Debt collectors in Rhode Island

Credit cards: R.I. Gen. Laws § 9-1-13(a): 'Except as otherwise specially provided, all civil actions shall be commenced within ten (10) years next after the cause of action shall accrue.' No shorter contract or consumer-debt period appears in ch. 9-1, so credit-card, written, oral and account claims all get 10 years.

Payments and acknowledgments: I found no acknowledgment or part-payment statute in R.I. Gen. Laws ch. 9-1 (sections 9-1-1 to 9-1-29 reviewed). The effect of part payment or written acknowledgment therefore rests on common law, which I could not confirm in this pass. I found no statute barring revival of time-barred consumer debt, and the RI Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (ch. 19-14.9, §§ 1-14) has no time-barred-debt provision.

Judgments: R.I. Gen. Laws § 9-1-17: actions on judgments or decrees of any court of record of the U.S. or any state must be commenced within 20 years. I found no separate renewal procedure in this pass.

Other rules: The official webserver.rilegislature.gov refused connections. Text is from FindLaw (labelled current as of 2026-01-01). FindLaw shows no § 9-1-13.1 or other consumer-debt-specific limitation, so the 10-year general period appears current; this is worth a spot-check on the official site for any 2025-2026 consumer-debt bill. Contracts or liabilities under seal get 20 years (§ 9-1-17). Non-negotiable notes fall under the 10-year general period. Sale-of-goods contracts fall under § 6A-2-725 (4 years). Federal Reg F (12 CFR 1006.26(b)) applies to FDCPA debt collectors.

• open account: R.I. Gen. Laws § 9-1-13(a)
• written contract: R.I. Gen. Laws § 9-1-13(a); § 9-1-17 (20 yrs, contracts under seal)
• oral contract: R.I. Gen. Laws § 9-1-13(a)
• promissory note: R.I. Gen. Laws § 6A-3-118(a)
• judgment: R.I. Gen. Laws § 9-1-17
• other: R.I. Gen. Laws ch. 19-14.9 (RI FDCPA): no time-barred provision found

Sources: codes.findlaw.com · codes.findlaw.com · codes.findlaw.com