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Hawaii Debt Statute of Limitations Calculator (2026)

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

Cited to HRS §657-1; §657-2; UCC §490:3-118Source: Hawaii Revised Statutes (capitol.hawaii.gov).

Hawaii debt statute-of-limitations calculator

Debt statute of limitations · Hawaii
Hawaii rule applied to your dates
Limitations period
6 years
Credit-card debt in Hawaii: 6 years. Six years. Hawaii keeps this simple: HRS §657-1 puts every debt founded on a contract, obligation, or liability on one 6-year clock, and open accounts under §657-2 run the same length. A credit-card balance fits either bucket, so the answer is 6 years without the written-versus-open-account split that trips people up in other states.
Period would run out
Enter your last payment or activity date to see the date.

These are the Hawaii 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

Hawaii has no acknowledgment statute in Chapter 657, so revival is governed by case law. Hawaii courts hold that a new promise or an express admission of the debt binds you for a fresh period (see 2 Haw. App. 383, 633 P.2d 550 (1981)). Older cases also treat a voluntary partial payment as a new promise that can restart the clock, so the safe rule is to assume that both a signed written promise and a partial payment can revive a debt.

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 Hawaii debt statute-of-limitations reference, cited to HRS §657-1; §657-2; UCC §490:3-118.

How the Hawaii debt clock works

Hawaii is one of the cleaner states to read, because HRS §657-1 puts nearly every kind of debt on a single 6-year clock. The statute covers any debt "founded upon any contract, obligation, or liability," which folds written contracts, oral agreements, and credit-card balances into the same period. Open and revolving accounts sit under §657-2, which sets the same 6 years but starts counting from the last item proved in the account, usually your last charge or payment. Promissory notes get their 6 years from the Uniform Commercial Code, HRS §490:3-118. Where Hawaii is quiet is revival: there is no acknowledgment statute in Chapter 657, so whether a barred debt comes back to life is a question of case law, and both a new written promise and a partial payment can put you at risk of restarting the clock.

This tool applies the Hawaii 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 Hawaii debt statute-of-limitations reference.

Debt statute-of-limitations tools for other states

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