In Ohio, the statute of limitations for lawsuits on written contracts — including most credit card debt — is 6 years under Ohio Revised Code § 2305.06, reduced from 8 years in 2021. Collectors can garnish wages only after winning a judgment, capped at 25% of disposable earnings. The federal FDCPA applies on top.
Laws current as of July 2026 — statutes change; an attorney can confirm what applies to your situation.
Ohio gives creditors and debt buyers 6 years to sue on most contract debt. That number has dropped twice in recent memory — from 15 years to 8 in 2012, then from 8 to 6 in 2021 — so a lot of what you'll read online about Ohio is out of date.
| Debt type | Time limit | Statute |
|---|---|---|
| Written contract | 6 years | ORC § 2305.06 |
| Credit card / consumer transaction | 6 years | ORC § 2305.07(C) — accrues 30 days after the last charge or payment |
| Oral contract | 4 years | ORC § 2305.07(A) |
| Promissory note (negotiable instrument) | 6 years from the due date | ORC § 1303.16 |
The clock generally starts at the date of default — for a credit card, that usually means the first missed payment you never caught up. Selling the account to a debt buyer does not restart it. If you're being pressed on an account that went bad more than 6 years ago, the collector may no longer be able to win in court.
One wrinkle worth knowing: because Ohio shortened the period in 2021, debts that defaulted before the change are subject to transition rules. An attorney can pin down exactly which deadline applies to your account.
Yes — but only after suing you and winning a judgment, and only within strict limits. No collector can garnish your paycheck based on phone calls or threats alone. After a judgment, Ohio follows the federal-style formula:
If your wages are already being garnished, or you've received a 15-day demand letter, the underlying judgment itself may be worth a second look — especially if it was a default judgment on a debt-buyer lawsuit. An attorney can review whether you legally owe it and whether the judgment can be challenged.
In Ohio, an old debt can come back to life — and collectors know it.
This is why collectors on old accounts push so hard for "just something to show you're trying." Before you pay anything, put anything in writing, or agree to a payment plan on an old debt, find out where the debt actually stands. If the statute of limitations has already run, you may have a complete defense — and paying could take it away. Get a free case review first; if your case qualifies, an attorney can challenge whether you legally owe it at all.
Federal law is your first line of protection. Under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), a debt collector cannot:
Ohio adds state-level pressure: courts and the Ohio Attorney General have applied the Ohio Consumer Sales Practices Act (ORC Chapter 1345) to abusive debt collection conduct, which can carry its own remedies on top of the FDCPA.
If a collector crossed any of these lines, they may have violated federal law. Each FDCPA violation can be worth up to $1,000 to you, and the law can require the collector to pay the attorney's fees — so consumer-rights attorneys often take these cases at no upfront cost to you. This is not debt settlement; it's enforcing rights you already have.
This page is general information, not legal advice. Laws current as of July 2026 — statutes change; an attorney can confirm what applies to your situation.
Generally 6 years. ORC § 2305.06 sets a 6-year statute of limitations for written contracts, and Ohio courts generally apply the 6-year period to credit card accounts. The period was reduced from 8 years to 6 in 2021 (and from 15 to 8 back in 2012), so older information you find online may be out of date.
Collectors can still ask you to pay a time-barred debt, but they cannot win a lawsuit on it if you raise the statute of limitations as a defense.
It is an affirmative defense — you must respond to the lawsuit and raise it. If you ignore the summons, the court can enter a default judgment against you even though the debt is too old. Never ignore a lawsuit.
Only after suing you, winning a judgment, and following the procedure in ORC Chapter 2716 — including a written demand at least 15 days before filing. Garnishment is capped at 25% of your disposable earnings, or the amount by which your weekly disposable earnings exceed 30 times the federal minimum wage, whichever is less.
It can. Under ORC § 2305.08, a partial payment or a written acknowledgment of the debt can restart the clock — a small good-faith payment on an old debt can give a collector six fresh years to sue.
Before paying anything on an old account, get a free review of where the debt stands and what your rights are.
The federal FDCPA protects you: collectors cannot call before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m., harass or threaten you, lie about the debt, discuss it with third parties, or keep contacting you after a written cease-contact request. Ohio's Consumer Sales Practices Act can also apply to abusive collection conduct. Each FDCPA violation can be worth up to $1,000 to you.
Find out whether the debt is even inside Ohio's 6-year window — and whether the collector has already violated federal law. The case review is free.
Not a law firm. Providence Financial Solutions connects consumers with independent consumer-rights attorneys. Results vary. Not available in GA, ID, ND.