Statute of Limitations on Debt Collection in Wyoming
At a glance
| Governing law | W.S. § 1-3-105(a)(i) (10-year period for a specialty or any contract, agreement, or promise in writing); § 1-3-105(a)(ii)(A) (8-year period for a contract not in writing, express or implied); § 1-3-105(a)(iii) (a 5-year period, measured from Wyoming residency, for a foreign claim or contract that accrued before the debtor moved to Wyoming); § 1-3-117 (borrowing statute: a claim already barred where it arose is barred in Wyoming too); § 1-3-119 (payment or signed written promise restarts the clock) |
|---|---|
| Written contract/debt deadline | 10 years: W.S. § 1-3-105(a)(i) covers 'a specialty or any contract, agreement or promise in writing.' A sale-of-goods contract instead has a 4-year period under § 34.1-2-725. A note payable at a definite time generally has 6 years from its stated or accelerated due date under § 34.1-3-118(a) |
| Oral contract/open account deadline | 8 years: W.S. § 1-3-105(a)(ii)(A) sets a separate, shorter period for 'a contract not in writing, either express or implied.' This is a real 2-year gap from the 10-year written-contract period, a sharper written/oral distinction than most states surveyed so far |
| When the clock starts | §§ 1-3-102 and 1-3-105 run the applicable period after the cause of action accrues but do not define accrual for an ordinary contract claim. Section 1-3-106 expressly delays accrual until discovery for wrongful taking of personal property and fraud |
| Can a payment or promise restart the clock? | W.S. § 1-3-119 states that when payment has been made on a contract demand, or there is a written acknowledgment or a promise to pay made and signed by the person charged, the time for suit runs from the payment, acknowledgment, or promise |
| Special rule for consumer debt | None found: the Wyoming Uniform Consumer Credit Code (W.S. Title 40, Chapter 14) regulates consumer credit sales, loans, and insurance charges in detail, but no section sets a distinct limitations PERIOD specifically for consumer-credit-transaction debt; the general written/oral split in § 1-3-105 applies to consumer and commercial debt alike |
| Out-of-state debt | Wyoming layers two separate provisions here, unlike most states' single rule. First, § 1-3-117 is a classic, unqualified borrowing statute with NO resident exception: 'If by the laws of the state or country where the cause of action arose the action is barred, it is also barred in this state.' Second, and separately, § 1-3-105(a)(iii) sets its own 5-year period, but measured from when 'the debtor establishes residence in Wyoming', for 'an action on a foreign claim, judgment or contract... contracted or incurred and accrued before the debtor became a resident of Wyoming.' That second rule isn't a borrowing statute in the usual sense (it doesn't import a shorter foreign period); it's an independent Wyoming-law deadline pegged to the date someone who owes an out-of-state debt moves to Wyoming |
| What expiration actually does | W.S. §§ 1-3-102 and 1-3-105 state that civil actions can only be commenced within the prescribed periods after accrual; § 1-3-117 likewise makes a claim barred where it arose barred in Wyoming |
Requirements one by one
Governing law
Wyoming's contract-debt deadline lives in Title 1 ("Code of Civil Procedure"), Chapter 3 ("Limitation of Actions"). Section 1-3-105(a)(i) sets a 10-year period for a written contract, agreement, or promise (or a "specialty," the old common-law term for a sealed instrument). Section 1-3-105(a)(ii)(A) sets a shorter 8-year period for a contract that isn't in writing. Section 1-3-105(a)(iii) adds a special, residency-triggered period for a foreign debt. Section 1-3-117 is Wyoming's borrowing statute. And section 1-3-119 governs whether a payment or a signed promise can restart the clock.
How long you have on a written debt
10 years. Section 1-3-105(a)(i) covers "a specialty or any contract, agreement or promise in writing." Wyoming genuinely distinguishes this from an oral debt, unlike many states already built in this survey. A contract for the sale of goods instead follows the UCC's separate 4-year period (W.S. § 34.1-2-725). A note payable at a definite time generally has 6 years from its stated or accelerated due date under W.S. § 34.1-3-118(a).
How long you have on an oral or unwritten debt
8 years, a real 2-year gap shorter than the written-contract period. Section 1-3-105(a)(ii)(A) covers "a contract not in writing, either express or implied." Wyoming's written-versus-oral split is sharper here than in most states surveyed so far, where the two periods are either identical or differ by less.
When the clock starts
Sections 1-3-102 and 1-3-105 start the period after "the cause of action accrues," without defining that moment for an ordinary contract claim. Section 1-3-106 expressly delays accrual until discovery for two claim types: wrongful taking of personal property and fraud.
Can a payment or promise restart the clock?
Section 1-3-119 covers payment, written acknowledgment, and a promise to pay made and signed by the person charged. It states that "the time for commencing an action runs from the date of such payment, acknowledgment or promise."
Is there a special rule for consumer debt?
No. The Wyoming Uniform Consumer Credit Code (W.S. Title 40, Chapter 14) regulates consumer credit sales, loans, and related disclosures in detail, but no section there sets a distinct limitations period specifically for consumer-credit-transaction debt. The general written/oral split in section 1-3-105 applies to consumer and commercial debt alike.
What if the debt originated in another state?
Two separate rules can apply. First, section 1-3-117 is a classic borrowing statute with no resident exception: if the claim is already time-barred under the law of the state or country where it arose, it's barred in Wyoming too, full stop. Second, and independently, section 1-3-105(a)(iii) caps a foreign claim or contract that accrued before someone became a Wyoming resident at 5 years after that person establishes residence here, a separate deadline, not a shorter-of-two- periods comparison, that runs from the date of the move rather than from the date the debt was incurred.
What actually happens once the deadline passes?
Sections 1-3-102 and 1-3-105 say civil actions can only be commenced within the applicable prescribed period after accrual. Section 1-3-117 also bars a claim in Wyoming when it is barred where it arose.
What trips people up
Wyoming's two out-of-state-debt rules can point in different directions and it's easy to check only one of them: section 1-3-117 asks whether the claim is ALREADY barred where it arose (irrelevant to Wyoming residency), while section 1-3-105(a)(iii) asks a completely different question, how long has it been since the debtor moved to Wyoming. A debt could survive one test and fail the other, so both need checking. Separately, Wyoming's sharper written-versus-oral gap (10 years versus 8) makes the classification question, was this debt ever reduced to a signed writing, more consequential here than in states where the two periods are the same or nearly so.
Common questions
Does Wyoming give more time to sue on a written contract than an oral one? Yes, 10 years for a written contract, agreement, or promise, versus 8 years for an oral or implied one. This is a real, meaningful gap, unlike several states in this survey that treat the two the same.
I made a payment on an old debt, did that restart the clock? Yes. Section 1-3-119 restarts the full period from the date of a payment made on the debt, with no signed writing required for the payment itself.
What does the statute say after the period runs? Sections 1-3-102 and 1-3-105 say the action can only be commenced within the applicable period. The facts and governing claim determine which period applies and when it accrued.
My debt originated in a state with a shorter deadline than Wyoming's, does that shorter period apply here? Possibly, through two different routes: if the debt is already time-barred under the law of the state where it arose, section 1-3-117 bars it in Wyoming too. Separately, if you're the debtor and moved to Wyoming after the debt was incurred, section 1-3-105(a)(iii) gives the creditor only 5 years from your Wyoming residency date, regardless of either state's general contract period.
Statutes and sources
- W.S. § 1-3-105, "(a) Civil actions other than for the recovery of real property can only be brought within the following periods after the cause of action accrues: (i) Within ten (10) years, an action upon a specialty or any contract, agreement or promise in writing; (ii) Within eight (8) years, an action: (A) Upon a contract not in writing, either express or implied... (iii) Within five (5) years after the debtor establishes residence in Wyoming, an action on a foreign claim, judgment or contract, express or implied, contracted or incurred and accrued before the debtor became a resident of Wyoming;", https://wyoleg.gov/statutes/compress/title01.pdf (accessed 2026-08-09)
- W.S. § 1-3-117, "If by the laws of the state or country where the cause of action arose the action is barred, it is also barred in this state.", https://wyoleg.gov/statutes/compress/title01.pdf (accessed 2026-08-09)
- W.S. § 1-3-119, "When payment has been made upon any demand founded on contract or a written acknowledgment thereof, or promise to pay the same has been made and signed by the party to be charged, the time for commencing an action runs from the date of such payment, acknowledgment or promise.", https://wyoleg.gov/statutes/compress/title01.pdf (accessed 2026-08-09)
- W.S. § 1-3-102, "Civil actions can only be commenced within the periods prescribed in this chapter, after the cause of action accrues, but where a different limitation is prescribed by statute, that shall govern.", https://wyoleg.gov/statutes/compress/title01.pdf (accessed 2026-08-09)
- W.S. § 1-3-106, discovery accrual applies to wrongful taking of personal property and fraud., https://wyoleg.gov/statutes/compress/title01.pdf (accessed 2026-08-09)
- W.S. § 34.1-2-725, a sale-of-goods action generally must be commenced within 4 years after accrual, and the parties may reduce that period to no less than 1 year but may not extend it., https://wyoleg.gov/statutes/compress/title34.1.pdf (accessed 2026-08-09)
- W.S. § 34.1-3-118, a note payable at a definite time generally has a 6-year period from its stated or accelerated due date; the section sets separate rules for demand notes and other instruments., https://wyoleg.gov/statutes/compress/title34.1.pdf (accessed 2026-08-09)
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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