In Arizona, a collector generally has 6 years to sue you over a written contract or credit card debt (A.R.S. § 12-548) and 3 years for oral agreements (A.R.S. § 12-543). After that, a lawsuit can be defeated if you raise the defense. Wage garnishment requires a court judgment first — and Arizona caps it at 10% of disposable earnings. Federal FDCPA protections apply on top.
Providence Financial Solutions is headquartered in Phoenix, so Arizona law is the law we know best. This guide covers the three questions Arizonans ask us most: how long a collector can sue, what they can actually take if they win, and the one mistake that can bring a dead debt back to life. Every rule below has a statute behind it, cited so you — or an attorney — can check it.
Arizona gives creditors and debt collectors a limited window to sue you. For most consumer debt — including credit cards — that window is 6 years. Arizona amended A.R.S. § 12-548 in 2011 to say explicitly that credit card debt gets the 6-year written-contract period, ending years of dispute over whether cards counted as "written" or "open" accounts.
| Debt type | Time limit | Arizona statute |
|---|---|---|
| Written contract | 6 years | A.R.S. § 12-548(A)(1) |
| Credit card debt | 6 years | A.R.S. § 12-548(A)(2) |
| Oral agreement | 3 years | A.R.S. § 12-543 |
| Open account / store account | 3 years | A.R.S. § 12-543 |
| Promissory note | 6 years | A.R.S. § 12-548(A)(1) |
The clock generally starts on the date of default — usually your first missed payment that was never brought current. Once the period runs out, the debt is called "time-barred." Collectors can still ask you to pay a time-barred debt. What they cannot do is win a lawsuit on it, as long as you show up and raise the statute of limitations as a defense. Courts do not apply it for you — it is an affirmative defense, and staying silent usually means a default judgment against you.
This matters most with debt buyers — companies that purchase old debt for pennies on the dollar. A large share of debt-buyer lawsuits involve debts near or past the limitations period. An attorney can review the dates, demand proof, and challenge whether the collector can lawfully sue at all.
Yes — but only after suing you and winning a judgment, and Arizona now limits garnishment more tightly than almost any other state. No collector can touch your paycheck based on phone calls or letters alone.
In 2022, Arizona voters passed Proposition 209 (the Predatory Debt Collection Protection Act), which sharply cut what judgment creditors can take:
Compare that to the federal baseline, which allows garnishment of up to 25% of disposable earnings or the amount above 30 times the federal minimum wage per week, whichever is less (15 U.S.C. § 1673). When state and federal limits differ, the rule that protects more of your paycheck controls — and in Arizona, that is now the state rule. Certain income, like Social Security benefits, is off-limits to consumer-debt garnishment under federal law regardless.
If you have received a garnishment notice, you still have options: exemptions often must be claimed, hardship reductions must be requested, and the underlying judgment itself can sometimes be challenged if you were never properly served.
A single payment on an old debt can revive it. In Arizona, a partial payment — or a written acknowledgment that you owe the debt — can restart the statute of limitations, even on a debt that was already time-barred.
This is why collectors on old accounts push so hard for a small "good faith" payment of $5 or $10, or ask you to confirm in writing that the balance is yours. That token payment can hand them a brand-new 6-year window to sue you.
Before you pay anything — or sign anything — on an account that has been sitting for years, get the dates checked. An attorney can review whether the debt is time-barred and whether you legally owe it at all. Under our model there is no upfront cost to you for that review.
The federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA, 15 U.S.C. § 1692 et seq.) applies to third-party debt collectors and debt buyers contacting Arizona residents. Under the FDCPA, collectors:
Each FDCPA violation can be worth up to $1,000 to you in statutory damages, and the law can require the collector to pay the attorney's fees — which is why consumer-rights attorneys can often take these cases at no upfront cost to you.
Arizona adds its own layer. Proposition 209's protections (the garnishment and exemption limits above) are state law, and collection activity in Arizona is also subject to the state's consumer fraud statute (A.R.S. § 44-1521 et seq.) when collectors use deceptive practices. Judgments in Arizona are enforceable for 10 years and renewable (A.R.S. § 12-1551), so a judgment against you does not simply age off — which makes defending the lawsuit early far better than dealing with a judgment later.
Because we are based in Phoenix, Arizona cases are our home turf: the attorneys we connect consumers with regularly handle Arizona justice court and superior court collection suits, Arizona garnishment exemption claims, and FDCPA violations by collectors operating in this state. To understand the federal protections in more depth, start with our complete guide to your rights.
Laws current as of July 2026 — statutes change; an attorney can confirm what applies to your situation. This page is general information, not legal advice.
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Generally 6 years for written contracts and credit card debt (A.R.S. § 12-548) and 3 years for oral agreements (A.R.S. § 12-543). The clock usually starts at your first missed payment or the date of default. Once the window closes, the debt is "time-barred" — a lawsuit on it can be defeated if you raise the statute of limitations as a defense.
The debt doesn't disappear, and collectors can still ask you to pay. But they cannot win in court once you raise the statute of limitations as a defense. It's an affirmative defense — the court won't apply it for you automatically. You must respond to the lawsuit, show up, and raise it. Ignoring the case usually leads to a default judgment, even on a time-barred debt.
Only after suing you and winning a court judgment. Since Proposition 209 passed in 2022, garnishment on most consumer debt judgments is capped at 10% of your disposable earnings (A.R.S. § 33-1131), and a court can lower it to 5% if you show extreme economic hardship. That's far more protective than the federal baseline of up to 25%.
It can. In Arizona, a partial payment or a written acknowledgment of the debt can restart the limitations period — even on a debt that was already time-barred. Collectors know this, which is why they may push for a small "good faith" payment on old debt. Before paying anything on an old account, have an attorney confirm whether the debt is time-barred.
Most medical debt arises from signed intake and payment agreements, which are typically treated as written contracts with a 6-year period under A.R.S. § 12-548. If there was no written agreement, the shorter 3-year period for oral debts may apply. An attorney can review your paperwork and confirm which period governs your account.
Partially. After a judgment, a creditor can levy a bank account, but Arizona exempts $5,000 in a personal bank account (A.R.S. § 33-1126, increased by Proposition 209). Certain funds, like Social Security benefits, are protected under federal law regardless of amount. Exemptions aren't always applied automatically — you may need to claim them.