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Colorado
20
Connecticut
20
District of Columbia
20
Florida
20
Indiana
20
Iowa
20
Maine
20
Massachusetts
20
New Hampshire
20
New Jersey
20
Rhode Island
20
Virginia
20
Kentucky
15
New Mexico
14
Maryland
12
Alabama
10
Arizona
10
Arkansas
10
California
10
Delaware
10
Hawaii
10
Idaho
10
Louisiana
10
Minnesota
10
Missouri
10
Montana
10
New York
10
North Carolina
10
North Dakota
10
Oregon
10
South Carolina
10
South Dakota
10
Tennessee
10
Texas
10
Washington
10
West Virginia
10
Wisconsin
10
Utah
8
Vermont
8
Georgia
7
Illinois
7
Mississippi
7
Nevada
6
Alaska
5
Kansas
5
Michigan
5
Nebraska
5
Ohio
5
Oklahoma
5
Pennsylvania
5
Wyoming
5

Judgment Expiration by State 2024

Judgment Expiration by State 2024

Knowing your rights as an individual is important as it will help serve you best in times of great need. Anyone who owns a judgment that was not collected must determine how long the judgment can survive before it expires legally. Someone looking to enforce payment will be interested in finding out the information about your whereabouts and how much you currently owe.

In states with longer expiration dates, it is important to either pay what you owe or seek legal advice where necessary to achieve peace of mind. Remember to stay abreast of all new laws and ways that a judgment can be revived or extended if it has already expired.

Regardless of the time to expiration, it is always best to know how much you owe and to verify all information presented before you. Just because you owe money to a judgment collector does not mean that you necessarily need to comply with the exact things they say. Seek legal advice and know your rights. In certain cases, you may be able to reduce, limit, or throw out your case with the help of a qualified financial and legal team.

States with Long Judgement Expirations

The longest limit before a judgment expiration is around 20 years. Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Virginia have a 20-year statute of limitations on their judgments. This means that a judgment creditor has 20 years to track their debtors and legally request and enforce that they pay.

Kentucky has a similarly long time frame of 15 years. New Mexico is close behind with a limit of 14 years. The most common expiration is ten years which is valid in 23 states.

States with Short Judgement Expirations

States with low limits on expiration include Kansas, Michigan, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Wyoming, Nevada, Georgia, Mississippi, Utah, and Vermont. These states have an expiration limit of between 5-8 years.

Although the limit is very small, this does not mean that the judgment collector is any less motivated - usually the exact opposite. If a judgment collector feels that they are pressed for time or in an area with a smaller population, they may move their case forward much more quickly and with greater intent than someone in an otherwise different situation.

Judgment Expiration by State 2024

  • Certain exceptions may apply. Also, laws are subject to change at any time. Interested parties are advised to confirm terms and conditions with local authorities.

51 Rows

State
Judgment Valid Years
Additional Details
Colorado20
A judgment may be revived within twenty years. Colo. R. Civ. P. 54. Any revived judgment may itself ...
Connecticut20
A judgment lien expires twenty years after the judgment was rendered, unless the party claiming the ...
District of Columbia20
A final judgment is enforceable for twelve years. D.C. Code § 15-101. An order of revival extends th...
Florida20
A judgment lien on real or personal property expires after 20 years. Fla. Stat. § 55.081.
Indiana20
Judgments are presumed to be satisfied after 20 years, however, the presumption is rebuttable upon s...
Iowa20
Judgments are valid for a period of twenty years. Iowa Code § 614.1. Judgments are liens upon the re...
Maine20
A judgment lien continues for a period of 20 years from the date of the filing of the writ of execut...
Massachusetts20
A judgment is presumed to be paid and satisfied at the expiration of twenty years after it was rende...
New Hampshire20
Actions of debt upon judgments must be brought within 20 years. N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 508:5.
New Jersey20
A judgment is valid for a period of twenty years, but can be renewed within the twenty year period b...
Rhode Island20
A lien executed against real property is deemed discharged after twenty years from the date of the j...
Virginia20
A judgment is a lien on real estate. VA Code Ann. § 8.01-458. A judgment is enforceable for a twenty...
Kentucky15
An action upon a judgment must be commenced within fifteen years from the date of the last execution...
New Mexico14
A judgment is a lien on the real estate of the judgment debtor and expires after fourteen years. N.M...
Maryland12
A judgment is valid for a period of twelve years, but can be renewed with the filing of a notice wit...
Alabama10
A judgment is valid for ten years. Ala. Code § 6-9-1. It may be revived after that, although there i...
Arizona10
A judgment may be filed in each county where the judgment creditor desires the judgment to become a ...
Arkansas10
Judgments must be acted upon within ten years. Ark. Code Ann. § 16-56-114. Any payment made towards ...
California10
A judgment and any lien created by an execution on the judgment expires ten years after the date of ...
Delaware10
A judgment lien expires after 10 years unless renewed for a further 10- year term. Del. Code Ann. ti...
Hawaii10
Any judgment is presumed to be paid and discharged ten years after the judgment was rendered, howeve...
Idaho10
A lien resulting from a judgment continues for ten years. Idaho Code § 10-1110. The judgment may be ...
Louisiana10
Generally, judgments expire after ten years. La Code Civ. Proc. Ann. art. 3501. A judgment may be re...
Minnesota10
A judgment may be enforced for ten years from date of entry. Minn. Stat. § 550.01.
Missouri10
A judgment lien continues for a period of ten years. Mo. Sup. Ct. R. § 74.08. A judgment may be revi...
Montana10
An action upon a judgment must be commenced within ten years. Mont. Code Ann. § 27-2-201. If before ...
New York10
A judgment lien is valid for ten years. N.Y. C.P.L.R. § 5203. An action to renew the judgment may be...
North Carolina10
A judgment is a lien on real property for ten years from the entry date. N.C. Gen. Stat. § 1-234. A ...
North Dakota10
A judgment is a lien on all real property for a period of ten years. N.D. Cent. Code § 28-20-13. A j...
Oregon10
Generally, judgment remedies expire after 10 years of the entry of the judgment. Or. Rev. Stat. § 18...
South Carolina10
Final judgments create a lien upon real estate for a period of ten years. S.C. Code Ann. § 15-35-810...
South Dakota10
A judgment becomes a lien on real property for a period of 10 years. S.D. Codified Laws § 15-16-7. A...
Tennessee10
A judgment is enforceable for a period of ten years. Tenn. Code Ann. § 28-3-110. A judgment creditor...
Texas10
A judgment becomes dormant and unenforceable if not executed within ten years. Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem...
Washington10
A judgment expires ten years from the date of entry. Wash. Rev. Code § 4.56.190. The judgment can be...
West Virginia10
A judgment creates a lien on all the real estate. W.Va. Code § 38-3-6. The lien will continue for 10...
Wisconsin10
A judgment creates a lien on all real property for 10 years from the date of entry. Wis. Stat. § 806...
Utah8
A judgment creates a lien upon real property and continues for eight years. Utah Code Ann. § 78B-5-2...
Vermont8
A judgment constitutes a lien on any real property of a judgment debtor. 12 Vt. Stat. Ann. § 2901. A...
Georgia7
A judgment becomes dormant and unenforceable when seven years lapse after the granting of the judgme...
Illinois7
A judgment is a lien on real estate for 7 years from the time it is entered or revived. 735 Ill. Com...
Mississippi7
An action must be brought within seven years after the entry of the judgment or the last renewal of ...
Nevada6
A judgment is valid for six years but can be renewed by filing a petition within the six year period...
Alaska5
Judgments are valid until satisfied or discharged; however, when a period of five years lapses, the ...
Kansas5
A judgment becomes dormant if the judgment holder does not begin execution proceedings or file a ren...
Michigan5
A judgment lien expires after 5 years from the date it is recorded but may be rerecorded once for an...
Nebraska5
A judgment becomes dormant if not executed on within five years. Neb. Rev. Stat. § 25-1515. A dorman...
Ohio5
A judgment becomes dormant after five years from the date of the judgment or renewal of the judgment...
Oklahoma5
A judgment becomes unenforceable if not executed upon or renewed within five years. 12 Okla. Stat. §...
Pennsylvania5
A judgment creates a lien upon real property for 5 years. Pa. R.C.P. § 3023. An action for revival o...
Wyoming5
A judgment becomes dormant if execution is not issued within 5 years. Wyo. Stat. § 1-17-307. A dorma...

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