Debt collectors in Oregon

Credit cards: ORS 12.080(1) gives 6 years for 'an action upon a contract or liability, express or implied' (excepting ORS 12.070, 12.110, 12.135 and UCC 72.7250), so written, oral and account claims, credit cards included, all get 6 years. ORS 12.090: in an action on an account, the claim accrues at the last charge or payment proved, and interest, financing and carrying charges do not count as a charge.

Payments and acknowledgments: ORS 12.240: when principal or interest is paid after it falls due on an existing contract (note, bond or other evidence of indebtedness), the limitation period runs from the last payment. ORS 12.230: an acknowledgment or new promise must be in a signed writing, but the effect of payment is unchanged. For accounts, ORS 12.090 counts the last charge or payment, not interest or finance charges. I found no Oregon statute that bars revival of time-barred consumer debt by payment, but filing suit on time-barred debt is itself an unlawful collection practice (see other).

Judgments: ORS 18.180(3): judgment remedies for a civil judgment in circuit court expire 10 years after entry. ORS 18.182: they may be extended once, by filing a certificate of extension before they expire, and the extended remedies expire 10 years after the certificate is filed (20 years maximum). After a bankruptcy discharge, extension is allowed only to preserve a pre-petition real-property lien. These sections do not apply to justice, municipal or county courts (18.180(8), 18.182(9)). ORS 12.070(1) separately allows an action upon a judgment within 10 years.

Other rules: The official oregonlegislature.gov was unreachable (connection refused, browser too). Text is from oregon.public.law, which cites the official ORS pages accessed May 26, 2025, so it reflects the 2023 ORS edition; 2025-session amendments were not checked. ORS 646.639(1)(h) defines 'debt collector' broadly as any person who directly or indirectly collects a debt owed to a creditor or debt buyer, so the (2)(r) suit ban appears to reach original creditors too, not just agencies. Only filing a legal action is covered; I saw no express ban on threatening suit in the text I read. The limit is 10 years for actions on a sealed instrument entered into before Aug 13, 1965 (ORS 12.070(2)). Sale-of-goods contracts fall under ORS 72.7250 (4 years). Debt buyers must plead specified account details (ORS 646A.670), and courts may not enter judgment for a non-compliant debt buyer.

• open account: ORS 12.080(1); ORS 12.090 (accrual)
• written contract: ORS 12.080(1)
• oral contract: ORS 12.080(1)
• promissory note: ORS 73.0118(1) (UCC 3-118)
• judgment: ORS 18.180(3); ORS 18.182(1), (5); ORS 12.070(1)
• payment restarts: ORS 12.240; ORS 12.230
• other: ORS 646.639(2)(r) (any 'debt collector' that files a legal action when it knows, or with reasonable diligence would know, the SOL bars collection); ORS 646.639(4)(a) (same for debt buyers and those acting for them); ORS 646A.670 (debt-buyer pleading requirements)

Sources: oregon.public.law · oregon.public.law · oregon.public.law