Statute of Limitations on Debt Collection in Washington

At a glance

Requirements one by one

Governing law

Washington's contract-debt deadlines live in RCW Title 4's chapter on limitation of actions: RCW 4.16.040 sets the period for written contracts, RCW 4.16.080(3) sets the period for oral or unwritten contracts, RCW 4.16.270 and RCW 4.16.280 govern revival by payment or acknowledgment, RCW 4.16.290 is the borrowing statute, and RCW 19.16.250(23), part of the Collection Agency Act, not the limitations chapter, separately bars a licensed collector from suing on a claim it knows is time-barred.

How long you have on a written debt

Six years, running from the date of breach. RCW 4.16.040(1) covers "an action upon a contract in writing, or liability express or implied arising out of a written agreement." A separate subsection, § 4.16.040(2), gives the same six years to "an action upon an account receivable", defined broadly as "any obligation for payment incurred in the ordinary course of the claimant's business or profession", so a running business account gets the full six years even before asking whether it's written.

How long you have on an oral or unwritten debt

Three years, half the written-contract period. RCW 4.16.080(3) covers "an action upon a contract or liability, express or implied, which is not in writing, and does not arise out of any written instrument," but it carves out an exception for the account-receivable rule in § 4.16.040(2): an unwritten account receivable still gets six years, not three.

When the clock starts

The date of breach or default, ordinarily the date of the first missed payment, not the date of the last payment received, and not the date a creditor decides to accelerate the full balance. The Washington Supreme Court confirmed this directly for installment debt in its 2023 companion opinions in Copper Creek (Marysville) Homeowners Association v. Kurtz and Merritt v. USAA Federal Savings Bank: the six-year period to collect a single missed installment starts running on the date that installment was missed, and a separate six-year period to collect the debt in full doesn't start until the debt is accelerated or fully matures. Many consumer-facing summaries describe the clock as starting from "the date of the last payment," which is only true in the narrow sense that a qualifying payment can restart the clock (see below), the underlying accrual trigger is still the missed payment, not the last one made.

Can a payment or promise restart the clock?

It depends on the form. RCW 4.16.270 lets a bare payment restart the clock by itself, with no writing needed, but only if the clock hasn't run out yet: "the limitation period shall restart from the time the most recent payment was made", and in the same breath, "any payment on the contract made after the limitation period has expired shall not restart, revive, or extend the limitation period." A verbal acknowledgment or promise to pay is treated differently and more strictly: RCW 4.16.280 requires it to be "contained in some writing signed by the party to be charged," and explicitly preserves § 4.16.270's payment rule alongside it ("this section shall not alter the effect of any payment of principal or interest"). Either way, the same hard line applies: nothing, payment or writing, can revive a claim whose clock has already fully run.

Is there a special rule for consumer debt?

No. Washington does not carve out a separate, shorter (or longer) limitations period specifically for consumer credit transactions. The same 6-year written / 3-year oral split applies whether the underlying debt is a personal credit card balance or a commercial contract.

What if the debt originated in another state?

Washington's borrowing statute, RCW 4.16.290, is narrower than the shape common in many other states. It only reaches a claim that "has arisen in another state, territory or country between nonresidents of this state", meaning it applies solely when both parties were nonresidents of Washington the entire time, and the foreign period had already run out. If either party has any Washington residency connection to the claim, § 4.16.290 doesn't apply at all, and Washington's own six-year/three-year periods control regardless of where the debt originated.

What actually happens once the deadline passes?

For most creditors, expiration is the ordinary common-law default: an affirmative defense the debtor has to raise, not an automatic bar. Nothing in RCW 4.16 itself stops a creditor from filing suit on a stale claim and hoping the debtor doesn't respond. But Washington layers a narrower, statute-based prohibition on top of that default for licensed collection agencies specifically: RCW 19.16.250(23) makes it unlawful for a licensee to "bring an action or initiate an arbitration proceeding on a claim when the licensee knows, or reasonably should know, that such suit or arbitration is barred by the applicable statute of limitations." That reaches collection agencies and debt buyers operating under a state license, not every original creditor.

What trips people up

A "goodwill" payment on an old account can quietly restart the clock even without any writing, because RCW 4.16.270 doesn't require the debtor to intend that result, it applies automatically to any payment made while the clock is still running. On the flip side, a phone call where someone merely admits owing the debt or promises to "take care of it" does not restart anything by itself; RCW 4.16.280 requires a signed writing for that. And because the borrowing statute only applies between two nonresidents, a debt that followed someone who moved to Washington from a state with a shorter deadline doesn't get any benefit from that shorter foreign period, once the debtor (or the creditor) has any Washington residency tie to the claim, Washington's own longer periods control.

Common questions

Does the 6-year or 3-year period apply to my credit card debt? Almost always 6 years. A credit card balance backed by a signed or electronically-accepted cardholder agreement falls under RCW 4.16.040(1)'s written-contract period, and even an unwritten running account can qualify for the same six years under the account-receivable rule in § 4.16.040(2).

I made a small payment on an old debt, did that restart the clock? Yes, if the clock hadn't already run out. RCW 4.16.270 restarts the six- or three-year period automatically from the date of that payment, with no writing or intent required. If the clock had already expired before the payment, the payment does nothing, it cannot revive an already-barred claim.

Can a debt collector still sue me after the statute of limitations runs? An original creditor generally can, and you would need to raise the expired deadline yourself as a defense in court. A licensed Washington collection agency or debt buyer is different: RCW 19.16.250(23) makes it a violation for a licensee to sue (or start arbitration) on a claim it knows, or should know, is already time-barred.

Does the debt just disappear once the time limit passes? No. The underlying debt still exists and can still be voluntarily paid or reported; what expires is the ability to force payment through a lawsuit.

Statutes and sources

• RCW 4.16.040, "The following actions shall be commenced within six years: (1) An action upon a contract in writing, or liability express or implied arising out of a written agreement... (2) An action upon an account receivable...", https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=4.16.040 (accessed 2026-07-09)
• RCW 4.16.080, "The following actions shall be commenced within three years: ... (3) Except as provided in RCW 4.16.040(2), an action upon a contract or liability, express or implied, which is not in writing, and does not arise out of any written instrument", https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=4.16.080 (accessed 2026-07-09)
• RCW 4.16.270, "When any payment has been or shall be made upon any existing contract prior to its applicable limitation period having expired ... the limitation period shall restart from the time the most recent payment was made. Any payment on the contract made after the limitation period has expired shall not restart, revive, or extend the limitation period.", https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=4.16.270 (accessed 2026-07-09)
• RCW 4.16.280, "No acknowledgment or promise shall be sufficient evidence of a new or continuing contract ... unless it is contained in some writing signed by the party to be charged thereby ... This section shall not alter the effect of any payment of principal or interest.", https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=4.16.280 (accessed 2026-07-09)
• RCW 4.16.290, "When the cause of action has arisen in another state, territory or country between nonresidents of this state ... no action shall be maintained thereon in this state.", https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=4.16.290 (accessed 2026-07-09)
• RCW 19.16.250, "No licensee or employee of a licensee shall: ... (23) Bring an action or initiate an arbitration proceeding on a claim when the licensee knows, or reasonably should know, that such suit or arbitration is barred by the applicable statute of limitations.", https://apps.leg.wa.gov/Rcw/default.aspx?cite=19.16.250 (accessed 2026-07-09)