sol_by_state.md

Medical-debt statute of limitations by state

The statute of limitations (SOL) on medical debt is the deadline by which a creditor or collector must file suit to enforce the debt. Once the SOL passes, the debt becomes "time-barred". The patient is not legally obligated to pay; the creditor cannot win a judgment if they sue.

Key cautions:

1. SOL only bars filing suit. The creditor can still ask the patient to pay. The patient can still pay voluntarily.

2. Acknowledging the debt or making a partial payment can RE-AGE the debt in most states, restarting the SOL clock. Never confirm the debt is yours and never make a "good faith" payment on a debt close to or past SOL without first researching the re-aging rule in your state.

3. SOL on credit reporting is separate from SOL on suit. Under 15 U.S.C. § 1681c(a)(4), most negative items can be reported for seven years from the date of first delinquency, regardless of whether the underlying debt is time-barred.

4. SOL varies by the legal theory used. Most medical-debt suits are filed as breach-of-contract claims (the patient signed a financial-responsibility form), so the contract SOL applies. A few states have a shorter SOL on "open account" or "consumer credit" claims that may apply to medical debt. The shortest applicable SOL controls.

This table lists the SOL on written contracts (where the patient signed an admission or financial-responsibility form, the typical medical-debt path). For each state the table shows:

• Years: SOL in years for a written contract claim.
• Open-account SOL: a shorter SOL that may apply if the provider did not get a signed contract.
• Re-ages on payment?: whether partial payment restarts the clock.
• Re-ages on written acknowledgment?: whether a written acknowledgment restarts the clock.

---

State	Written contract	Open account	Re-ages on payment	Re-ages on written ack	Notes
AL	6	3	Yes	Yes
AK	3	3	Yes	Yes
AZ	6	3	Yes	Yes
AR	5	3	Yes	Yes
CA	4	4	Yes	Yes
CO	6	6	Yes	Yes	Note: HB23-1126 limits collections separately.
CT	6	6	Yes	Yes
DE	3	3	Yes	Yes
DC	3	3	Yes	Yes
FL	5	4	Yes	Yes	HB 7089: 3 years on facility (hospital) medical debt specifically.
GA	6	4	Yes	Yes
HI	6	6	Yes	Yes
ID	5	4	Yes	Yes
IL	10	5	Yes	Yes
IN	6	6	Yes	Yes
IA	10	5	Yes	Yes
KS	5	3	Yes	Yes
KY	10	5	Yes	Yes	Reduced to 5 years for sale-of-goods after 2014.
LA	10	3	Yes	Yes	LA uses "prescription" not SOL; same effect.
ME	6	6	Yes	Yes
MD	3	3	Yes	Yes
MA	6	6	Yes	Yes
MI	6	6	Yes	Yes
MN	6	6	Yes	Yes	Debt Fairness Act 2024 added separate protections.
MS	3	3	Yes	Yes
MO	10	5	Yes	Yes
MT	8	5	Yes	Yes
NE	5	4	Yes	Yes
NV	6	4	Yes	Yes
NH	3	3	Yes	Yes
NJ	6	6	Yes	Yes
NM	6	4	Yes	Yes
NY	6	6	Yes	Yes	Consumer Credit Fairness Act 2022: defendant in medical-debt suit can raise SOL; default judgments require affidavit of timeliness.
NC	3	3	Yes	Yes
ND	6	6	Yes	Yes
OH	8	6	Yes	Yes	Reduced from 15 years in 2012.
OK	5	3	Yes	Yes
OR	6	6	Yes	Yes
PA	4	4	Yes	Yes
RI	10	10	Yes	Yes
SC	3	3	Yes	Yes
SD	6	6	Yes	Yes
TN	6	6	Yes	Yes	Note: § 28-3-109 written contract SOL is 6 years; § 28-3-105 open-account also 6.
TX	4	4	Yes	Yes
UT	6	4	Yes	Yes
VT	6	6	Yes	Yes
VA	5	3	Yes	Yes
WA	6	3	Yes	Yes
WV	10	5	Yes	Yes
WI	6	6	Yes	Yes
WY	10	8	Yes	Yes

Last reviewed: 2026-05-21. Verify the current statute on the state's official statutes site before relying on a SOL defense in court.

---

When SOL applies in this kit

The kit uses SOL data in two places:

1. scripts/deadline_watch.py --sol, surfaces accounts whose statement_date (or earliest known DOS, whichever the kit can determine) is close to or past the state's written-contract SOL. The output is a "near-SOL" group highlighting accounts the patient should preserve a paper trail on but never confirm or pay without first verifying the current SOL status.

2. templates/letter_initial_dispute.md and templates/letter_dispute_reply.md, when the kit detects an account is past SOL, the drafter can add a "this debt appears to be time-barred under [STATE STATUTE]" paragraph. This is a strong defense but a delicate one; using the wrong SOL or making a payment after sending such a letter restarts the clock.

How to compute SOL for a specific bill

1. Find the date of first delinquency. This is typically the first missed payment date, usually 30 days after the first statement showing a "past due" balance. For most medical bills the kit ships, the relevant date is the earliest statement_date in the dispute group when the balance first became delinquent.

2. Add the written-contract SOL years from the table above for the state where the patient resided AT THE TIME OF SERVICE (not where they reside now).

3. The resulting date is the SOL expiration. Suit must be filed BEFORE that date.

4. Check whether any tolling events apply: minor or military service tolls SOL in most states. Bankruptcy filing tolls SOL during pendency.

5. Check whether any re-aging events apply: any partial payment, settlement offer the patient signs, or written acknowledgment can restart the clock.

What the kit will not do

• The kit does not, and cannot, give legal advice on whether to invoke SOL as a defense. The SOL defense is affirmative, if not raised by the defendant in the answer, it is waived.

• The kit does not predict the outcome of an SOL defense in court. State courts vary in how aggressively they enforce SOL against unrepresented defendants.

• The kit's SOL data is a snapshot. State statutes change. Verify current law before relying.

Contributing

If your state is not listed or its entry is out of date, open a pull request. Cite the official statute (e.g., Tenn. Code § 28-3-109) and the year of last amendment. Include a note about re-aging behavior if the state's case law has any unusual nuance.