The District of Columbia gives creditors three years to sue on consumer debt, and since 2021 that rule applies no matter how the claim is labeled, even to a contract under seal. Once the three years run out, no payment or promise extends them, and a debt collector, which in D.C. includes the original creditor, may not file suit.
The deadlines, and where each one is written
| What is being collected | Deadline to file suit | Statute |
|---|---|---|
| Any action to collect a consumer debt commenced on or after September 1, 2021, whatever its legal basis | 3 years from accrual | D.C. Code § 28-3814(o) |
| A simple contract, express or implied | 3 years | D.C. Code § 12-301(a)(7) |
| An action for which a limitation is not otherwise specially prescribed | 3 years | D.C. Code § 12-301(a)(8) |
| A bond, single bill, covenant, or other instrument under seal (outside the consumer debt rule) | 12 years | D.C. Code § 12-301(a)(6) |
The general limitations statute, § 12-301, already gave three years on “a simple contract, express or implied.” The consumer rule in § 28-3814(o) goes further:
Any action for the collection of a consumer debt that is commenced on or after September 1, 2021, shall only be commenced within 3 years of accrual. This period shall apply whether the legal basis of the claim sounds in contract, account stated, open account, or other cause, and notwithstanding the provisions of any other statute of limitations unless that statute provides for a shorter limitations period. This time period also applies to contracts under seal.
“Consumer debt” is defined in § 28-3814(b)(2) as money owed that is more than 30 days past due “as a result of a purchase, lease, or loan of goods, services, or real or personal property for personal, family, medical, or household purposes.” It “does not include an extension of credit secured by a mortgage,” and § 28-3814(a) also excludes “a loan directly secured on real estate or a direct motor vehicle installment loan covered by Chapter 36.”
Credit cards
The D.C. Code does not use the words “credit card” in setting the deadline, but it does not need to. Because § 28-3814(o) applies to any consumer debt “whether the legal basis of the claim sounds in contract, account stated, open account, or other cause,” a personal credit card balance gets three years.
What this means in practice: for a personal credit card, personal loan, or medical bill in D.C., the deadline is three years from accrual, and the usual arguments about written versus oral contracts do not change it.
When the clock starts, and what pauses it
The statute runs the three years from “accrual” and does not define it for a card or loan. For a revolving account, § 28-3814(m)(1)(D) does set one related date: the debt collector must have documentation of “the date that the consumer debt was incurred,” which for a revolving account “shall be the date of the most recent purchase, payment, balance transfer, or last extension of credit.” That is a documentation requirement, not an accrual rule, and the code does not say whether courts use it to measure the deadline.
Under § 12-303, when a D.C. resident is out of the District, or has “absconded or concealed himself,” at the time the claim accrues, the period does not begin to run until the person returns, and later absconding or concealment is not counted. Section 28-3814(aa)(4) also pauses “[a]ny statute of limitations on any collection lawsuit” during a public health emergency “and for 60 days thereafter.”
What restarts the clock: nothing, once it has run
Section 28-3814(l) is direct:
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, when the applicable statute of limitations period for an action to collect consumer debt has expired, any subsequent payment toward or written or oral affirmation of such consumer debt shall not extend the limitations period.
So after three years, a payment, a signed letter, or a phone call agreeing that you owe the debt does not give the creditor a new period. The section speaks to payments and affirmations made after the period has expired. It does not say what effect a payment made before the three years are up has, and the general limitations chapter does not address that either.
Suing on expired debt is prohibited
Among the unfair or deceptive practices listed in § 28-3814(f) is “initiating a cause of action to collect a consumer debt when the debt collector knows or reasonably should know that the applicable statute of limitations period has expired.” In D.C., “debt collector” is defined in § 28-3814(b)(5) to include “an original creditor or debt buyer engaging directly or indirectly in debt collection,” so the rule reaches a bank suing on its own card account, not only third-party collectors.
When a debt collector does sue, § 28-3814(q) requires the complaint to include, among other things, a copy of the signed contract or other evidence of the debt and a statement “[t]hat the suit is filed within the applicable statute of limitations period.”
How often District of Columbia consumers report collection problems
District of Columbia consumers filed 639 debt collection complaints with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in the 12 months ending October 7, 2026, which is 0.2% of the 316,737 filed nationwide and ranks 39th among reporting states.
Of those, 112, or 18% of the District of Columbia 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
Even where suing is prohibited, the deadline is a defense you have to raise. A person who does not respond to a D.C. collection suit can still have a default judgment entered against them.
Two D.C.-specific things to check: whether the complaint attaches the documents and states the information § 28-3814(q) requires, including that the suit is within the limitations period; and the date the debt accrued, measured against three years. Court deadlines are short, so this is a point at which speaking with a D.C. attorney or a legal aid organization is worth the call. The law requires a collector’s complaint to include phone numbers for civil legal service providers in debt collection cases.
How District of Columbia compares
The same question gets a different answer a state line away. These are the closest comparisons to District of Columbia:
- Maryland: next door, three years, and suing on expired consumer debt is barred
- Virginia: next door, five years on a signed writing and three otherwise
- Delaware: three years on most debt, six on a note or signed acknowledgment
The full comparison table covers every state we have published.
Sources and verification
Statutes quoted from the Code of the District of Columbia as published by the D.C. Council: Title 12, Chapter 3 (§§ 12-301 and 12-303) and § 28-3814 (Debt collection). The notes to § 28-3814 state that the amendments made by D.C. Law 24-154 apply as of January 1, 2023, and that a later amendment by D.C. Law 26-172 (listed in the section history as August 20, 2026) has not been implemented because it is subject to funding in an approved budget. We did not review the content of that pending amendment. Text retrieved October 2, 2026. Complaint data: CFPB Consumer Complaint Database, filtered to the Debt collection product and the District of Columbia 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 D.C. Code says. It is general information, not legal advice. It does not define when a consumer debt “accrues,” or say what effect a payment made before the period expires has, because the code does not.
Frequently asked questions
What is the statute of limitations on debt in Washington, D.C.?
Three years. Under D.C. Code § 28-3814(o), any action to collect a consumer debt commenced on or after September 1, 2021 must be brought within three years of accrual, whatever the legal basis of the claim, and the rule also applies to contracts under seal.
Can a payment restart the statute of limitations in D.C.?
Not after it has expired. Under D.C. Code § 28-3814(l), once the limitations period for an action to collect consumer debt has expired, any later payment or written or oral affirmation of the debt does not extend it.
Can a creditor sue on a time-barred debt in D.C.?
No. D.C. Code § 28-3814(f)(10) makes it an unfair or deceptive practice for a debt collector to initiate a lawsuit on a consumer debt when it knows or reasonably should know the limitations period has expired, and D.C. defines debt collector to include original creditors and debt buyers.
Does the D.C. three-year rule cover credit cards?
Yes, for personal credit cards. The rule in § 28-3814(o) applies to any consumer debt whether the claim sounds in contract, account stated, open account, or other cause. Debt secured by a mortgage and certain motor vehicle installment loans are excluded from the section.