State file — Mississippi
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 · Miss. Code §§15-1-29, 15-1-49 From a secondary source — double-check before you rely on it Shorter than most roundups suggest: §15-1-29 sets 3 years for open accounts and unwritten contracts, and written contracts fall under the 3-year catch-all of §15-1-49 because Mississippi has no longer general written-contract period. Exception: contracts for the sale of goods under the UCC get 6 years (§75-2-725), which does not govern a card issuer's own account claim. |
| If the clock has run out | Paying part of it, or signing a written statement that the debt is yours, can restart it. Miss. Code §§15-1-3, 15-1-73 From a secondary source — double-check before you rely on it If part of the debt is paid, or an acknowledgment or promise is made before the period has run, the period begins anew from that payment/acknowledgment (§15-1-3(2)). Once the period has completed it 'extinguishes the right as well as the remedy,' and a new promise to pay is enforceable only if in writing (§15-1-73), with the barred obligation serving as consideration. |
| Deadline to answer a lawsuit | 30 days after service of the summons and complaint · Miss. 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. Wages are fully exempt from garnishment for the first 30 days after service of the writ; after that, garnishment is capped at the lesser of 25% of disposable earnings or the amount by which disposable earnings exceed 30 times the federal minimum wage (the federal formula, codified). Miss. Code §85-3-4 From a secondary source — double-check before you rely on it |
| Taking your bank account (a levy) | Bank deposits get no protection from the $10,000 personal-property exemption: §85-3-1(a) covers only TANGIBLE personal property (including cash on hand), and the Mississippi Supreme Court has held a bank deposit is intangible property outside the exemption (Cartwright v. Deposit Guaranty Nat'l Bank). Repeated bills to extend the exemption to bank accounts have not changed the current text. Miss. Code §85-3-1(a) 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 Mississippi, and federal law still bans deceptive practices by the bank itself. |
| How long a judgment lasts | 7 years — An action on a domestic judgment must be brought within 7 years of rendition or of the last renewal; a judgment may be renewed — only while still alive — by filing a Notice of Renewal with the clerk of the court that rendered it. · Miss. Code §15-1-43 From a secondary source — double-check before you rely on it |
Run my dates through the free checker
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.
One payment. Every stage of the road, and the deadline tables for all 50 states — every number with its law cited. No account, no subscription — and the free checker above stays free whether you buy or not.
DebtDecoded is education, not a law firm. If the checker points you to a free route — legal aid, a lawyer who fights debt collectors, a nonprofit counselor — take it. We would rather lose the sale than sell you the wrong tool.
3 years under Miss. Code §§15-1-29, 15-1-49. 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. (Miss. Code §§15-1-3, 15-1-73).
30 days after service of the summons and complaint (Miss. R. Civ. P. 12(a)). Most of these cases are lost by default — by never answering at all.
Wages are fully exempt from garnishment for the first 30 days after service of the writ; after that, garnishment is capped at the lesser of 25% of disposable earnings or the amount by which disposable earnings exceed 30 times the federal minimum wage (the federal formula, codified). (Miss. Code §85-3-4).