State file — Delaware
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 | 3 years · 10 Del. C. §8106(a) From a secondary source — double-check before you rely on it §8106(a) bars, after 3 years, actions 'to recover a debt not evidenced by a record or by an instrument under seal,' actions on a detailed statement of mutual demands (account), and actions 'based on a promise' — so written and open card debt share 3 years. This is why card agreements' Delaware choice-of-law clauses matter nationally. (Promissory notes are 6 years under the UCC, and sealed instruments 20 — neither is the ordinary card case.) |
| If the clock has run out | Paying part of it, or signing a written statement that the debt is yours, can restart it. Common-law doctrine (no Delaware revival statute found) From a secondary source — double-check before you rely on it Delaware has no statute on revival; its courts follow the common-law rule that a part payment or a signed acknowledgment can take a debt out of the limitations bar. Flagged secondary — confirm against current case law before relying on it. |
| Deadline to answer a lawsuit | 20 days after service in Superior Court / Court of Common Pleas; Justice of the Peace Court (where most small card suits sit) uses a shorter appearance/answer window stated on its summons (commonly 15 days) · Del. Super. Ct. Civ. R. 12(a) From a secondary source — double-check before you rely on it |
| Taking your paycheck (wage garnishment) | More protective than the federal cap. Delaware exempts 85% of a resident's wages from attachment, so at most 15% can be taken — and federal law further limits the take to the amount above 30x the federal minimum wage if that is smaller. Only one wage attachment may run at a time. 10 Del. C. §4913(a)-(b) From a secondary source — double-check before you rely on it |
| Taking your bank account (a levy) | Delaware is an outlier: banks, trust companies, savings institutions, and loan associations 'shall not be subject to the operations of the attachment laws of this State,' so a judgment creditor generally cannot garnish or levy a Delaware bank account at all (the exception is a wage attachment against the bank's own employee). Text read on delcode.delaware.gov this pass. 10 Del. C. §3502(b) 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 Delaware, and federal law still bans deceptive practices by the bank itself. |
| How long a judgment lasts | 10 years — The judgment lien on real estate lasts 10 years and may be extended for a further 10-year term by signed written agreement filed with the prothonotary or by scire facias. Note: secondary tables conflict (some list a 5-year period, citing §5072, for actions on certain judgments) — the 10-year figure here is the lien/enforcement period in §4711. · 10 Del. C. §4711 From a secondary source — double-check before you rely on it |
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Card agreements often pick another state's law (Delaware for Chase, Bank of America, Discover, Barclays; South Dakota for Citi and Wells Fargo). A court may use the shorter of the two deadlines, under a rule called a borrowing statute — the free checker works out both clocks for you.
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3 years under 10 Del. C. §8106(a). 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. (Common-law doctrine (no Delaware revival statute found)).
20 days after service in Superior Court / Court of Common Pleas; Justice of the Peace Court (where most small card suits sit) uses a shorter appearance/answer window stated on its summons (commonly 15 days) (Del. Super. Ct. Civ. R. 12(a)). Most of these cases are lost by default — by never answering at all.
Delaware exempts 85% of a resident's wages from attachment, so at most 15% can be taken — and federal law further limits the take to the amount above 30x the federal minimum wage if that is smaller. Only one wage attachment may run at a time. (10 Del. C. §4913(a)-(b)).