Arizona credit and debt laws

Arizona statute of limitations on debt

• Written contracts. Applies to debt evidenced by or founded on a written contract executed in Arizona.
• Oral contracts. Covers debt not evidenced by a contract in writing.
• Promissory notes. Six years after the due date in the note, or after the accelerated due date.
• Credit cards. Arizona settles the card question by statute: debt founded on a credit card gets the six-year period, and subsection B says this section applies if another jurisdiction's limit conflicts with it.
• Stated or open accounts. No item on the account is barred while any item was incurred within the 3 years before suit.

Time limits to sue vs. time on your credit report

The Arizona deadlines above control how long a creditor or collector can win a lawsuit. They don't change how long an account stays on your credit report. The federal Fair Credit Reporting Act limits most negative items to 7 years in every state, counted from the date of first delinquency, and a payment doesn't restart that reporting clock. See how long negative items stay for both clocks side by side.

Can a payment restart the clock?

An acknowledgment that a debt is owed, made after it became due, can only be used against you in court if it is in writing and signed by you (A.R.S. 12-508).

Does Arizona limit lawsuits on old debt?

Arizona law adds no rule of its own on suing over old debt. The federal Regulation F ban on suing or threatening to sue over time-barred debt applies.

Medical debt on credit reports in Arizona

Arizona has no law of its own limiting medical debt on credit reports, so the national rules decide what shows. The three bureaus leave off paid medical collections and any under $500, and an unpaid one can't appear until it is a year old. Arizona does cap interest on medical debt at the lesser of 3% a year or the one-year Treasury yield for the week before you were first billed (A.R.S. 44-1201(A)(1)).

Compare every state in medical debt laws by state.

Marriage and debt

Arizona is a community property state. Debts taken on during the marriage can be treated as shared under state law, but each spouse still has a separate credit report, and an account shows only on the reports of the people on it.

Can employers check your credit?

Arizona has no statewide law limiting employer credit checks. Federal FCRA consent and adverse action rules apply.

Do debt collectors need a Arizona license?

Yes. A collection agency must apply for a license with the Arizona Department of Insurance and Financial Institutions, post a bond sized to its Arizona business, and meet the requirements of A.R.S. Title 32, Chapter 9 (A.R.S. 32-1021). Business in Arizona includes collecting from Arizona debtors, from an Arizona office or for Arizona creditors.

In Arizona, complaints about debt collectors and credit reporting can go to Arizona Department of Insurance and Financial Institutions, Financial Institutions Division, as well as to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

More to know in Arizona

Arizona wrote credit cards into its statute of limitations. Card debt gets 6 years, and the law says the Arizona period controls when another state's limit conflicts with it, which narrows the usual question of which state's law the card agreement picks. Arizona is a community property state. Debts either spouse takes on for the benefit of the community during the marriage are generally paid first from community property and then from the separate property of the spouse who incurred them, and a creditor has to sue both spouses together to reach community property (A.R.S. 25-215). One spouse's separate property is not liable for the other spouse's separate debts unless the owner agreed. Two other limits matter once a debt is in collection. Medical debt interest is capped at 3% a year or less, and a garnishment for ordinary consumer debt can take no more than 10% of weekly disposable earnings, and only from earnings above 60 times the minimum hourly wage (A.R.S. 33-1131(B)).

Guides that go deeper

• The statute of limitations on debt, and how a payment can reset itA statute of limitations limits when a collector can sue, not whether it can ask you to pay. How the clock starts, how it can restart, and what Reg F bans.
• How zombie debt and illegal re-aging bring old debts backZombie debts are old, paid, or wrong debts that resurface after a sale. Re-aging is reporting a newer delinquency date. How to spot and fight both.
• Sued by a debt collector? What to do in the first 2 weeksA debt lawsuit you ignore usually ends in a default judgment. What to read on the summons, how to respond on time, and where to find free legal help.
• Which states ban medical debt on credit reports? The 2026 listFifteen states have laws keeping medical debt off credit reports. The statute, start date and reach of each, plus the bureau rules that apply everywhere.
• Medical debt on credit reports: the rules in force in 2026The federal medical debt ban was struck down in 2025. What still protects you in 2026: bureau policies, newer scores, state laws and hospital aid rules.