State file — Virginia
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 | 5 years (written contract) / 3 years (open account) · Va. Code § 8.01-246(A)(2), (A)(4) Primary text opened at law.lis.virginia.gov: § 8.01-246(A)(2) = 5 years for a contract 'in writing and signed by the party to be charged'; (A)(4) = 3 years for a writing not signed or 'any unwritten contract, express or implied' (the open/unwritten bucket). Contested: The 5-year period requires a writing SIGNED by the party to be charged. Card suits are often pleaded at 3 years where the cardmember agreement is unsigned, and at 5 where a signed application/agreement is produced - classification turns on the signed-writing proof. |
| If the clock has run out | Signing a written statement that the debt is yours — or a signed promise to pay — can restart it. Paying alone cannot. Va. Code § 8.01-229(G) From a secondary source — double-check before you rely on it Virginia revival centers on a signed writing: an acknowledgment in writing from which a promise of payment may be implied is treated as a new promise, and suit may be brought on the new promise or the original cause. Secondary analysis does not confirm a bare part payment alone as sufficient. |
| Deadline to answer a lawsuit | File responsive pleadings within 21 days after service of process in circuit court (general district court practice is by the return date on the warrant) · Va. Sup. Ct. R. 3:5 From a secondary source — double-check before you rely on it |
| Taking your paycheck (wage garnishment) | More protective than the federal cap. Maximum garnishable is the lesser of 25% of disposable earnings or the amount by which weekly disposable earnings exceed 40 times the minimum wage - Virginia's summons form (§ 8.01-512.3, explaining § 34-29) states the 40-times floor, which is more protective than the federal 30-times floor and is keyed in the statute to the applicable (state/federal) minimum wage. Va. Code § 34-29 From a secondary source — double-check before you rely on it |
| Taking your bank account (a levy) | NEW state floor (secondary, via Orrick/JD Supra on the enacted amendment): on a garnishment summons the financial institution must exempt a minimum protected balance of up to $1,000 across the debtor's accounts (inflation-adjusted every 3 years) and, on account review, protect federal/state benefit payments deposited in the preceding two months. Enactment/effective-date details should be re Va. Code § 8.01-512.3 et seq. (as amended) 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 Virginia, and federal law still bans deceptive practices by the bank itself. |
| How long a judgment lasts | 10 years — For judgments dated on or after July 1, 2021: enforceable 10 years, extendable by recording a certificate before expiry for +10 years, with one additional +10-year extension permitted. Judgments dated before July 1, 2021 carry the old 20-year period · Va. Code § 8.01-251(A)-(B) From a secondary source — double-check before you rely on it |
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5 years (written contract) / 3 years (open account) under Va. Code § 8.01-246(A)(2), (A)(4). 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).
Signing a written statement that the debt is yours — or a signed promise to pay — can restart it. Paying alone cannot. (Va. Code § 8.01-229(G)).
File responsive pleadings within 21 days after service of process in circuit court (general district court practice is by the return date on the warrant) (Va. Sup. Ct. R. 3:5). Most of these cases are lost by default — by never answering at all.
Maximum garnishable is the lesser of 25% of disposable earnings or the amount by which weekly disposable earnings exceed 40 times the minimum wage - Virginia's summons form (§ 8.01-512.3, explaining § 34-29) states the 40-times floor, which is more protective than the federal 30-times floor and is keyed in the statute to the applicable (state/federal) minimum wage. (Va. Code § 34-29).