State file — Arkansas
Every number below names the law it comes from (its statute citation), checked October 18, 2026. Where a number comes from a secondary source instead of the official text, this page says so — double-check it before you rely on it.
| How long they have to sue you — credit-card debt | 5 years (written contract) / 3 years (open account) · Ark. Code §16-56-111(a); §16-56-105 From a secondary source — double-check before you rely on it 5 yrs for actions on notes and instruments in writing; 3 yrs for contracts not in writing. Contested: Sources split on card debt: the 5-year written-instrument period (§16-56-111) is how card suits are usually pleaded, while unwritten/open obligations fall in the 3-year §16-56-105 bucket; which applies turns on whether the card agreement is produced. |
| If the clock has run out | Paying part of it, or signing a written statement that the debt is yours, can restart it. Ark. Code §16-56-111(b) From a secondary source — double-check before you rely on it The statute itself says 'partial payment or written acknowledgment of default shall toll this statute of limitations' for written obligations. |
| Deadline to answer a lawsuit | 30 days after service for a defendant served in Arkansas (the old 20-day rule was lengthened); 60 days if served outside the state in some service modes — check the summons · Ark. R. Civ. P. 12(a) From a secondary source — double-check before you rely on it |
| Taking your paycheck (wage garnishment) | Follows the federal cap. Arkansas tracks the federal CCPA ceiling: the lesser of 25% of disposable earnings or the amount above 30x the federal minimum wage. Extra, small protection for laborers and mechanics: 60 days' wages exempt within the constitutional personal-property limits, and the first $25/week of net wages is absolutely exempt. Ark. Code §16-66-208; Ark. Const. art. 9, §§1-2 From a secondary source — double-check before you rely on it |
| Taking your bank account (a levy) | Arkansas has among the thinnest bank-account protection in the batch: the constitutional personal-property exemption is only $200 for an unmarried non-head-of-household and $500 for a married person or head of family, plus wearing apparel; exempt wages and federal/state benefit payments keep their protection if traceable. Ark. Const. art. 9, §§1-2; Ark. Code §16-66-208 From a secondary source — double-check before you rely on it Federal benefits deposited directly get an automatic two-month shield everywhere (31 CFR Part 212). |
| Original creditor calling? | No equivalent statute found. The federal FDCPA binds third-party collectors and debt buyers in Arkansas, and federal law still bans deceptive practices by the bank itself. |
| How long a judgment lasts | 10 years — Judgments may be revived by scire facias; an action on a judgment is subject to the same 10-year period · Ark. Code §16-56-114 From a secondary source — double-check before you rely on it |
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5 years (written contract) / 3 years (open account) under Ark. Code §16-56-111(a); §16-56-105. The clock usually starts at the first missed payment that was never made up. Debt collectors may still call after it runs out, but Regulation F (12 CFR 1006.26(b)) bars them from suing — or threatening to sue — over a debt that is too old (time-barred).
Paying part of it, or signing a written statement that the debt is yours, can restart it. (Ark. Code §16-56-111(b)).
30 days after service for a defendant served in Arkansas (the old 20-day rule was lengthened); 60 days if served outside the state in some service modes — check the summons (Ark. R. Civ. P. 12(a)). Most of these cases are lost by default — by never answering at all.
Arkansas tracks the federal CCPA ceiling: the lesser of 25% of disposable earnings or the amount above 30x the federal minimum wage. Extra, small protection for laborers and mechanics: 60 days' wages exempt within the constitutional personal-property limits, and the first $25/week of net wages is absolutely exempt. (Ark. Code §16-66-208; Ark. Const. art. 9, §§1-2).