Last reviewed: November 2026
TL;DR — Key Takeaways
- A creditor has four years to sue on a written contract and two years on a contract not in writing, with exceptions the statutes name.
- Once the four-year period for a written contract or account has run, no one may sue or start an arbitration to collect that debt.
- Apart from a payment on a promissory note, an acknowledgment or new promise takes a debt outside the time limits only if it is in a writing the debtor signs.
- A payment on a promissory note starts a new period, but no such payment by itself revives a claim that is already barred.
- Under federal rules a debt collector must not sue or threaten suit on a time-barred debt; a California collector’s first letter about one must say it will not sue.
- A debt buyer may not sue on a consumer debt once the time limit on its claim has expired, and its notice also says it will not sue.
A debt is time-barred in California when the statute of limitations on it has expired. A creditor has four years to sue on a written contract or account and two years on a contract not in writing. Once that four-year period has run, no one may sue or start an arbitration to collect the debt. A writing the debtor signs, or a payment on a promissory note, can change that count.
How long a creditor has to sue on a debt
California sets the time to sue on a debt by the kind of agreement behind it. Our guide to the California statute of limitations for civil claims covers the general periods, tolling and contractual limits.
Written contracts
An action on a contract, obligation or liability founded on an instrument in writing must be brought within four years, except as Code of Civil Procedure section 336a provides.
The same statute sets a shorter limit after a foreclosure sale. It applies where a deed of trust or mortgage with a power of sale on real property, or an interest in it, secured the obligation. Once that power of sale is exercised, an action for a money judgment for the balance due may not be brought more than three months after the sale.
Contracts not in writing
An action on a contract, obligation or liability not founded on an instrument of writing must be brought within two years. The statute names two exceptions: Commercial Code section 2725 and subdivision 2 of Code of Civil Procedure section 337.
Accounts
The four-year statute also covers three kinds of account claims:
- a book account, whether it has one entry or more;
- an account stated based on an account in writing, although the acknowledgment of the account stated need not be in writing;
- a balance due on a mutual, open and current account whose items are in writing.
For an account stated based on one item, the time begins to run from the date of that item. For an account stated based on more than one item, it begins from the date of the last item.
A book account does not include consumer debt. Consumer debt here means an obligation or alleged obligation of a consumer, incurred on or after July 1, 2024, to pay money from a transaction primarily for personal, family, or household purposes. The definition is limited to an obligation whose duty to pay appears on the face of a note or in a written contract.
When the four-year period runs out
When the period under the four-year statute has run, no person may bring suit or start an arbitration or other legal proceeding to collect the debt.
Collectors and debt buyers: who may act on an old debt
The state’s Debt Collection Licensing Act sets a general rule that no person may engage in the business of debt collection in California without first obtaining a license under it.
California’s debt collection law, the Rosenthal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, defines a debt collector as any person who, in the ordinary course of business, regularly engages in debt collection for itself or for others.
Under the federal debt collection rule known as Regulation F, a time-barred debt is a debt for which the applicable statute of limitations has expired. A debt collector, as that federal rule defines the term, must not bring or threaten to bring a legal action against a consumer to collect a time-barred debt. That ban does not apply to proofs of claim filed in a bankruptcy proceeding.
California’s Fair Debt Buying Practices Act defines a debt buyer as a person or entity regularly engaged in the business of purchasing charged-off consumer debt for collection purposes. That is so whether it collects the debt itself or hires a third party for collection or an attorney-at-law for collection litigation. The term excludes one that acquires charged-off consumer debt incidental to buying a portfolio made up predominantly of consumer debt that has not been charged off. Charged-off consumer debt is consumer debt removed from a creditor’s books as an asset and treated as a loss or expense.
A debt buyer may not bring suit, or start an arbitration or other legal proceeding, to collect a consumer debt once the applicable statute of limitations on its claim has expired.
What the time limit does not do
It does not end collection letters. The debt buying statute addresses a buyer collecting on a time-barred debt and sets the notice it must give. The Rosenthal Act sets the notice a collector’s letter on such a debt must carry.
It does not erase the debt. While the debt is inside the federal reporting window, the required notice says it may be reported to the credit reporting agencies as unpaid for as long as the law permits.
The federal Fair Credit Reporting Act sets that window. Except where that law separately authorizes it, a consumer reporting agency may not make a report containing accounts placed for collection or charged to profit and loss that antedate the report by more than seven years. The seven years begin when 180 days have passed from the start of the delinquency that immediately preceded the collection activity or charge-off. A debt can be past the time to sue and still inside that window.
It does not apply itself. In pleading the time limit, a party need not state the facts showing the defense. It may state generally that the claim is barred by a named section and subdivision of the Code of Civil Procedure. If the other side disputes that allegation, the party who pleaded it must establish at trial the facts showing that the claim is barred. Those facts come from records such as the agreement and the dates of default and of any payments.
It does not treat every debt alike. The ban on suing after the period runs is written into the four-year statute for written contracts and accounts. A debt buyer’s consumer debt claims carry their own ban, described above.
It does not undo a signed writing. A signed acknowledgment, promise or waiver can change the count, as the next section explains.
What can restart or extend the clock
California’s signed-writing rule sets the terms for an acknowledgment, a promise or a payment on a note. An acknowledgment or promise is not sufficient evidence of a new or continuing contract, to take a case outside the time limits, unless it is in some writing signed by the party to be charged. Beyond requiring that signed writing, the statute’s text prescribes no particular wording.
The rule then adds a provision for payments on a promissory note:
- Any payment on account of principal or interest due on a promissory note, made by the party to be charged, counts as an acknowledgment or promise of a continuing contract.
- Each time such a payment is made, it stops the running of the time to sue on the principal or on any installment of principal or interest due on the note.
- Each such payment starts a new period running.
- No such payment of itself revives a cause of action once barred.
So a payment on a note made while the time is still running starts a new period. A payment made after the claim is already barred does not, by itself, bring the claim back.
The statute’s payment rule applies only to a payment of principal or interest due on a promissory note made by the person to be charged. If you made a partial payment on a debt that is not a note, we can review its effect on your own facts.
For the four-year statute on written contracts and accounts, the period can be extended only under this signed-writing rule.
A separate statute governs written waivers of the time-limit defense:
- No waiver bars the defense that an action was not started in time unless the waiver is in writing and signed by the person obligated.
- A waiver signed before the time runs out is effective for no more than four years from the date the time expires.
- A waiver signed after the time runs out is effective for no more than four years from the date of the waiver.
- A waiver may be renewed for a further period of no more than four years from the end of the previous waiver, and waivers may be made one after another.
The waiver statute does not apply to a signed acknowledgment, promise or waiver given to a county to secure repayment of indigent aid, or of money fraudulently or illegally obtained from the county.
The statute of limitations for written contracts and accounts says its period shall only be extended under the signed-writing rule. A separate waiver statute provides that no waiver bars the time-limit defense to any action unless it is in writing and signed by the person obligated. Under the waiver statute, a waiver signed before the time limit expires is effective for no more than four years after it expires. If a waiver is signed after the time limit expires, it is effective for no more than four years from its date. The waiver statute, including these four-year limits, does not apply to an acknowledgment, promise or any form of waiver that meets all of these conditions:
- it is in writing;
- it is signed by the person obligated; and
- it is given to a county to secure repayment of indigent aid or of money fraudulently or illegally obtained from the county.
If you signed a waiver on a written contract or account, we can review how both rules apply to your own facts.
Read anything you sign about an old debt as closely as the original agreement.
If you are getting ready for this step, we can help you check the papers and the timing first. Call (650) 668-8000 in Northern California or (213) 668-8000 in Southern California, or use baylegal.com/contact-us.
When an old debt can still be enforced
For a debtor, the honest answer to whether the creditor can still sue is sometimes yes. The creditor may still be able to go to court where any of these applies:
- the debt rests on a written contract or account, and four years have not run;
- the agreement was not in writing, and two years have not run;
- you signed a writing that acknowledges the debt or promises to pay it;
- you made a payment on a promissory note before the time ran, which started a new period;
- you signed a written waiver of the time-limit defense that is still within its term, though the four-year period for a written contract or account may be extended only under the signed-writing rule.
For an original creditor, the honest answer is sometimes no. A receivable on a written contract or account that is past its four-year period can no longer be taken to court, arbitration or another legal proceeding. As the four-year statute is written, the period can be extended only through the signed-writing rule.
Whether a timely suit is worth filing is a separate question. Our post is my lawsuit worth it in California works through it. Collecting a judgment is separate too: collectability and the tools after judgment are covered in suing someone with no money in California. Where the question is what a written agreement actually says, our Contract Law practice handles that work.
If you are deciding what to do next, we would rather talk it through early than after the fact. Call Bay Legal at (650) 668-8000 in Northern California or (213) 668-8000 in Southern California, or reach us through baylegal.com/contact-us.
What a collector must say about a time-barred debt
Under the Rosenthal Act, a debt collector may not send a written communication trying to collect a time-barred debt without one of two written notices. Which notice applies depends on the obsolescence date in the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act.
If the debt is not past that date, the first written communication after the debt became time-barred must include a notice that says:
- that the law limits how long you can be sued on a debt;
- that, because of the age of your debt, the collector will not sue you for it;
- that if you do not pay, the named collector may report it, or continue to report it, to the credit reporting agencies as unpaid for as long as the law permits.
What a debt buyer must have and say
California’s Fair Debt Buying Practices Act applies to debt buyers for all consumer debt sold or resold on or after January 1, 2014.
A debt buyer may not make any written statement to a debtor to collect a consumer debt unless it possesses certain information, including:
- that it is the sole owner of the debt or has authority to assert the rights of all owners;
- the debt balance at charge off, with an explanation of any post-charge-off interest and fees;
- the date of default or the date of the last payment.
If you ask in writing for information about the debt or proof of it, the buyer must provide the information and documents the Act lists, without charge, within 15 calendar days. If it cannot, it must cease all collection of the debt until it provides them.
When a debt buyer collects a time-barred debt that is not past the federal obsolescence date, its notice states that the law limits how long you can be sued on a debt. It adds that, because of the debt’s age, the buyer will not sue you for it. It also says that if you do not pay, the buyer may report it, or continue to report it, to the credit reporting agencies as unpaid for as long as the law permits.
If you want to know how this applies to your own situation, call Bay Legal at (650) 668-8000 in Northern California or (213) 668-8000 in Southern California, or reach us through baylegal.com/contact-us.
Remedies, briefly
A debt collector that violates the Rosenthal Act is liable to the debtor, only in an individual action, for the debtor’s actual damages. If the violation is willful and knowing, the collector is also liable for a penalty the court allows of not less than $100 nor more than $1,000. The action may be brought only in an individual capacity, within one year from the date the violation occurred.
A collector has no civil liability under the Act in either of two cases:
- within 15 days after discovering a violation that can be cured, or after receiving written notice of it, the collector notifies the debtor and makes the adjustments or corrections needed to cure it;
- the collector shows by a preponderance of the evidence that the violation was not intentional and resulted despite its maintaining procedures reasonably adapted to avoid any such violation.
In an individual action, a debt buyer that violates the Fair Debt Buying Practices Act is liable for actual damages. Those include the amount of any judgment it obtained in a time-barred suit to collect a debt from that person. It is also liable for statutory damages the court allows of not less than $100 nor more than $1,000.
A debt buyer has no civil liability if it shows by a preponderance of the evidence that the violation was not intentional and resulted from a bona fide error. The error must have occurred despite its maintaining procedures reasonably adopted to avoid any error. An action to enforce liability under the Act must be brought within one year from the date of the last violation.
Before you pay or sue on an old debt
Before you pay or sign anything on an old debt, a few facts decide the effect:
- whether the agreement was in writing, which sets four years or two;
- whether the debt is a promissory note, since a payment on a note starts a new period;
- the date of default and the date of the last payment;
- whether you are being asked to sign an acknowledgment, a promise to pay or a waiver.
Paying an old debt remains a legitimate choice. The required notice describes an unpaid time-barred debt as unpaid, not cancelled.
Before an original creditor sues, the same records answer different questions:
- whether the agreement is written, and for an account stated, the date of the item or the last item;
- whether a consumer obligation meets every part of the consumer-debt definition, including the July 1, 2024 date, which keeps it out of the book-account rule;
- whether the debtor signed an acknowledgment, promise or waiver, and when.
When we review an old debt for a debtor or a creditor, we look first at the agreement behind it and the dates of default and of every payment. We also look at whether a promissory note is involved and whether anyone signed an acknowledgment, promise or waiver.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does a creditor have to sue on a debt in California?
Four years on a written contract or one of the accounts the four-year statute lists, and two years on a contract not in writing, with exceptions each statute names. When a deed of trust or mortgage on real property or an interest in it secures a debt and its power of sale is used, a suit for the balance due must be brought within three months of the sale.
Does a partial payment restart the statute of limitations on a debt in California?
For a promissory note, each payment of principal or interest stops the clock and starts a new period. No such payment by itself revives a claim already barred. For other debts, the statute’s text addresses signed writings, not payments.
Can a collector still contact me about a time-barred debt?
A collector’s first letter after the debt becomes time-barred must say it will not sue you for it. A debt collector must not bring or threaten a legal action to collect a time-barred debt.
How long can an old collection account stay on my credit report?
Generally no more than seven years for an account placed for collection or charged off, counted from the end of a 180-day period that starts with the delinquency, except where federal law separately authorizes it.
What if I signed something agreeing to pay an old debt?
A signed written acknowledgment or promise can take a debt outside the time limits. A signed waiver of the time-limit defense lasts up to four years, from when the time expired or, if signed later, from its own date, and can be renewed.
Legal References
- Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 337, subds. (a), (b), (d) (actions on written contracts, book accounts and accounts stated; four years; no suit or arbitration after the period runs; extension only under § 360)
- Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 337a (book account defined; consumer debt incurred on or after July 1, 2024 excluded)
- Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 336a (named only as the exception stated in § 337, subd. (a))
- Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 339, subd. 1 (contracts not founded on an instrument of writing; two years)
- Cal. Com. Code § 2725 (named only as the exception stated in Code Civ. Proc. § 339)
- Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 360 (acknowledgment or promise in a signed writing; payment on a promissory note)
- Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 360.5 (written waiver of the limitations defense)
- Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 458 (pleading the statute of limitations)
- Cal. Fin. Code § 100001, subd. (a) (Debt Collection Licensing Act; license required)
- Cal. Civ. Code § 1788.2, subd. (c) (Rosenthal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act; debt collector defined)
- Cal. Civ. Code § 1788.14, subd. (d) (notice in a written communication on a time-barred debt)
- Cal. Civ. Code § 1788.30, subds. (a), (b), (d), (e), (f) (Rosenthal Act liability, cure and bona fide error defenses, one-year limit)
- Cal. Civ. Code § 1788.50 (Fair Debt Buying Practices Act; debt buyer and charged-off consumer debt defined; subd. (d), debt sold or resold on or after January 1, 2014)
- Cal. Civ. Code § 1788.52, subds. (a), (c), (d)(2) (information a debt buyer must possess; 15-day response; time-barred debt notice)
- Cal. Civ. Code § 1788.56 (no suit or arbitration on a time-barred consumer debt)
- Cal. Civ. Code § 1788.62, subds. (a), (e), (f) (debt buyer liability, bona fide error defense, one-year limit)
- 12 C.F.R. § 1006.26 (Regulation F; time-barred debt defined; legal actions and threats prohibited)
- 15 U.S.C. § 1681c, subds. (a)(4), (c) (Fair Credit Reporting Act § 605; seven-year limit on collection and charged-off accounts and when it begins)
