Statute of Limitations on Debt in Texas: Credit Cards, Loans and More

In Texas, a creditor or debt collector generally has four years to sue you on a consumer debt such as a credit card, personal loan or medical bill. The four years usually start when you defaulted, not when you opened the account or when the debt was sold. After that, the debt is "time-barred": it still exists, but the law limits whether you can be sued for it.

But some debts have different periods, some events pause the clock, and Texas treats debt buyers differently from original creditors. This guide covers each rule with the statute behind it.

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The Basic Rule: Four Years for a Debt

Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Section 16.004(a)(3) says a person must bring suit on a "debt" not later than four years after the day the cause of action accrues. It governs most credit card, debt-buyer and personal loan suits. Two related provisions fill the gaps:

• Open and stated accounts. Section 16.004(c) also gives four years for an action on an open or stated account, and says that for those claims the cause of action accrues "on the day that the dealings in which the parties were interested together cease."
• The residual period. Section 16.051 says any action without an express limitations period (other than recovery of real property) must be brought within four years. So even an informal or oral promise to repay money generally falls under a four-year period, not two years as some websites say.

If the last day falls on a Saturday, Sunday or holiday, Section 16.072 extends the deadline to the next day the county offices are open.

Statute of Limitations by Type of Debt

The start date in your case can be disputed, so treat the third column as a starting point.

When the Clock Starts on Different Debts

Credit cards

A claim on a credit card generally accrues when you breach the agreement by failing to pay, which in practice is the first missed minimum payment that you never brought current. The charge-off date, the sale of the account and a new collector's first letter do not start a new period. If you caught up and then fell behind again, the later default usually counts. See when the four-year clock starts.

Installment loans and acceleration

For a loan payable in installments, each missed installment can start its own clock. If the loan has an optional acceleration clause, the Supreme Court of Texas held in Holy Cross Church of God in Christ v. Wolf, 44 S.W.3d 562 (Tex. 2001), that limitations on the entire remaining balance starts when the lender actually accelerates, which generally requires both a notice of intent to accelerate and a notice of acceleration.

If the loan was documented by a negotiable promissory note payable at a definite time, Business and Commerce Code Section 3.118(a) allows six years after the due date or the accelerated due date. Whether a consumer note is negotiable is a technical question.

Car deficiencies after repossession

After a repossession sale, the lender may sue for the "deficiency." Chapter 9 of the Business and Commerce Code governs repossession but sets no limitations period. The period is four years, either under Section 16.004 as a debt or, for a retail installment contract treated as a contract for the sale of goods, under Section 2.725, which says the claim accrues when the breach occurs. Which date counts is often disputed. See can I be sued for a car deficiency.

Medical bills

Medical providers and their collectors usually sue on an account, so four years applies under Section 16.004(a)(3) or (c). Texas also requires an itemized bill before many providers may pursue collection; see our update on Texas S.B. 490 and the Q&A on medical bill lawsuits.

Student loans

Federal student loans are the big exception. Under 20 U.S.C. § 1091a(a), no limitations period ends the time in which the Department of Education, a guaranty agency, or certain schools may sue, enforce a judgment, or use offset and garnishment on a defaulted federal student loan. See our update on federal student loan collections. Private student loans from banks and other lenders follow ordinary Texas rules.

Mortgages and home equity loans

Section 16.035 requires a suit to foreclose a real property lien, and a non-judicial foreclosure sale, within four years after the claim accrues. For an installment note, the period does not begin until the last installment matures (§ 16.035(e)), but an acceleration starts it earlier. When the four years run, the lien and the power of sale "become void" (§ 16.035(d)). A lender can rescind an acceleration by written notice (§ 16.038). See our update on time-barred mortgage debt.

What Pauses or Extends the Clock

A signed written acknowledgment

Section 16.065 says an acknowledgment of a debt that appears to be time-barred cannot be used to defeat limitations "unless the acknowledgment is in writing and is signed by the party to be charged." A signed letter or payment-plan form in which you unequivocally admit the debt can give a creditor a new claim; a phone call cannot.

Payments

For debt buyers, Texas law is clear: once a consumer debt is time-barred, a payment, an oral or written reaffirmation, "or any other activity on the consumer debt" does not revive the right to sue (Finance Code § 392.307(d)). For original creditors, Texas courts have not been fully consistent about whether a partial payment alone renews limitations, so talk to a lawyer before paying an original creditor on an old account. See whether a payment restarts the clock.

Absence from Texas, moving here, and death

• Absence from the state. Section 16.063 still says a person's absence from Texas suspends limitations for the period of the absence. But the Supreme Court of Texas has narrowed it: in Kerlin v. Sauceda, 263 S.W.3d 920 (Tex. 2008), and Ashley v. Hawkins, 293 S.W.3d 175 (Tex. 2009), the court held that the statute does not toll limitations for a defendant who could be served out of state under the Texas long-arm statute. See can I be sued if I moved out of Texas.
• Moving to Texas. Under Section 16.067, a claim already barred by the law of the state you moved from cannot be brought here, and a debt incurred before you moved is not barred until you have lived in Texas for 12 months.
• Death. Section 16.062 suspends limitations for 12 months after the death of the debtor or creditor, or until an executor or administrator qualifies, if sooner.

Filing is not enough without service

A creditor stops the clock by filing suit, but only if it then uses diligence to serve you. A suit filed just before the deadline and served months later can still be time-barred if the delay is not explained (Proulx v. Wells, 235 S.W.3d 213 (Tex. 2007)).

Counterclaims

Section 16.069 lets a party file a counterclaim from the same transaction within 30 days after its answer date even if the claim would otherwise be barred. If you sue a creditor over an old account, it may be able to counterclaim for the balance.

Debt Buyers vs. Original Creditors

Texas draws a sharp line here. Since September 1, 2019, Finance Code Section 392.307(c) says a debt buyer may not, directly or indirectly, sue or start arbitration on a consumer debt after the limitations period in Section 16.004 or Business and Commerce Code Section 3.118 has run. Section 392.307(e) requires a debt buyer collecting a time-barred debt to say so in its first written communication, with a notice that begins "THE LAW LIMITS HOW LONG YOU CAN BE SUED ON A DEBT" and that says whether the debt can still be reported to credit bureaus. See our H.B. 996 update and can a debt buyer sue on a time-barred debt.

Federal law adds another layer. Regulation F, 12 C.F.R. § 1006.26(b), says a debt collector covered by the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act "must not bring or threaten to bring a legal action against a consumer to collect a time-barred debt." See our update on Regulation F and time-barred debt, and the Fifth Circuit's decision that threatening suit on a stale debt can violate the FDCPA.

Original creditors, such as the bank that issued your card, are not debt buyers and are generally not FDCPA debt collectors when collecting their own accounts. They are not flatly barred from suing after four years; limitations is a defense you must raise, and the answer deadline still applies.

How to Calculate Your Date: An Example

Suppose you never paid the card payment due June 5, 2022, or any later one, and the bank charged off the account and sold it in 2023.

1. Find the default date. On or about June 5, 2022; the charge-off and sale do not change it.
2. Add four years. That gives June 5, 2026, a Friday, so the weekend rule in Section 16.072 does not move it.
3. Check for anything that paused or restarted it, such as a signed acknowledgment, an absence that made you impossible to serve, or a death. For a debt buyer, a later payment does not matter (§ 392.307(d)).
4. Compare the filing date. If the debt buyer filed suit on August 3, 2026, it filed after limitations ran. Section 392.307(c) says it should not have sued, and you would raise limitations in your answer.
5. Check service. If the suit was filed on time but you were served much later, ask whether the plaintiff was diligent.

A collector's validation notice lists an "itemization date," which can help with the timeline but is not necessarily the default date.

Limitations Is a Defense You Must Raise

The court will not usually apply the statute of limitations on its own. In county and district court, Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 94 lists "statute of limitations" among the defenses a defendant "shall set forth affirmatively" in the answer. Leaving it out can mean losing it, so it belongs in a written answer filed by the deadline: 10:00 a.m. on the Monday after 20 days from service (Rule 99(b)). If the plaintiff later files a motion for summary judgment, your response and evidence are due 21 days after the motion is filed, for motions filed on or after March 1, 2026 (Rule 166a; see our update).

Justice court is different. Most credit card suits of $20,000 or less are filed there as "debt claim cases" (Rule 500.1(b)). In justice court, an answer that simply denies the claims "does not bar the defendant from raising any defense at trial" (Rule 502.5(b)), and the answer is due by the end of the 14th day after service (Rule 502.5(d)). Stating limitations in writing anyway is wise. Our guide to justice court debt claim cases explains the special Rule 508 procedures. See also which defenses have to be stated in the answer.

What to Do If You Are Sued on an Old Debt

1. Find your deadline. Use our answer deadline calculator. A time-barred debt still produces a default judgment if you do not answer.
2. Do not pay or sign anything yet. With an original creditor, a signed acknowledgment can create a new claim.
3. File an answer that raises limitations. Our guide on how to answer a debt lawsuit in Texas explains the parts of an answer, and our guide to defenses to a debt collection lawsuit covers others that often apply.
4. Look at how the collector behaved. Suing or threatening suit on a time-barred debt may violate the FDCPA, Regulation F or the Texas Debt Collection Act. Those claims are a separate federal lawsuit, not a counterclaim in the collection case, and a separate service from debt defense. See our FDCPA attorneys page.

If a judgment has already been entered, limitations can no longer be raised in the usual way, but other options may exist. Read what happens if you ignore a debt lawsuit in Texas and how to reopen a default judgment.

Credit Reports and Judgments Run on Different Clocks

Credit reporting. The seven-year credit reporting limit is a separate federal rule. Under 15 U.S.C. § 1681c(a)(4) and (c), a collection or charged-off account generally cannot be reported for more than seven years, counted from 180 days after the delinquency began. See how long a collection can stay on your credit report.

Judgments. Once a creditor wins a judgment, the four-year rule no longer controls. A Texas judgment becomes dormant only if no writ of execution issues within 10 years after it is rendered, or within 10 years after the last writ (CPRC § 34.001), and a dormant judgment can be revived within two years (§ 31.006). See how long a judgment lasts in Texas.

How Texas Debt Law Can Help

Attorney Shawn Jaffer has handled thousands of debt collection lawsuits in Texas, and our firm has had hundreds of debt lawsuits dismissed. We check your dates, raise every defense that fits, serve clients statewide and speak Spanish. Meet our Texas debt defense attorneys.

Flat fees start at $400, and payment plans are available. Call or text (214) 945-0000; we answer 7 days a week. You can also request a free case evaluation.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the debt go away after four years?

No. The debt still exists and a collector may ask you to pay it voluntarily, but a debt buyer may not sue on it (Fin. Code § 392.307), and FDCPA collectors may not sue or threaten to sue (12 C.F.R. § 1006.26(b)). See what is zombie debt.

Can I be sued on a debt that is past the statute of limitations?

A suit can still be filed, especially by an original creditor, and you still have to answer it. Limitations is a defense you raise. See what if I'm sued on a time-barred debt anyway.

How long do I have to sue a collector for violating the law?

An FDCPA claim must be brought within one year of the violation (15 U.S.C. § 1692k(d)). See how long you have to sue a collector.

This guide is general information about Texas law, not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Limitations questions turn on exact dates and documents; talk to a lawyer about your situation.

Sources

• Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code, chapter 16 (§§ 16.004, 16.035, 16.038, 16.051, 16.062, 16.063, 16.065, 16.067, 16.069, 16.072)
• Texas Finance Code, chapter 392 (§ 392.307, debt buyers and time-barred debt)
• Texas Business and Commerce Code, chapter 3 (§ 3.118, negotiable notes) and chapter 2 (§ 2.725, contracts for sale)
• Texas Property Code, chapter 51 (§ 51.003, foreclosure deficiencies)
• Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code, chapter 34 (§ 34.001, dormant judgments) and chapter 31 (§ 31.006, revival)
• Texas Rules of Civil Procedure (Rules 94, 99, 166a, 500.1, 502.5), Supreme Court of Texas
• 12 C.F.R. § 1006.26 (Regulation F, time-barred debts), eCFR
• 20 U.S.C. § 1091a (federal student loans), 15 U.S.C. § 1681c (credit reporting periods) and 15 U.S.C. § 1692k (FDCPA remedies and deadline), Legal Information Institute

General information, not legal advice for your case.