Debt collectors in Arizona

Credit cards: A.R.S. 12-548(A)(2) expressly gives 6 years to an action for debt 'evidenced by or founded on' a credit card as defined in 13-2101(3)(a). That specific provision controls over the 3-year period of 12-543 for stated or open accounts and debts not evidenced by a writing. Under 12-548(B), the 6-year period applies even if another jurisdiction's limitations law conflicts.

Payments and acknowledgments: (b) After expiry: A.R.S. 12-508 lets a barred action be revived only by a written acknowledgment signed by the debtor, so a payment or an oral promise alone does not revive it. (a) Before expiry: no Arizona statute addresses the effect of a part payment made while the period is still running, and Arizona case law on it was not confirmed in this research. No creditor-type distinction found.

Judgments: Execution may issue within 10 years after entry, and within 10 years after each renewal (A.R.S. 12-1551). A judgment can be renewed by an affidavit filed in the 90 days before the 10-year period expires (12-1612), which renews it for 10 years from docketing (12-1613), or by an action on the judgment (12-1611). Renewals can be repeated. The current rule covers judgments entered on or after Aug. 3, 2013, and older judgments renewed by Aug. 2, 2018; older judgments not renewed by then can no longer be enforced. These transition dates reflect a 2018 amendment that lengthened the former 5-year period to 10 years (the session law was not read). The judgment lien on real property lasts 10 years (33-964) and continues only if the certified renewal affidavit is recorded (12-1613(C)).

Other rules: All statute text was read on the official azleg.gov. A written contract executed outside Arizona gets 4 years under 12-544(3), but 12-548(B) may pull out-of-state written debt contracts into the 6-year rule; credit-card debt is covered by 12-548(A)(2) regardless of where the contract was made. Accrual of an accelerated or optional-acceleration credit-card debt is governed by Arizona Supreme Court case law that was not confirmed here (search budget exhausted). No time-barred-debt ban or revival bar was found in A.R.S. 32-1051/32-1055 (collection agencies); Arizona administrative rules were not checked.

• open account: A.R.S. 12-548(A)(2) (credit card, 6 yrs); cf. A.R.S. 12-543(2) (stated or open accounts, 3 yrs)
• written contract: A.R.S. 12-548(A)(1) (contract in writing executed in Arizona); A.R.S. 12-544(3) (4 yrs, instrument in writing executed outside the state)
• oral contract: A.R.S. 12-543(1)
• promissory note: A.R.S. 47-3118(A)
• judgment: A.R.S. 12-1551, 12-1611, 12-1612, 12-1613; 33-964
• payment restarts: A.R.S. 12-508
• other: A.R.S. 12-548(B) (Arizona's 6-year period applies despite a conflicting other-state statute of limitations)

Sources: azleg.gov · azleg.gov · azleg.gov