State file — North Dakota
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 · N.D. Cent. Code § 28-01-16(1) From a secondary source — double-check before you rely on it Actions upon a contract, obligation or liability, express or implied, must be commenced within six years — one period covers written, oral and open-account/card debt. UCC sale-of-goods claims are 4 years (§41-02-104), which does not govern a card issuer's 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. N.D. Cent. Code § 28-01-36 From a secondary source — double-check before you rely on it A signed written acknowledgment or new promise restarts the period under §28-01-36; secondary sources also report that a voluntary part payment retains a common-law reviving effect even without a signed writing. |
| Deadline to answer a lawsuit | 21 days after service of summons and complaint (20 days in small-claims court) · N.D. R. Civ. P. 12(a) |
| Taking your paycheck (wage garnishment) | Follows the federal cap. Follows the federal CCPA formula: the lesser of 25% of disposable earnings or the amount by which weekly disposable earnings exceed 30 times the federal minimum wage; North Dakota garnishment procedure is at ch. 32-09.1 and the wage exemption at §32-09.1-03. No stronger state percentage cap was located. 15 U.S.C. § 1673; N.D. Cent. Code §§ 32-09.1-01 et seq. From a secondary source — double-check before you rely on it |
| Taking your bank account (a levy) | Bank accounts are reachable by garnishment under ch. 32-09.1 subject to the debtor's exemptions in §28-22-02 / §28-22-03.1 (which include specified personal property and additional in-lieu-of-homestead amounts); no North Dakota bank-account-specific dollar exemption was located this pass, beyond exempt-benefit protections. N.D. Cent. Code §§ 32-09.1-01 et seq., 28-22-03.1 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 North Dakota, and federal law still bans deceptive practices by the bank itself. |
| How long a judgment lasts | 10 years — A judgment lien lasts 10 years from entry; an action on a judgment must be brought within 10 years (§28-01-15(1)). Judgments may be renewed/extended by a timely renewal action/affidavit practice before expiry — secondary sources describe one 10-year renewal. · N.D. Cent. Code §§ 28-01-15(1), 28-20-13 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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6 years under N.D. Cent. Code § 28-01-16(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. (N.D. Cent. Code § 28-01-36).
21 days after service of summons and complaint (20 days in small-claims court) (N.D. R. Civ. P. 12(a)). Most of these cases are lost by default — by never answering at all.
Follows the federal CCPA formula: the lesser of 25% of disposable earnings or the amount by which weekly disposable earnings exceed 30 times the federal minimum wage; North Dakota garnishment procedure is at ch. 32-09.1 and the wage exemption at §32-09.1-03. No stronger state percentage cap was located. (15 U.S.C. § 1673; N.D. Cent. Code §§ 32-09.1-01 et seq.).