State file — Kansas
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) · K.S.A. 60-511(1); K.S.A. 60-512(1) From a secondary source — double-check before you rely on it The 3-vs-5 fight turns on how the card agreement is classified. Contested: Five years if the cardmember agreement counts as an agreement, contract or promise in writing (§60-511(1)); three years for a contract or obligation expressed or implied but not in writing (§60-512(1)). Creditors argue the card agreement makes it 5; card accounts are commonly treated as open accounts at 3. |
| If the clock has run out | Paying part of it, or signing a written statement that the debt is yours, can restart it. K.S.A. 60-520(a) From a secondary source — double-check before you rely on it A part payment of principal or interest restarts the period, and an acknowledgment or new promise also restarts it if it is in writing and signed by the party to be charged. |
| Deadline to answer a lawsuit | 21 days after service in a regular Chapter 60 case. Most smaller card cases are filed as Chapter 61 limited actions, where the summons instead sets an appearance date not less than 14 nor more than 50 days after the summons is issued, and the written answer is due by that appearance date (or within 14 days after appearing and asking for a trial) · K.S.A. 60-212(a); K.S.A. 61-3002 From a secondary source — double-check before you rely on it |
| Taking your paycheck (wage garnishment) | Follows the federal cap. Kansas follows the federal cap: the lesser of 25% of disposable earnings, the amount by which disposable earnings exceed 30 times the federal minimum wage, or the amount claimed. Two extras: garnishment pauses while the debtor recovers from an illness that kept them from work, and an assignee or collection agency generally cannot garnish wages at all, except for support, taxes or restitution. K.S.A. 60-2310(b) From a secondary source — double-check before you rely on it |
| Taking your bank account (a levy) | Kansas has no dollar exemption for bank balances and no wildcard, so the whole account can be taken — except money that traces to exempt sources: Social Security, SSI, veterans benefits, unemployment, workers' compensation and public assistance stay protected even after they are deposited. K.S.A. 60-2304; K.S.A. 60-2308 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? | Partially — Kansas has no state FDCPA. The Consumer Protection Act bans deceptive (§50-626) and unconscionable (§50-627) acts by 'suppliers,' and the Kansas Supreme Court has applied it to collection conduct arising from a consumer transaction — so original creditors are reachable, but only under this general law. (K.S.A. 50-626; K.S.A. 50-627) |
| How long a judgment lasts | 5 years — Kept alive by filing a renewal affidavit or issuing execution at least every 5 years. If 5 years pass with neither, the judgment becomes dormant and stops being a lien; after 2 more dormant years it is released of record. · K.S.A. 60-2403(a) |
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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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5 years (written contract) / 3 years (open account) under K.S.A. 60-511(1); K.S.A. 60-512(1). 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. (K.S.A. 60-520(a)).
21 days after service in a regular Chapter 60 case. Most smaller card cases are filed as Chapter 61 limited actions, where the summons instead sets an appearance date not less than 14 nor more than 50 days after the summons is issued, and the written answer is due by that appearance date (or within 14 days after appearing and asking for a trial) (K.S.A. 60-212(a); K.S.A. 61-3002). Most of these cases are lost by default — by never answering at all.
Kansas follows the federal cap: the lesser of 25% of disposable earnings, the amount by which disposable earnings exceed 30 times the federal minimum wage, or the amount claimed. Two extras: garnishment pauses while the debtor recovers from an illness that kept them from work, and an assignee or collection agency generally cannot garnish wages at all, except for support, taxes or restitution. (K.S.A. 60-2310(b)).