States With the Shortest Debt Collection Statute of Limitations, Ranked

Worried a debt collector might still sue you over an old bill? Every state has a deadline for that — once it passes, they generally can't win in court, though the debt itself doesn't disappear and can still be reported or pursued outside of court. That deadline runs from 3 years in some states to 10 in others. Find your state below, ranked shortest to longest, across all 20 states we've published full, source-checked law for. Current as ofJuly 2026.

Methodology

Every state on this list sets a different limitations period depending on the type of debt — written contract, oral agreement, promissory note, and so on — and several states run separate, shorter clocks for oral or unwritten debt specifically (noted per state below). To keep this comparable across all 20 states, we ranked each one by the same figure: years to sue over a written-contract or credit card debt, the most common category and the one nearly every state's statute addresses directly. Every figure is sourced to the primary statute cited, and restates what's already published — with full statutory text and additional sourcing — on that state's own law page, linked from each entry. Feel free to cite this ranking with attribution to US Debt Wire.

State-by-state notes

1. Maryland — 3 years

   One of the shortest general limitations periods among the states for a written contract or credit card debt.

   Md. Code, Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 5-101

2. North Carolina — 3 years

   Applies to essentially all consumer debt — credit cards, medical bills, personal loans, written or oral alike.

   N.C. Gen. Stat. § 1-52(1)

3. New York — 3 years

   Shortened from 6 years down to 3 for consumer credit debt specifically (credit cards, medical bills) by the 2022 Consumer Credit Fairness Act; non-consumer written contracts are still 6 years.

   CPLR § 214-i

4. Pennsylvania — 4 years

   Written contracts, oral agreements, credit cards, and promissory notes all fall under the same 4-year window.

   42 Pa. C.S. § 5525

5. California — 4 years

   Applies to written contracts and credit card debt; an oral or open-book account gets a shorter 2-year window.

   Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 337

6. Texas — 4 years

   Applies whether the debt is written or oral — Texas doesn't shorten the deadline for oral debt the way many states do.

   Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.004

7. Virginia — 5 years

   Applies to a written contract you personally signed; oral, implied, or unsigned written contracts get a shorter 3-year window.

   Va. Code § 8.01-246

8. Florida — 5 years

   Applies to written contracts including credit card debt and promissory notes; oral contracts get 4 years.

   Fla. Stat. § 95.11

9. Missouri — 5 years

   Applies to ordinary credit card debt and open accounts; a signed written promissory note specifically gets a longer 10-year period.

   Mo. Rev. Stat. § 516.120

10. Arizona — 6 years

    Applies to written contracts including credit card debt; an oral agreement or open account gets a shorter 3-year window.

    A.R.S. § 12-548

11. Georgia — 6 years

    Applies to written contracts like credit card agreements; an open account or oral agreement gets 4 years.

    O.C.G.A. § 9-3-24

12. Indiana — 6 years

    The same 6-year period applies to both written contracts and oral or open-account debt.

    Ind. Code § 34-11-2-9

13. Massachusetts — 6 years

    A single 6-year period applies to both written and oral contracts, including credit card debt.

    Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 260, § 2

14. Michigan — 6 years

    A 2018 amendment consolidated what used to be separate periods for different contract types into a single general 6-year period.

    MCL 600.5807

15. New Jersey — 6 years

    Applies to contract-based debt like a credit card or personal loan, whether written or oral.

    N.J. Stat. § 2A:14-1

16. Ohio — 6 years

    Applies to written contracts including credit card agreements; an oral or implied contract gets 4 years.

    Ohio Rev. Code § 2305.06

17. Tennessee — 6 years

    A single catch-all statute covers written and oral contracts alike, including credit card debt.

    Tenn. Code § 28-3-109

18. Washington — 6 years

    Applies to written contracts like a credit card agreement; an oral or unwritten contract gets a shorter 3-year window.

    RCW 4.16.040

19. Wisconsin — 6 years

    Applies to contract debt whether written or oral, including credit card debt and open accounts.

    Wis. Stat. § 893.43

20. Illinois — 10 years

    Notably longer than every other launch-coverage state — applies to written contracts including most credit card agreements; an oral agreement gets 5 years.

    735 ILCS 5/13-206