Debt collectors in Oklahoma

Credit cards: 12 O.S. § 95(A)(1) gives 5 years for 'any contract, agreement, or promise in writing', and § 95(A)(2) gives 3 years for a 'contract express or implied not in writing'. A credit card is 5 years if the creditor proves a written agreement, but courts may treat it as an open account or unwritten contract at 3 years. I could not locate controlling Oklahoma appellate authority in this pass (OSCN was unreachable), so I use the longer 5 years conservatively; 3 is the shorter alternative.

Payments and acknowledgments: 12 O.S. § 101: in any case founded on contract, part payment of principal or interest, or a written signed acknowledgment or promise to pay, lets an action be brought within the prescribed period after that payment, acknowledgment or promise. The statute makes no pre- vs post-expiry distinction. I found no Oklahoma statute barring revival of time-barred consumer debt.

Judgments: 12 O.S. § 735: a judgment becomes unenforceable and of no effect unless, within 5 years of filing, one of these happens: an execution is issued and filed with the county clerk (§ 759), a notice of renewal of judgment is filed with the court clerk, a garnishment summons is issued, or a certified notice of income assignment is sent to a payor. The 5 years then run again from the last such act (§ 735(B)), so the judgment can be renewed indefinitely. The section does not apply to judgments against municipalities or to child support. It was last amended in 2002 (Laws 2002, c. 468), and the official Title 12 compilation (PDF dated 2025-12-30) shows no 2020s amendment.

Other rules: Statute text is from the official Oklahoma Legislature complete-title PDFs (Title 12 PDF created 2025-12-30, so it reflects the 2025 session; 2026-session changes not checked). OSCN (oscn.net), Justia and the search tools were unavailable, so I could not research the credit-card written-vs-open-account question in case law. That question is the main open item. Non-negotiable notes fall under the 5-year written-contract period of § 95(A)(1). I did not check the Uniform Consumer Credit Code (Title 14A) for consumer-specific limitation rules. Oklahoma has no state FDCPA that I found; federal Reg F (12 CFR 1006.26(b)) applies to FDCPA debt collectors.

• open account: 12 O.S. § 95(A)(1) (5 yrs, written) / § 95(A)(2) (3 yrs, not in writing)
• written contract: 12 O.S. § 95(A)(1)
• oral contract: 12 O.S. § 95(A)(2)
• promissory note: 12A O.S. § 3-118(a)
• judgment: 12 O.S. §§ 735, 759
• payment restarts: 12 O.S. § 101
• other: 12 O.S. § 102 (a barred right is unavailable as a cause of action or defense, with exceptions)

Sources: oklegislature.gov · oklegislature.gov