Credit cards debts have limitations just like other types.

Time

All states have laws stating the legal statue of limitations on debts of various types. The exact time frame varies from state to state. Some states have statutes of limitations as low as 3 years, while one allows a full decade before it is removed from your responsibility.

Legalities

Many people do not realize that there is a legal statute of limitations on credit card debt. In fact, there is a time limit for all forms of debt. After the statute of limitations has expired in your state, you cannot be held legally responsible for your debts. This only means that the debtor cannot take you to court on the issue; it does not mean you can no longer choose to repay it. Collection agencies are legally required to follow certain procedures when attempting to collect debts; one of these standards is that they cannot threaten legal proceedings after the statute of limitations has run out. This is required by the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. This act is federal law; it is the same regardless of the state in which you reside. Also, it should be noted that not being present in the same state is not considered a viable excuse for violating these procedures. This is why many good collection agencies will not mention litigation regarding delinquent accounts at all—it is simply too difficult to keep the different statutes straight.

Credit:

Although you cannot be legally forced to pay a delinquent debt past statute, it does not disappear. It will likely still be on record with the debt holder. More importantly to most people, it will still appear as delinquent on your credit rating for another 5-7 years AFTER the statute runs out. Debts that severely delinquent can damage your credit rating heavily.

Individual States:

As of October 2006, each state had the following statutes of limitations: for Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Virginia, and Washington each have 3 years. California, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, and Utah all have 4 year limits. Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri, and West Virginia have 5 year statutes, while Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Indiana, Michigan, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Vermont, and Wisconsin have 6 year limits. Wyoming has an 8 year statute, while Rhode Island has a full 10 years before you are no longer responsible.

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