State file — Maine
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 | 6 years · 14 M.R.S. §752 From a secondary source — double-check before you rely on it Six years for civil actions generally, including card debt. The 20-year period in 14 M.R.S. §751 covers only contracts under seal, notes signed in front of an attesting witness, and bank-issued paper — not ordinary credit cards. |
| If the clock has run out | Nothing restarts it. Paying, or promising in writing, after the deadline does not bring the claim back. 32 M.R.S. §11013(8) From a secondary source — double-check before you rely on it For consumer debts, Maine's collection law says a collector may not sue more than 6 years after the consumer's last activity, and once the period expires, no later payment, written or oral promise, or other activity revives or extends it. Maine's general law is different before expiry: a signed written acknowledgment (14 M.R.S. §860) or a payment (§863) can restart a period that has not yet run out. |
| Deadline to answer a lawsuit | 20 days after service of the summons and complaint · Me. R. Civ. P. 12(a) From a secondary source — double-check before you rely on it |
| Taking your paycheck (wage garnishment) | More protective than the federal cap. For a judgment arising from a consumer credit transaction, the cap is the lesser of 25% of disposable earnings or the amount by which weekly disposable earnings exceed 40 times the higher of the federal minimum wage or Maine's state minimum wage (Title 26, §664) — a much higher floor than the federal 30-times rule. 9-A M.R.S. §5-105 |
| Taking your bank account (a levy) | Maine is one of the few states with a specific cash exemption: up to $3,000 in cash or in bank and other financial accounts is exempt under §4422(17) — raised to $3,550 by the April 1, 2024 inflation adjustment — plus a small wildcard for any property ($500, adjusted to $600, §4422(15)). 14 M.R.S. §4422(15), (17) Federal benefits deposited directly get an automatic two-month shield everywhere (31 CFR Part 212). |
| Original creditor calling? | Partially — Partial only — the statute text does not flatly cover original creditors. Section 11003(1) excludes a creditor's own officers and employees collecting in the creditor's name, and §11003(7)(B) excludes activity on a debt the person originated. A creditor counts as a 'debt collector' only if it collects its own debts under a name other than its own that suggests a third party is collecting (§11002(6)). (32 M.R.S. ch. 109-A (§§11002(6), 11003(1), (7))) |
| How long a judgment lasts | 20 years — No renewal formality; every judgment is presumed paid and satisfied after 20 years (§864), so a creditor keeps it alive by bringing a new action on the judgment within the 20 years. Execution liens recorded on or after Sept. 1, 2020 last 10 years and may be renewed once for 10 more years (§4651-A(9)); older liens ran 20 years, renewable once. · 14 M.R.S. §864; 14 M.R.S. §4651-A(9) From a secondary source — double-check before you rely on it |
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6 years under 14 M.R.S. §752. 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).
Nothing restarts it. Paying, or promising in writing, after the deadline does not bring the claim back. (32 M.R.S. §11013(8)).
20 days after service of the summons and complaint (Me. R. Civ. P. 12(a)). Most of these cases are lost by default — by never answering at all.
For a judgment arising from a consumer credit transaction, the cap is the lesser of 25% of disposable earnings or the amount by which weekly disposable earnings exceed 40 times the higher of the federal minimum wage or Maine's state minimum wage (Title 26, §664) — a much higher floor than the federal 30-times rule. (9-A M.R.S. §5-105).