Alaska gives creditors three years to sue on a contract, written or not, which puts it among the shortest periods in the country. A sealed instrument or a judgment gets ten. Alaska also spells out its restart rule plainly: a past-due payment starts the clock over from the date of that payment.
The deadlines, and where each one is written
| What is being collected | Deadline to file suit | Statute |
|---|---|---|
| A contract or liability, express or implied | 3 years | AS 09.10.053 |
| A sealed instrument | 10 years | AS 09.10.040(a) |
| A judgment of a court of the United States or of a state or territory | 10 years | AS 09.10.040(a) |
| A note payable at a definite time (commercial code) | 6 years after the due date or accelerated due date | AS 45.03.118(a) |
Section 09.10.053 says: “Unless the action is commenced within three years, a person may not bring an action upon a contract or liability, express or implied, except as provided in AS 09.10.040, or as otherwise provided by law, or, except if the provisions of this section are waived by contract.”
The phrase “or as otherwise provided by law” matters. Alaska’s commercial code gives six years on “a note payable at a definite time” in AS 45.03.118(a), so a loan documented by a negotiable promissory note may carry six years rather than three. The statutes do not say which consumer loans count as such a note.
Three years or six? The code does not name credit cards
Chapter 09.10 never mentions credit cards. A card balance is a contract liability, which points to the three-year rule in AS 09.10.053. A creditor arguing for six years would need to show the debt is on a note covered by AS 45.03.118.
What this means in practice: for an ordinary Alaska credit card or account, the code points to three years. The bigger question in Alaska is usually not the starting deadline but whether a later payment restarted it.
When the clock starts, and what pauses it
For one kind of account the code sets the start date. Under AS 09.10.110, on “a mutual, open, and current account where there have been reciprocal demands between the parties, the cause of action accrues from the date of the last item proved in the account on either side,” but items separated by more than one year “are not included as part of the account.”
Under AS 09.10.130, if the debtor is “out of the state or concealed in the state” when the claim accrues, the period runs from the person’s return or the end of the concealment, and time spent away or concealed afterward does not count.
What restarts the clock in Alaska
Two sections work together. The first, AS 09.10.210, is direct:
When a past due payment of principal or interest is made upon any evidence of indebtedness, the running of the time within which an action may be commenced starts from the time the last payment is made.
The second, AS 09.10.200, covers words rather than money. No acknowledgment or promise is enough “to take the case out of the operation of this chapter unless the acknowledgment or promise is contained in writing, signed by the party to be charged,” and the section adds that it “does not alter the effect of any payment of principal or interest.”
So in Alaska a signed written acknowledgment or promise can restart the clock, a spoken one cannot, and a past-due payment restarts it by statute. The code does not say whether a payment made after the three years have already run revives a debt that was barred, as opposed to restarting one still within its period.
Debts from other states
Under AS 09.10.220, when a claim “has arisen in another state or in a territory or foreign country between nonresidents of this state,” and it can no longer be brought there because of the lapse of time, it “may not be maintained in this state.”
How often Alaska consumers report collection problems
Alaska consumers filed 249 debt collection complaints with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in the 12 months ending October 7, 2026, which is 0.1% of the 316,737 filed nationwide and ranks 48th among reporting states.
Of those, 43, or 17% of the Alaska total, were categorized as a collector taking or threatening to take negative or legal action, against 25% nationally.
These are raw complaint counts, not rates. They are not adjusted for population, and a complaint is an allegation the CFPB has published, not a finding that a company broke the law. The figures refresh weekly from the CFPB’s public database.
If you are sued on a debt you believe is too old
The statute of limitations is a defense you have to raise in your answer. A person who does not respond to an Alaska collection suit can lose by default, and an Alaska judgment can be enforced for years afterward.
Two Alaska-specific things to check: the date of your last payment, since AS 09.10.210 restarts the clock from it; and whether the creditor claims a signed writing in which you acknowledged the debt or promised to pay. Court deadlines are short, so this is a point at which speaking with an Alaska attorney or a legal aid organization is worth the call.
How Alaska compares
The same question gets a different answer a state line away. These are the closest comparisons to Alaska:
- Washington: six years, and nothing revives a debt once the period runs
- Oregon: six years written or oral, and suing on expired debt is unlawful
- Hawaii: six years, or four if the claim arose outside Hawaii
The full comparison table covers every state we have published.
Sources and verification
Statutes quoted from the Alaska Statutes as published by the Alaska State Legislature, Title 9, Chapter 10 (Limitations of Actions), and AS 45.03.118. Provisions cited: AS 09.10.040, 09.10.053, 09.10.110, 09.10.130, 09.10.200, 09.10.210, 09.10.220, and 45.03.118; we reviewed the full text of Chapter 09.10. Text retrieved October 2, 2026. Complaint data: CFPB Consumer Complaint Database, filtered to the Debt collection product and the Alaska state field over a rolling 12-month window, re-queried weekly by this site. Our data sources and update policy lists every figure on this site that refreshes automatically and how often.
This page explains what the Alaska statutes say. It is general information, not legal advice. It does not say which consumer loans are notes under AS 45.03.118, or whether a payment made after the period expires revives a barred debt, because the statutes do not answer those questions.
Frequently asked questions
What is the statute of limitations on debt in Alaska?
Three years for an action upon a contract or liability, express or implied, under AS 09.10.053. A sealed instrument or a judgment carries ten years under AS 09.10.040, and a note payable at a definite time carries six years under AS 45.03.118(a).
Does a payment restart the statute of limitations in Alaska?
Yes. Under AS 09.10.210, when a past due payment of principal or interest is made on any evidence of indebtedness, the time to sue starts again from the last payment.
Does an acknowledgment have to be in writing in Alaska?
Yes. AS 09.10.200 provides that an acknowledgment or promise must be in writing and signed by the party to be charged to take a case out of the limitations chapter. A spoken promise is not enough.
Is Alaska credit card debt three years?
The code does not name credit cards. A card balance is a contract liability, which points to the three-year rule in AS 09.10.053. Six years would apply only if the debt is on a note covered by AS 45.03.118.