State file — North Carolina
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 | 3 years · N.C.G.S. § 1-52(1) From a secondary source — double-check before you rely on it Within three years: an action upon a contract, obligation or liability arising out of a contract, express or implied — §1-52(1) covers written, oral and open-account (card) debt alike at 3 years. Contracts under seal are the outlier at 10 years (§1-47(2)); ordinary card agreements are not under seal. |
| If the clock has run out | Paying part of it, or signing a written statement that the debt is yours, can restart it. N.C.G.S. § 1-23; case law on partial payment under § 1-52 From a secondary source — double-check before you rely on it A partial payment made before expiry renews the period from the payment date where it acknowledges the debt; a new promise to pay must generally be in writing under §1-23. Secondary sources also report North Carolina courts allowing a payment or signed acknowledgment to revive even after expiry — treat post-expiry revival as contested in practice and flag for counsel review. |
| Deadline to answer a lawsuit | 30 days after service of summons and complaint · N.C. R. Civ. P. 12(a) (G.S. § 1A-1, Rule 12) From a secondary source — double-check before you rely on it |
| Taking your paycheck (wage garnishment) | Effectively banned for credit-card judgments. BANNED for ordinary consumer/private-creditor judgments: North Carolina courts do not order wage garnishment for credit-card, medical or other consumer debt. Garnishment of wages is available only to government-type creditors — taxes, child support/alimony, federal/state student loans, and certain county ambulance debts. Earnings for personal services within the last 60 days needed for family support are also exempt (§1-362). Caution: an out-of-state garnishment order against an out-of-state employer may still reach wages. N.C.G.S. §§ 1-362, 1C-1601; N.C. Dep't of Labor guidance on garnishments From a secondary source — double-check before you rely on it |
| Taking your bank account (a levy) | The wage ban does NOT protect money once deposited: a judgment creditor may levy a bank account. The debtor's protection is the exemption-claim procedure — after a Notice of Right to Claim Exemptions, the debtor may designate exempt property under §1C-1601(a) (e.g. residence to $35,000, motor vehicle to $3,500, household goods, plus a wildcard in unused residence exemption); exemptions must be claimed timely or they are waived. N.C.G.S. §§ 1C-1601(a), 1C-1603 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? | Yes — the North Carolina Debt Collection Act (N.C.G.S. §§ 75-50 to 75-56) applies FDCPA-style rules to original creditors. The Debt Collection Act's definition of 'debt collector' reaches any person engaging in debt collection on a consumer debt, and North Carolina courts/AG guidance treat it as covering original creditors collecting their own debts — broader than the federal FDCPA. Separately, the Collection Agency Act (§§ 58-70-90 et seq.) licenses agencies and, at §58-70-115(4), bars a debt-buyer agency from suing on a debt it knows or should know is time-barred. |
| How long a judgment lasts | 10 years — Renewable once for one additional 10-year period, by a new action (or motion under §1-46 practice) brought before the original 10 years expires; a docketed judgment is a lien on real property in that county for 10 years from docketing. · N.C.G.S. §§ 1-47(1), 1-234, 1-46 From a secondary source — double-check before you rely on it |
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3 years under N.C.G.S. § 1-52(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. (N.C.G.S. § 1-23; case law on partial payment under § 1-52).
30 days after service of summons and complaint (N.C. R. Civ. P. 12(a) (G.S. § 1A-1, Rule 12)). Most of these cases are lost by default — by never answering at all.
BANNED for ordinary consumer/private-creditor judgments: North Carolina courts do not order wage garnishment for credit-card, medical or other consumer debt. Garnishment of wages is available only to government-type creditors — taxes, child support/alimony, federal/state student loans, and certain county ambulance debts. Earnings for personal services within the last 60 days needed for family support are also exempt (§1-362). Caution: an out-of-state garnishment order against an out-of-state employer may still reach wages. (N.C.G.S. §§ 1-362, 1C-1601; N.C. Dep't of Labor guidance on garnishments).