Statute of Limitations on Debt in DC, Maryland and Virginia

A collector is calling about a credit card you stopped paying years ago. You thought that debt was gone. Now there is a letter, or worse, a lawsuit.

Old debt doesn’t just disappear, but it does get weaker.

Every jurisdiction sets a deadline for suing on a debt, called the statute of limitations. Once it passes, the creditor loses the right to win in court.

In DC and Maryland that deadline is usually three years for consumer debt. In Virginia it is three or five years, depending on the paperwork.

What is a statute of limitations on debt?

It is a deadline for filing a lawsuit. If the creditor or collector doesn’t sue before it runs out, the debt becomes time-barred, meaning too old to sue on.

The clock usually starts when you default, meaning you miss a payment and never catch up. The exact start date depends on the kind of account and the contract, which is why I look at the payment history before I give anyone a date.

A time-barred debt is not erased. In most places a collector can still call or write and ask you to pay, as long as it doesn’t sue or threaten to sue.

How long do creditors have to sue in DC?

Three years for most consumer debt. DC law sets a three-year limit for a lawsuit to collect a consumer debt, meaning a debt for personal, family, household or medical purposes. It applies whether the creditor calls it a contract, an open account or something else, and even if the contract is under seal.

Mortgage debt is not covered by that rule.

Collectors can’t knowingly sue late. DC law makes it a prohibited practice to file suit on a consumer debt when the collector knows or should know the deadline has passed. In DC, that rule reaches original creditors too, not just collection agencies.

Judgments last longer. A money judgment from DC Superior Court can be enforced for 12 years, and the creditor can ask the court to revive it, which starts the clock over.

How long do creditors have to sue in Maryland?

Three years for most debts. Maryland’s general rule is that a civil lawsuit for money has to be filed within three years after the claim arises. That covers credit cards, personal loans and most other consumer accounts.

Twelve years for a few documents. Maryland allows 12 years for a contract or promissory note under seal, a formal signing that most consumer credit agreements don’t use. Maryland has carved hospital debt out of that longer period.

Judgments last 12 years. A Maryland District Court judgment lasts 12 years from the date it was entered, and the creditor can renew it before it expires.

Maryland law also bars a creditor or collector from filing a consumer debt lawsuit after the deadline has passed.

How long do creditors have to sue in Virginia?

Five years for a signed written contract. Virginia allows five years to sue on a contract that is in writing and signed by the person being sued.

Three years for everything else. An unwritten contract, or one that is written but not signed by you, has a three-year limit.

Credit cards fall in between. Whether a credit card case gets three years or five often depends on whether the creditor can produce an agreement you signed, and not every creditor can. That is a question about the evidence, so I look at what the plaintiff actually has.

Judgments. A Virginia general district court judgment can generally be enforced for 10 years from the date it was entered, and some can be extended. Circuit court judgments have their own limits and can be extended by recording a certificate before they expire.

Can a payment or a promise restart the clock?

This is where the three jurisdictions differ the most.

DC. Once the deadline for a consumer debt has passed, a later payment or a written or spoken acknowledgment does not extend it. Before the deadline passes, a written, signed promise or acknowledgment can affect the clock, so be careful what you sign.

Maryland. Maryland law says that once the deadline has passed, a payment, a written or oral acknowledgment, or any other activity on a consumer debt does not revive or extend it. A separate written payment plan you agreed to before the deadline is treated differently.

Virginia. A written, signed promise to pay, or a written acknowledgment that implies one, can give the creditor a new deadline that runs from the promise. Whether a payment alone restarts the clock is less clear, so don’t assume a small payment on an old Virginia debt is harmless.

The safest rule in all three places: don’t pay, sign or agree to anything on an old debt until you know where the deadline stands.

Can a collector sue me on a time-barred debt?

Not legally, if it is a debt collector. A federal rule, Regulation F, says a debt collector must not bring or threaten to bring a lawsuit to collect a time-barred debt. A collector who does can be liable to you under the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.

That rule covers collection agencies, and it can cover debt buyers. DC’s law goes further and covers original creditors too.

If the debt is too old, can I ignore the lawsuit?

No. This is the mistake that costs people the most.

The statute of limitations is a defense, and you have to raise it. The court does not check the date for you. If you don’t answer, the court can enter a default judgment, an order against you for not responding, even on a debt that was too old to sue on.

That judgment can then be enforced with wage and bank garnishment for years. Answering the lawsuit and raising the defense is what makes the deadline count.

Deadlines to respond are short and are printed on your papers. Don’t try to handle it alone, and if the plaintiff is a company that bought your account, read what a debt buyer has to prove.

Does the debt come off my credit report when the deadline passes?

Not necessarily. Credit reporting runs on a separate clock.

A credit reporting company can generally report most negative information for seven years. That period has nothing to do with the deadline to sue, so a debt can be time-barred and still on your report, or off your report and still collectible in court. If something is wrong on your report, you can dispute it.

What if I moved, or the contract names another state?

Then it depends. Which state’s deadline applies can turn on where you lived when you signed, where you live now, where the lawsuit is filed, and what the contract says about which law governs.

DC, Maryland and Virginia sit side by side, and plenty of people have lived in all three. If you moved during the life of the debt, bring your address history to the consultation.

What should I do right now?

If a collector is calling about an old debt, don’t pay or promise anything yet. If you have been sued on one, find the response date on the papers and call me at (202) 448-5136 before it passes.

The consultation is free. I will look at the dates, tell you whether the debt is time-barred, and tell you whether to defend, settle or consider bankruptcy.

I defend collection lawsuits in DC Superior Court and the Virginia general district courts in Arlington, Alexandria and Fairfax, and I handle bankruptcy in DC, Maryland and the Eastern District of Virginia. Don’t wait. A defense you never raise is a defense you don’t have.