State file — Washington
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 · RCW 4.16.040(1)-(2); RCW 4.16.080(3) Primary text opened at app.leg.wa.gov: RCW 4.16.040 - 6 years for (1) a contract in writing or liability arising out of a written agreement and (2) an action upon an account receivable; RCW 4.16.080(3) - 3 years for a contract not in writing, except as provided in § 4.16.040(2). Trap as stated in the brief ('3 open / 6 written') is therefore NOT confirmed for card debt. Contested: The popular '3 years for open accounts / credit cards' claim misreads RCW 4.16.080(3): that 3-year period covers a contract 'not in writing' and expressly begins 'Except as provided in RCW 4.16.040(2)' - and § 4.16.040(2) gives an 'account receivable' 6 years. A card balance is an account receivable / written-agreement liability, so the operative card period is 6; 3 years is only for a genuinely unwritten contract that is not an account receivable. |
| If the clock has run out | Signing a written statement that the debt is yours — or a signed promise to pay — can restart it. Paying alone cannot. RCW 4.16.280 From a secondary source — double-check before you rely on it RCW 4.16.280 requires an acknowledgment or promise to be in a writing signed by the party to be charged, while preserving the effect of part payment - but secondary analysis of Washington case law reports that nothing revives a debt once it is already time-barred: payment/acknowledgment can restart a clock still running, not resurrect an expired one. |
| Deadline to answer a lawsuit | Serve an answer within 20 days after service of the summons and complaint (longer periods apply for service by publication or out-of-state service) · Wash. CR 12(a); CRLJ 12(a) |
| Taking your paycheck (wage garnishment) | More protective than the federal cap. Consumer-debt tier (primary text, RCW 6.27.150(4)): the amount exempt each week is the greater of 35 times the STATE minimum hourly wage or 80% of disposable earnings - so at most 20% of disposable earnings can be taken on a credit-card/consumer judgment, and low earners keep everything. (General non-consumer judgments: greater of 35x federal minimum wage or 75% exempt.) RCW 6.27.150(4) |
| Taking your bank account (a levy) | Automatic bank-account floor (primary text, RCW 6.15.010(1)(d)(iii)): for consumer debt, $2,000 in bank accounts/securities is exempt AND 'shall be automatically protected' with no claim filing required (double for a marital community); $500 for other debts; amounts adjust for inflation every 3 years from July 1, 2027. Benefit-only accounts may be claimed fully exempt. RCW 6.15.010 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 Washington, and federal law still bans deceptive practices by the bank itself. |
| How long a judgment lasts | 10 years — A judgment expires 10 years from entry; it may be extended for one additional 10-year period by filing for extension within 90 days before expiration · RCW 4.56.190; RCW 6.17.020(3) From a secondary source — double-check before you rely on it |
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6 years under RCW 4.16.040(1)-(2); RCW 4.16.080(3). 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).
Signing a written statement that the debt is yours — or a signed promise to pay — can restart it. Paying alone cannot. (RCW 4.16.280).
Serve an answer within 20 days after service of the summons and complaint (longer periods apply for service by publication or out-of-state service) (Wash. CR 12(a); CRLJ 12(a)). Most of these cases are lost by default — by never answering at all.
Consumer-debt tier (primary text, RCW 6.27.150(4)): the amount exempt each week is the greater of 35 times the STATE minimum hourly wage or 80% of disposable earnings - so at most 20% of disposable earnings can be taken on a credit-card/consumer judgment, and low earners keep everything. (General non-consumer judgments: greater of 35x federal minimum wage or 75% exempt.) (RCW 6.27.150(4)).