Debt collectors in Virginia

Credit cards: Va. Code 8.01-246(A)(2) gives 5 years for a written contract signed by the party charged. 8.01-246(A)(4) gives 3 years for a written contract NOT signed by the party charged, or any unwritten contract. A credit card is 5 years only if the creditor can show a writing signed by the cardholder (e.g., a signed application incorporating the terms); typical unsigned cardmember agreements and open accounts fall under the 3-year period. The 5-year merchant-account rule in (A)(3) is merchant-to-merchant only. No Virginia appellate case was confirmed, so 5 is the conservative figure and 3 is common.

Payments and acknowledgments: Va. Code 8.01-229(G): if the debtor 'promises, by writing signed by him or his agent, payment of money' on a contract, the creditor may sue within the original period measured from the promise. A written acknowledgment from which a promise may be implied counts. That covers written acknowledgment before or after expiry, for all creditors. Unlike the parallel West Virginia statute, the current Virginia text does not say that only a written promise can take a case out of the statute. Whether part payment alone tolls or restarts the period under Virginia case law could NOT be confirmed in this pass. No statute bars revival of consumer debt.

Judgments: For judgments dated on or after 7/1/2021, execution or action is barred after 10 years (20 years for judgments dated or extended before 7/1/2021) (8.01-251(A)). The creditor can extend for 10 years by recording a certificate in the circuit court clerk's office before expiry, and may record one more 10-year extension (8.01-251(B), (G)). General district court judgments get 10 years (16.1-94.1; 16.1-69.55(B)(2)). Under 2026 Acts c. 848, GDC judgments entered before 7/1/2026 can still be docketed in circuit court and then extended like circuit judgments. For GDC judgments entered on or after 7/1/2026 and enforced by a DEBT BUYER, the 10-year limit applies regardless of docketing (8.01-251(F); 16.1-69.55(B)(4)). The amended 16.1-94.1 limits its docketing exception to pre-7/1/2026 judgments, so whether non-debt-buyer creditors can extend post-July-2026 GDC judgments is unclear.

Medical debt, 3 years: Medical debt (2024 amendment): 3 years from the due date of the final invoice or the breach of a payment plan. (Va. Code 8.01-246(B))

Other rules: All statute text was read on the official Code of Virginia site (law.lis.virginia.gov), dated 11/12/2026, including the 2026 updates list. Recent changes: medical debt now has a 3-year limit (8.01-246(B)). Open accounts accrue at the later of the last payment or last charge (8.01-249(8)). Judgments dated on or after 7/1/2021 dropped from 20 to 10 years. 2026 c. 848 (HB1426) limits debt-buyer enforcement of new GDC judgments to 10 years. A consumer-debt pleading rule (8.01-271.2) takes effect 1/1/2027 and the Uniform Consumer Debt Default Judgments Act takes effect 7/1/2027. Neither of those sets an SOL. No Virginia statute expressly barring suit on, or revival of, time-barred consumer debt was found among the 2026 Title 59.1 and 8.01 updates. A promissory note under UCC 8.3A-118 gets 6 years, longer than the 5 years for other signed writings.

• open account: Va. Code 8.01-246(A)(2) (signed writing, 5 yrs) / (A)(4) (unsigned or unwritten, 3 yrs); accrual 8.01-249(8)
• written contract: Va. Code 8.01-246(A)(2)
• oral contract: Va. Code 8.01-246(A)(4)
• promissory note: Va. Code 8.3A-118(a)
• judgment: Va. Code 8.01-251(A), (B), (F), (G); 16.1-94.1; 16.1-69.55(B)
• payment restarts: Va. Code 8.01-229(G)
• other: Va. Code 8.01-246(B) (medical debt: 3 years from final invoice due date or payment-plan breach; 2024 c. 800); 8.01-249(8) (open account accrues at later of last payment or last charge); 8.01-271.2 (consumer-debt pleading signature rules, eff. 1/1/2027); Uniform Consumer Debt Default Judgments Act, 8.01-465.26 et seq. (eff. 7/1/2027)

Sources: law.lis.virginia.gov · law.lis.virginia.gov · law.lis.virginia.gov