Virginia debt statute of limitations checker

It depends on the kind of debt. In general: 5 years for a written contract, 3 years for an oral agreement or open account, 6 years for most promissory notes, and 4 years for contracts for the sale of goods under the UCC. Credit cards are frequently contested — collectors argue the 5-year written-contract period while consumers often argue the 3-year open-account period. Court judgments follow entirely different, much longer enforcement rules.

No. The debt still exists and collectors may still ask you to pay. What the statute of limitations does is give you a winning defense if they sue — and suing (or threatening to sue) on a debt the collector knows is time-barred can itself violate the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. The defense is only as good as your willingness to show up and raise it: an ignored lawsuit can still end in a default judgment, even on a time-barred debt.

Yes — and this is the biggest trap. Depending on the circumstances, making a payment (even a small good-faith payment a collector talks you into), acknowledging the debt in writing, or promising in writing to pay can restart the limitations clock and hand the collector a fresh, full-length window to sue. Before you pay a penny on an old debt, find out how old it is and get advice.

Generally around the time the debt first went unpaid — for open accounts, typically from the later of the last charge or the last payment. Pinning down the exact start date is one of the most commonly litigated issues in collection cases, which is why this checker gives you an estimate and a range, not a guarantee. Collectors' own records are often wrong, and the burden of proving the debt is timely is theirs once you raise the defense.