New Hampshire: Statute of Limitations on Debt Collection
The short answer
New Hampshire doesn't split contract debt by written versus oral, a single 3-year catch-all covers essentially every personal action not otherwise provided for, including an ordinary written or oral debt. A contract or judgment under seal instead gets 20 years, a negotiable promissory note gets 6 years under the UCC, and a goods-sale debt gets its own separate 4-year UCC period. New Hampshire has no statute letting a payment or acknowledgment restart the clock, that rule comes entirely from case law, and it's stricter than in many states: an acknowledgment must be more than a bare recognition of the debt, it must show the debtor is presently willing to pay it. New Hampshire is also one of the few states with no borrowing statute at all, so its own local period generally applies even to a debt that arose elsewhere. Once the deadline passes, that's only an ordinary defense the debtor has to raise, New Hampshire has no statute barring a collector from merely attempting to sue on a time-barred debt.
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This is the general rule in New Hampshire. Ezel applies current New Hampshire law to your specific facts and answers with citations to the statutes.
| Governing law | RSA 508:4 (general 3-year catch-all for personal actions), RSA 508:5 (20-year period for specialties and contracts under seal), RSA 382-A:3-118 (UCC, 6-year period for a negotiable promissory note), RSA 382-A:2-725 (UCC, 4-year period for a goods-sale contract); revival by acknowledgment or payment is common law, not a codified statute |
|---|---|
| Written contract/debt deadline | 3 years for an ordinary written debt, the same as an oral one: RSA 508:4, I's catch-all covers 'all personal actions... not otherwise provided by law,' with no separate longer period just for being in writing; a written contract UNDER SEAL is the exception, getting 20 years instead (RSA 508:5), and a negotiable promissory note gets its own separate 6-year UCC period (RSA 382-A:3-118) |
| Oral contract/open account deadline | 3 years, the identical period RSA 508:4 applies to a written (non-sealed, non-negotiable-instrument) debt: New Hampshire draws no distinction based on whether the debt is in writing |
| When the clock starts | Ordinarily the date of the breach or default: RSA 508:4's own text runs the 3-year period from 'the act or omission complained of'; for a negotiable note payable at a definite time, the current UCC rule runs from the stated due date (or the accelerated due date if accelerated); for a demand note, from the date demand is made, or after 10 years of no demand and no payment on the note at all (RSA 382-A:3-118) |
| Can a payment or promise restart the clock? | No New Hampshire statute governs this, it comes entirely from case law: a partial payment or other acknowledgment of liability can toll the limitations period if it implies a renewed promise to pay, but the acknowledgment must be more than a bare recognition that a debt exists, it must show an admission of liability for an unpaid debt that the debtor is THEN willing to pay (Premier Capital, Inc. v. Gallagher, 1999); a statement merely recognizing debt without expressing willingness to pay it does not toll the clock |
| Special rule for consumer debt | None: the same 3-year catch-all applies to consumer and commercial debt alike; New Hampshire has no separate, shorter (or longer) limitations period specifically for consumer-credit-transaction debt |
| Out-of-state debt | New Hampshire has no borrowing statute at all, one of a small number of states without one, so New Hampshire's own limitations periods generally apply to an action brought there even if the underlying debt arose in another state, without regard to whether the claim would already be time-barred where it arose |
| What expiration actually does | Ordinary affirmative defense only, which the debtor must plead; New Hampshire has no statute barring a collector from merely attempting to sue or otherwise collect on a time-barred debt |
Compare this rule across all 50 states + DC →
Requirements one by one
Governing law
New Hampshire's contract-debt deadline sits mainly in RSA Chapter 508
("Limitation of Actions"), RSA 508:4's catch-all sets the general
3-year period, and RSA 508:5 carves out a much longer 20-year period for
"actions of debt upon judgments, recognizances, and contracts under
seal." A negotiable promissory note and a goods-sale contract are pulled
out separately under the Uniform Commercial Code (RSA 382-A:3-118 and
382-A:2-725, respectively). Unlike many states, New Hampshire has no
standalone statute governing revival by acknowledgment or payment, and no
statute at all addressing debt that arose in another state.
How long you have on a written debt
3 years for an ordinary written debt, the same period as an oral one.
RSA 508:4's catch-all reaches "all personal actions... except as
otherwise provided by law," and being in writing alone doesn't move a
debt into a longer period. The real exception is a contract UNDER SEAL,
which gets 20 years under RSA 508:5, and a negotiable promissory note,
which gets its own separate 6-year period under the UCC.
How long you have on an oral or unwritten debt
Also 3 years, the identical period RSA 508:4 applies to a written,
non-sealed, non-negotiable-instrument debt. New Hampshire simply doesn't
draw a written-versus-oral line for ordinary contract debt.
When the clock starts
Ordinarily the date of the breach or default. RSA 508:4's own text runs
the 3-year period from "the act or omission complained of." For a
negotiable promissory note payable at a definite time, the clock runs
from that stated due date (or from an accelerated due date, if the note
is accelerated). For a demand note, the current UCC rule runs the clock
from the date demand for payment is actually made, or, if no demand is
ever made, the note becomes unenforceable once 10 continuous years pass
with neither principal nor interest paid.
Can a payment or promise restart the clock?
Yes, but through case law rather than a statute, and New Hampshire holds
debtors to a stricter standard than many states. A partial payment or
other acknowledgment of the debt can toll the limitations period if it
implies a renewed promise to pay, but New Hampshire's Supreme Court has
held that "an acknowledgment of debt must be more than a recognition of
debt; it must be an admission of liability for an unpaid debt that the
party is then willing to pay." A statement that simply recognizes a debt
exists, without also showing a present willingness to pay it, is not
enough to restart the clock.
Is there a special rule for consumer debt?
No. The same 3-year catch-all applies whether the debt is a personal
credit-card balance or a commercial contract; New Hampshire has no
separate limitations period specifically for consumer-credit-transaction
debt.
What if the debt originated in another state?
New Hampshire generally applies its own limitations periods regardless of
where the debt originated. Unlike most states, New Hampshire has no
borrowing statute at all, confirmed by both a federal appeals court
decision and a scholarly survey of state borrowing statutes, both
identifying New Hampshire as one of the states without one. That means a
debt already time-barred in the state where it arose can, in principle,
still be pursued in New Hampshire within New Hampshire's own period.
What actually happens once the deadline passes?
The ordinary default. Expiration of the limitations period is an
affirmative defense the debtor has to raise; it doesn't erase the
underlying debt. New Hampshire has no statute making it independently
unlawful merely to attempt suing or otherwise collecting on a time-barred
debt.
What trips people up
Because New Hampshire's revival rule demands an acknowledgment show a
PRESENT willingness to pay, not just a recognition that money is owed, a debtor who merely confirms an old balance on a financial statement or
in a status inquiry, without expressly agreeing to pay it, may not have
restarted the clock at all, even though a similar statement might count
in a state with a looser standard. And because New Hampshire has no
borrowing statute, someone who assumes a shorter out-of-state deadline
will automatically apply in New Hampshire could be surprised to find that
New Hampshire's own period controls instead.
Common questions
Does New Hampshire give more time for a written contract than an oral
one?
No, not for an ordinary debt, both get the same 3-year period. Only a
contract under seal (20 years) or a negotiable promissory note (6 years)
gets more time.
I made a payment on an old debt, did that restart the clock?
Possibly, but only if the payment or an accompanying statement showed you
were presently willing to pay the debt, a bare acknowledgment that a
debt once existed is not enough under New Hampshire case law.
Can a debt collector still sue me after the statute of limitations
runs?
New Hampshire law doesn't stop the filing itself, but you can raise the
expired deadline as a defense in court, and the suit should fail if you
do. There's no state law making the mere attempt illegal.
Does the deadline differ for credit card debt specifically?
No. New Hampshire applies the same 3-year catch-all to consumer
credit-card debt as to any other ordinary contract debt.
Statutes and sources
- RSA 508:4, "Except as otherwise provided by law, all personal
actions, except actions for slander or libel, may be brought only
within 3 years of the act or omission complained of...", https://gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/LII/508/508-4.htm (accessed 2026-07-09) - RSA 508:5, "Actions of debt upon judgments, recognizances, and
contracts under seal may be brought within 20 years after the cause of
action accrued, and not afterward.", https://gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/LII/508/508-5.htm (accessed 2026-07-09) - RSA 382-A:3-118, "An action to enforce the obligation of a party to
pay a note payable at a definite time must be commenced within six
years after the due date or dates stated in the note or, if a due date
is accelerated, within six years after the accelerated due date.", https://gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/XXXIV-A/382-A/382-A-3-118.htm
(accessed 2026-07-09) - RSA 382-A:2-725, "An action for breach of any contract for sale must
be commenced within four years after the cause of action has
accrued.", https://gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/XXXIV-A/382-A/382-A-2-725.htm
(accessed 2026-07-09)
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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