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Alabama Debt Statute of Limitations Calculator (2026)

Enter your last payment or activity date to see when the Alabama limitations period would run out for your debt type — credit-card debt runs 3 years, a written contract 6 years (§6-2-34). Every result flags revival.

Cited to Ala. Code §6-2-34; §6-2-37; §6-2-16Source: Code of Alabama (Alabama Legislature).

Alabama debt statute-of-limitations calculator

Debt statute of limitations · Alabama
Alabama rule applied to your dates
Limitations period
3 years
Credit-card debt in Alabama: 3 years. Three years. Alabama treats a credit-card account as an open account under §6-2-37, not a written contract. The 2016 legislature (SB288) reinforced the three-year period for delinquent card accounts. This is the short side, so many card debts in Alabama go time-barred faster than in states that use the six-year written-contract clock.
Period would run out
Enter your last payment or activity date to see the date.

These are the Alabama figures applied to the date you entered — a plain summary of the period, not a determination that any debt is or is not time-barred (too old to sue over).

Only a signed writing revives it

Once the period has run out, only an unconditional promise in writing signed by the debtor revives an Alabama debt (§6-2-16). A partial payment can restart the clock only if it is made before the period expires; a payment made after the debt is already time-barred does not bring it back. When in doubt, do not pay or sign anything on an old debt without advice.

The date above assumes no new activity. A statute of limitations does not erase the debt or remove it from your credit report — it is a defense you must raise if you are sued after the period runs. In many states a partial payment or a signed written acknowledgment can restart the clock entirely, so be careful before paying or signing anything on an old account. Revival rules are complex and this is informational only, not legal advice.

Informational only, not legal advice. The statute of limitations is complex, classification-dependent, and revival can reset it — this tool cannot decide your case. See the full breakdown and citations on the Alabama debt statute-of-limitations reference, cited to Ala. Code §6-2-34; §6-2-37; §6-2-16.

How the Alabama debt clock works

Alabama runs two different clocks, and the gap between them is what trips people up. A written contract gives a creditor six years to sue under §6-2-34, but a credit-card account is treated as an open account under §6-2-37, with only three years. That three-year period is measured from the date of the last item on the account, so an old card balance can go time-barred quickly. The 2016 legislature passed SB288 to make the three-year card rule explicit. If your debt is already past the deadline, be careful: under §6-2-16 only a signed written promise revives it, and a fresh payment before the deadline can restart the whole clock.

This tool applies the Alabama periods to the date you enter and assumes no new activity. It is informational only and not legal advice — revival can reset the clock and classification can change the period. For the full four-type breakdown, revival rule, and citations, see the Alabama debt statute-of-limitations reference.

Debt statute-of-limitations tools for other states

Same tool, each with its own periods and revival rule.