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Delaware Statute of Limitations on Debt

George Simons | November 10, 2023

George Simons
Co-Founder of SoloSuit
George Simons, JD/MBA

George Simons is the co-founder and CEO of SoloSuit. He has helped Americans protect over $1 billion from predatory debt lawsuits. George graduated from BYU Law school in 2020 with a JD-MBA. In his spare time, George likes to cook, because he likes to eat.

Edited by Hannah Locklear

Hannah Locklear
Editor at SoloSuit
Hannah Locklear, BA

Hannah Locklear is SoloSuit’s Marketing and Impact Manager. With an educational background in Linguistics, Spanish, and International Development from Brigham Young University, Hannah has also worked as a legal support specialist for several years.

Fact-checked by Patrick Austin, J.D.

Patrick Austin
Attorney from George Mason
Patrick Austin, JD

Patrick Austin is a licensed attorney with a background in data privacy and information security law. Patrick received his law degree at George Mason University's Antonin Scalia Law School, where he served as the Editor-in-Chief for the National Security Law Journal.

Summary: Delaware's statute of limitations on debt is three years for debts related to credit cards, medical, auto loans, student loans, and mortgages; for debts related to promissory notes, the statute of limitations is six years. Respond to your Delaware debt lawsuit and bring up the expired statute of limitations to increase your chances of winning the case.

Consumer reports suggest that the average Delawarean has more than $5,000 in credit card debt. If you fall into this category and you're facing a collection lawsuit, read on for more details.

Unfortunately, many debtors often think that a lawsuit is a dead end and that there's no chance to overturn such a situation in their favor successfully. But that's because they aren't aware of the debt collection laws in the state and how they apply.

We've summarized all you need to know about the statute of limitations on debts in Delaware and how they come in handy for debtors facing a collection complaint.

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Delaware statute of limitations explained

Statutes of limitations on debts differ from one state to another and may also be applied differently depending on the type of debt or contract from which the debt arises. The statute of limitations is the period that allows a creditor or a debt collector to sue a debtor for overdue debts. If the period elapses, the creditor can't file a collection lawsuit, although the debtor remains liable for the debt.

Statute of Limitations on Debt in Delaware
Debt Type Deadline
Credit Card 3 years
Medical 3 years
Auto Loan 3 years
Student Loan 3 years
Mortgage 3 years
Judgment 5 years
Promissory Notes 6 years
Source: Del. Code tit. 10 § 5072 and § 8106

In Delaware, the statute of limitations on debts is as follows:

  • Open and closed contracts have a limit of 3 years from the date the debt is unpaid.
  • Promissory notes have a limit of 6 years.
  • Contracts signed under seal have a 20-year limit.
  • Judgments are valid for 20 years.
  • Judgment liens have a renewable 10-years limit. The renewal should be done before the expiry of the initial period.

The debt collection process in Delaware

Failing to pay your debt on time will likley prompt the creditor to contact you to remind you of your obligation. Usually, creditors do that for about 180 days before charging off the debt and transferring the account to a debt collection agency.

Debt collectors will do anything possible to reach you and convince you to pay what you owe. For example, you'll receive constant calls or emails, including several debt negotiation offers where applicable.

However, the law regulates debt collectors' actions to protect you from unfairness, harassment, and abuse. For example, the debt collector can't threaten to sue you or force you to pay larger installments. These regulations are provided for under the Fair Debts Collection Practices Act (FDCPA).

If debt collectors bother you with constant phone calls, you can request them in writing to stop contacting you. This request should end the annoying phone calls, but they may contact you to serve you with the collection Summon and Complaint.

Debt collectors go to court to obtain a legal judgment against you, such as a wage garnishment order to enforce a debt. They usually hope that you won't put up a fight against the lawsuit or simply forget to respond.

However, if you ignore such a complaint, the court will pass a default judgment in favor of the collector, and they'll be awarded any befitting legal debt recovery remedies.

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How to answer a debt collection lawsuit in Delaware

Whether the debt is old and time-barred or not, it's important to respond promptly to the suit. One important thing to note when preparing your response is the time you have to file your Answer.

In Delaware, you have only 15 days from the day you receive the debt collection Summons and Complaints to file your Answer. Delaware courts also provide a general Answer Form to respond to civil suits such as the debt collection complaint.

However, you can choose to create your own document that includes all required information, such as:

  • Your name, contact, and address;
  • The plaintiff's information as it appears on the Summons and Complaints served;
  • The court's name and address;
  • Case identification information, including the case number, index number, or civil number;
  • The amount of debt in the lawsuit.

The next step is to respond to all the complaints raised by the plaintiff, each in separate paragraphs. To do this, you can either admit, deny, or claim that you don't know anything about the debt (this is possible if it's a case of mistaken identity).

Debtors in Delaware can also request the debt collector to prove that they owe the debt. That is done by requesting the collector for a Bill of Particulars.

You'll be surprised that the collector may not have proof of the debt, especially if it has changed hands among collectors several times or is too old. After preparing your Answer, you must file it with the court and mail a copy to the debt collector or their lawyer within the timeframe provided by Delaware law.

The next steps you take will depend on the circumstances of your case. For example, if you believe that the debt collector owes you money instead, you can file a counterclaim five days before the trial commences. One of the reasons for filing a counterclaim is if the debt collector violated any FDCPA regulations during collection. When that happens, you may file a counterclaim seeking compensation for the damages caused.

The other option is to challenge the lawsuit in court after stating your affirmative defenses. You can use reasons such as:

  • The debt was cleared.
  • The statute of limitation of the debt has expired.
  • The account mentioned doesn't belong to you.
  • You were a cosigner to the debt and weren't fully informed of your rights.

Don't let debt collectors push you around. Respond with SoloSuit and win in court.

How to file your answer to a debt collection summons in Delaware

Don't panic at the sight of a debt collection Summons against you; the SoloSuit web application can help you file an Answer in three simple steps.

SoloSuit is an automated software designed to help debtors respond to debt collection complaints by generating an Answer document within 15 minutes.

The application guides you through the steps to creating an Answer document by answering a set of questions. It also helps you gather all the information needed to create a valid document acceptable in court.

Once the document is ready, you can print and mail it to the court as your Answer and serve a copy to the plaintiff. Alternatively, SoloSuit can file the Answer on your behalf to avoid missing the deadline.

And, did you know that having your Answer reviewed by the competent attorneys recommended by SoloSuit increases your chances of winning the case by 80 percent? If you didn't know, now you do!

What is SoloSuit?

SoloSuit makes it easy to respond to a debt collection lawsuit.

How it works: SoloSuit is a step-by-step web-app that asks you all the necessary questions to complete your answer. Upon completion, you can either print the completed forms and mail in the hard copies to the courts or you can pay SoloSuit to file it for you and to have an attorney review the document.

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"First time getting sued by a debt collector and I was searching all over YouTube and ran across SoloSuit, so I decided to buy their services with their attorney reviewed documentation which cost extra but it was well worth it! SoloSuit sent the documentation to the parties and to the court which saved me time from having to go to court and in a few weeks the case got dismissed!" – James

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