Montana gives creditors six years to sue on a written contract and five years on an account or a promise that is not in writing. The six-year figure is new: until a 2025 law took effect, a written contract carried eight. Older sources may still say eight. For a lawsuit filed on or after October 1, 2025, the statute says six.
The deadlines, and where each one is written
| What is being collected | Deadline to file suit | Statute |
|---|---|---|
| A contract, covenant, obligation, or liability founded on an instrument in writing | 6 years (8 years for suits filed before October 1, 2025) | MCA 27-2-202(1); Ch. 174, L. 2025 |
| A contract, account, or promise not founded on an instrument in writing | 5 years | MCA 27-2-202(2) |
| Another obligation or liability not founded on an instrument in writing | 3 years | MCA 27-2-202(3) |
| A judgment of a court of record of the United States or any state | 10 years | MCA 27-2-201(1) |
Section 27-2-202(1) now reads: “The period prescribed for the commencement of an action on any contract, covenant, obligation, or liability founded on an instrument in writing is within 6 years.” The change came from Senate Bill 143, enacted as Chapter 174, Laws of 2025, which struck “8” and inserted “6.” Its applicability section says the act applies to actions “on any contract, covenant, obligation, or liability founded on an instrument in writing that are filed on or after October 1, 2025.”
On its face, the act turns on the date the suit is filed, not the date the debt arose, so a suit filed today on a written contract is measured against six years. A suit filed before October 1, 2025 was measured against eight.
Six years or five? It depends on the writing
Chapter 27-2 does not mention credit cards. The difference between six and five years turns on whether the claim is “founded on an instrument in writing” or is “a contract, account, or promise not founded on an instrument in writing.” The code does not say which side of that line a credit card account falls on.
What this means in practice: the gap in Montana is one year. A creditor relying on six years should be able to show the written instrument its claim is founded on. If it can only show an account history, the five-year rule for an “account” not founded on a writing may be the better fit. That is for a court to decide on the facts.
When the clock starts, and what pauses it
Under MCA 27-2-102(1)(a), a claim accrues “when all elements of the claim or cause exist or have occurred,” and under 27-2-102(1)(b) an action is commenced “when the complaint is filed.” For one kind of account there is a special rule: under 27-2-302, on “a mutual, open, and current account where there have been reciprocal demands between the parties,” the claim accrues “from the time of the last item proved in the account on either side.”
Under 27-2-402, if the debtor is out of the state “and cannot be served with process” when the claim accrues, the period runs from the person’s return, and later absence while the person cannot be served does not count.
What restarts the clock in Montana
Montana answers the question directly, in MCA 27-2-409:
(1) An acknowledgment or the part payment of a debt is sufficient evidence to cause the relevant statute of limitations to begin running anew.
(2) An acknowledgment must be contained in some writing signed by the party to be charged thereby.
(3) Part payment is any payment of principal or interest.
So any payment, of principal or interest, starts the period over. An acknowledgment does the same only if it is in a writing you signed. The section does not say whether it applies to a debt whose period has already run.
Debts from other states
Montana has adopted the Uniform Conflict of Laws-Limitations Act. Under MCA 27-2-503, if a claim “is substantively based upon the law of one other state, the limitation period of that state applies,” subject to an unfairness exception in 27-2-505. Section 27-2-104 sends claims against people who were not Montana residents when the claim accrued to that part of the code.
How often Montana consumers report collection problems
Montana consumers filed 265 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 47th among reporting states.
Of those, 41, or 15% of the Montana 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 a Montana collection suit can lose by default, and a judgment carries its own ten-year period under MCA 27-2-201.
Three Montana-specific things to check: the filing date, since a written-contract suit filed on or after October 1, 2025 gets six years rather than eight; whether the creditor can show a written instrument; and the date of your last payment, which restarts the clock under 27-2-409. Court deadlines are short, so this is a point at which speaking with a Montana attorney or a legal aid organization is worth the call.
How Montana compares
The same question gets a different answer a state line away. These are the closest comparisons to Montana:
- Idaho: next door, five years written and four unwritten
- North Dakota: next door, six years written or not
- Minnesota: six years on consumer debt, and nothing revives it
The full comparison table covers every state we have published.
Sources and verification
Statutes quoted from the Montana Code Annotated 2025 as published by the Montana Legislature, Title 27, Chapter 2 (Statutes of Limitations), and from the enrolled text of SB 143 (Ch. 174, L. 2025). Provisions cited: MCA 27-2-102, 27-2-104, 27-2-201, 27-2-202, 27-2-302, 27-2-402, 27-2-409, 27-2-503, and 27-2-505. The history note for 27-2-202 lists the 2025 amendment. The Legislature notes that the printed code prevails over the online version if they differ. Text retrieved October 2, 2026. Complaint data: CFPB Consumer Complaint Database, filtered to the Debt collection product and the Montana 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 Montana statutes say. It is general information, not legal advice. It does not say whether a credit card account is “founded on an instrument in writing,” because the code does not.
Frequently asked questions
What is the statute of limitations on debt in Montana?
Six years on a contract or obligation founded on an instrument in writing, and five years on a contract, account, or promise not founded on a writing, under MCA 27-2-202. The six-year written period applies to suits filed on or after October 1, 2025.
Did Montana change its statute of limitations on written contracts?
Yes. SB 143, Chapter 174 of the 2025 Laws, reduced the period for a contract founded on an instrument in writing from 8 years to 6 years for actions filed on or after October 1, 2025.
Does a payment restart the statute of limitations in Montana?
Yes. Under MCA 27-2-409, an acknowledgment or part payment of a debt causes the statute of limitations to begin running anew, and part payment is any payment of principal or interest.
Does an acknowledgment have to be in writing in Montana?
Yes. MCA 27-2-409(2) provides that an acknowledgment must be contained in some writing signed by the party to be charged.