Statute Of Limitation For Debts (Illinois)

(Contracts, medical bills, repossession, credit cards, purchases, etc.)

Creditors can pursue individuals for a limited period of time. This article sets out some of the more common time limits:

  1. In general, written contracts (see footnote)1: 10 years
  2. Oral contracts: 5 years
  3. Sale of goods (automobiles, furniture, natural gas): 4 years
  4. Store Credit: 4 years
  5. Credit cards in Illinois: 5 years
  6. Bad check penalties: 2 years
  7. Checks other than bad debt penalties: 3 years
  8. Money judgments: 7 years but can be revived up to a total of 27 years.
  9. Parking tickets and red light tickets: does not seem to have any time limit.

THE TIME WHEN THE STATUTE STARTS AND WHEN IT ENDS

  1. The time to start the clock is the later of the date of last payment or from the date of default.
  2. The statute of limitation is NOT restarted: if responding to a collection letter and disputing the debt.
  3. The statute of limitation is NOT restarted when a Debt Buyer attempts to collect.

Attempting to collect a time-barred debt MAY violate the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, if:

  • a settlement or payment plan is offered, or
  • if the attempt is misleading,
  • Contact a consumer attorney and have them review the letters you received. This should not cost you anything.
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