State file — Alabama
Every number below names the law it comes from (its statute citation), checked October 18, 2026. Where a number comes from a secondary source instead of the official text, this page says so — double-check it before you rely on it.
| How long they have to sue you — credit-card debt | 6 years (written contract) / 3 years (open account) · Ala. Code §6-2-34(4)-(5); §6-2-37(1) From a secondary source — double-check before you rely on it 6 yrs written promise / stated or liquidated account; 3 yrs open or unliquidated account. Contested: Card debt is usually pleaded as an open account (3 yrs, §6-2-37), but collectors routinely re-plead the same balance as an 'account stated' or written promise to get 6 years (§6-2-34) — which bucket applies is litigated case by case. |
| If the clock has run out | Paying part of it, or signing a written statement that the debt is yours, can restart it. Ala. Code §6-2-16 From a secondary source — double-check before you rely on it A part payment made before the period runs, or a written acknowledgment/promise, is reported to restart the clock; an acknowledgment or new promise must be in writing. Seen only in secondary sources this pass. |
| Deadline to answer a lawsuit | 30 days after service in Circuit Court; only 14 days in District Court and Small Claims Court, where most card suits are filed · Ala. R. Civ. P. 12(a) From a secondary source — double-check before you rely on it |
| Taking your paycheck (wage garnishment) | Follows the federal cap. State law exempts 75% of wages, so the take matches the federal CCPA ceiling: the lesser of 25% of disposable earnings or the amount above 30x the federal minimum wage. Ala. Code §6-10-7; §5-19-15 From a secondary source — double-check before you rely on it |
| Taking your bank account (a levy) | No automatic bank-balance exemption. Protection comes from claiming exemptions in the funds: the 75% wage exemption for traceable pay, and the personal-property/wildcard exemption (Ala. Code §6-10-6, $7,500 statutory amount, adjusted for inflation every three years); Social Security and most benefit payments are exempt. Ala. Code §6-10-6; §6-10-7 From a secondary source — double-check before you rely on it Federal benefits deposited directly get an automatic two-month shield everywhere (31 CFR Part 212). |
| Original creditor calling? | No equivalent statute found. The federal FDCPA binds third-party collectors and debt buyers in Alabama, and federal law still bans deceptive practices by the bank itself. |
| How long a judgment lasts | 20 years — Executions may issue within 10 years; after 10 years a judgment is presumed satisfied but may be revived by scire facias, and no revival is allowed after 20 years · Ala. Code §6-2-32; §§6-9-190, 6-9-191 From a secondary source — double-check before you rely on it |
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6 years (written contract) / 3 years (open account) under Ala. Code §6-2-34(4)-(5); §6-2-37(1). The clock usually starts at the first missed payment that was never made up. Debt collectors may still call after it runs out, but Regulation F (12 CFR 1006.26(b)) bars them from suing — or threatening to sue — over a debt that is too old (time-barred).
Paying part of it, or signing a written statement that the debt is yours, can restart it. (Ala. Code §6-2-16).
30 days after service in Circuit Court; only 14 days in District Court and Small Claims Court, where most card suits are filed (Ala. R. Civ. P. 12(a)). Most of these cases are lost by default — by never answering at all.
State law exempts 75% of wages, so the take matches the federal CCPA ceiling: the lesser of 25% of disposable earnings or the amount above 30x the federal minimum wage. (Ala. Code §6-10-7; §5-19-15).