Statute of Limitations on Debt Collection in Colorado

At a glance

Requirements one by one

Governing law

Colorado's general contract provision is § 13-80-101(1)(a), which requires contract actions to be commenced within 3 years after accrual unless § 13-80-103.5 provides otherwise. Section 13-80-103.5(1)(a) supplies the 6-year provision for a liquidated debt, an unliquidated but determinable amount of money, and specified debt-evidencing or debt-securing instruments.

How long you have on a written debt

The statutory text does not create a written-contract period. A written claim that seeks a liquidated debt or an unliquidated but determinable amount falls within § 13-80-103.5(1)(a)'s 6-year rule; another contract action generally falls within § 13-80-101(1)(a)'s 3-year rule.

How long you have on an oral or unwritten debt

The same provisions apply without creating a separate oral-contract period. The statutory question is whether the action fits the debt or determinable- amount language of § 13-80-103.5(1)(a), not whether the agreement is oral.

When the clock starts

Section 13-80-108(4) says a claim for debt, obligation, money owed, or performance accrues when it becomes due. Section 13-80-108(5) adds a specific rule for an open account for goods or services: accrual occurs at the time of the last item proved in the account. Section 13-80-108(6) separately uses a discovery-based rule for a cause of action for breach of an express or implied contract, agreement, warranty, or trust.

Can a payment or promise restart the clock?

Section 13-80-113 requires an acknowledgment or promise to be signed in writing before it can serve as evidence of a new or continuing contract that takes the case outside the limitations statute. The same section preserves the effect of a principal or interest payment. Section 13-80-115 likewise preserves a payment's effect but says an endorsement or memorandum written by or for the payee is not sufficient proof of payment.

Is there a special rule for consumer debt?

Section 13-80-101(1)(g) puts Uniform Consumer Credit Code claims in the 3-year list except for § 5-5-201(5). Section 5-5-201 separately gives consumers remedies for specified violations and sets 2-year or 1-year deadlines for certain consumer actions. Those deadlines do not state a different period for the creditor's action on the underlying debt.

What if the debt originated in another state?

Section 13-80-101(1)(k), within the 3-year list, covers actions accruing outside Colorado when the limitations period at the place of accrual is greater than Colorado's. The separate 6-year statute, § 13-80-103.5, does not repeat that foreign-accrual language.

What actually happens once the deadline passes?

Sections 13-80-101(1) and 13-80-103.5(1) both say the covered action must be commenced within the stated period after accrual and not thereafter. Section 5-5-201(4), in the Consumer Credit Code, separately states that a violation of that code generally does not impair rights on a debt.

What trips people up

Writing alone does not select the period. The 6-year provision turns on a liquidated debt or a determinable amount, while the 3-year provision covers contract actions not otherwise placed in § 13-80-103.5. For payments, a creditor's endorsement or memorandum is not by itself sufficient proof under § 13-80-115.

Common questions

Does a signed agreement automatically get 6 years? No. Section 13-80-103.5(1)(a) asks whether the action recovers a liquidated debt or an unliquidated but determinable amount; § 13-80-101(1)(a) supplies the general 3-year contract period when the 6-year section does not apply.

I made a small payment on an old debt, did that restart the clock? Sections 13-80-113 and 13-80-115 preserve a payment's effect separately from the signed-writing rule for an acknowledgment or promise. Section 13-80-115 also limits what counts as sufficient proof of payment.

Do § 5-5-201's 1-year and 2-year periods replace the contract deadline? No. Those periods govern specified consumer claims over Consumer Credit Code violations. They do not state the creditor's deadline to sue on the debt.

Statutes and sources

• Colo. Rev. Stat. § 13-80-101(1)(a) sets a 3-year period after accrual for contract actions, including personal contracts and Uniform Commercial Code actions, unless § 13-80-103.5 provides otherwise., https://olls.info/crs/crs2025-title-13.pdf (accessed 2026-08-12)
• Colo. Rev. Stat. § 13-80-101(1)(k), "All actions accruing outside this state if the limitation of actions of the place where the cause of action accrued is greater than that of this state.", https://olls.info/crs/crs2025-title-13.pdf (accessed 2026-08-12)
• Colo. Rev. Stat. § 13-80-103.5(1)(a), "All actions to recover a liquidated debt or an unliquidated, determinable amount of money due to the person bringing the action ... shall be commenced within six years after the cause of action accrues.", https://olls.info/crs/crs2025-title-13.pdf (accessed 2026-08-12)
• Colo. Rev. Stat. § 13-80-108(4), "A cause of action for debt, obligation, money owed, or performance shall be considered to accrue on the date such debt, obligation, money owed, or performance becomes due.", https://olls.info/crs/crs2025-title-13.pdf (accessed 2026-08-12)
• Colo. Rev. Stat. § 13-80-108(5), "A cause of action for balance due on an open account for goods or services shall accrue at the time of the last item of goods or services proved in such account.", https://olls.info/crs/crs2025-title-13.pdf (accessed 2026-08-12)
• Colo. Rev. Stat. § 13-80-108(6), "A cause of action for breach of any express or implied contract, agreement, warranty, or trust shall be considered to accrue on the date the breach is discovered or should have been discovered by the exercise of reasonable diligence.", https://olls.info/crs/crs2025-title-13.pdf (accessed 2026-08-12)
• Colo. Rev. Stat. § 13-80-113, "No acknowledgment or promise shall be evidence of a new or continuing contract ... unless it is in writing signed by the party to be charged; but this section shall not alter the effect of a payment of principal or interest.", https://olls.info/crs/crs2025-title-13.pdf (accessed 2026-08-12)
• Colo. Rev. Stat. § 13-80-115, "Nothing in this article shall alter, take away, or lessen the effect of a payment of any principal or interest made by any person ...", https://olls.info/crs/crs2025-title-13.pdf (accessed 2026-08-12)
• Colo. Rev. Stat. § 5-5-201, "With respect to violations arising from consumer credit transactions made pursuant to revolving credit accounts, no action pursuant to this subsection (1) may be brought more than two years after the violation occurred. With respect to violations arising from other consumer credit transactions, no action pursuant to this subsection (1) may be brought more than one year after the due date of the last scheduled payment of the agreement with respect to which the violation occurred. ... Except as otherwise provided, no violation of this code impairs rights on a debt.", https://olls.info/crs/crs2025-title-05.pdf (accessed 2026-08-12)