a credit report?

No. The United States reporting period is 15 U.S.C. §1681c. The time to sue is state law. One can run while the other has not.

Why are there not 50 state pages?

A wrong year is worse than a pointer. Each printed period has a statute citation, a source URL, and a last-verified date. Unverified clocks are named as unverified.