Maryland credit and debt laws
In Maryland, the statute of limitations on written contracts is 3 years. That clock limits lawsuits, not credit reporting: under federal law, most negative items leave your credit report after 7 years no matter which state you live in. Maryland also has its own law on medical debt and credit reports.
Maryland statute of limitations on debt
| Type of debt | Time limit | Law |
|---|---|---|
| Written contracts | 3 years | Md. Code Ann., Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 5-101 |
| Oral contracts | 3 years | Md. Code Ann., Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 5-101 |
| Promissory notes | 6 years | Md. Code Ann., Com. Law § 3-118(a) |
| Promissory notes and contracts under seal | 12 years | Md. Code Ann., Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 5-102(a) |
- Promissory notes. Covers negotiable notes under Maryland's commercial code. The six years run from the due date in the note, or from the accelerated due date.
- Promissory notes and contracts under seal. Maryland calls these specialties. The list also includes bonds and judgments.
Time limits to sue vs. time on your credit report
The Maryland 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?
For consumer debt, a payment, a written or oral acknowledgment, or any other activity on the debt after the limitations period has run does not revive or extend it (Md. Code Ann., Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 5-1202(b)). A separate written agreement or payment plan made before the period expired can carry its own deadline.
Does Maryland limit lawsuits on old debt?
Yes. A creditor or collector may not start a consumer debt collection action, meaning a lawsuit or arbitration to collect a consumer debt, after the statute of limitations has expired (Md. Code Ann., Cts. & Jud. Proc. §§ 5-1201, 5-1202(a)).
Medical debt on credit reports in Maryland
Maryland bars consumer reporting agencies from creating or furnishing a report with adverse information tied to medical debt, or keeping medical debt in your file, no matter when the debt was incurred. Anyone judging your creditworthiness may not use medical debt information from a report. Separate health code sections require provider contracts that bar collectors from furnishing medical debt to the bureaus. The law: Md. Code Ann., Com. Law § 14-1213; Health-Gen. §§ 19-214.2(f), 24-2501, 24-2502. In effect since October 1, 2025.
Compare every state in medical debt laws by state.
Marriage and debt
Maryland is not a community property state. Each spouse keeps a separate credit report, and a debt generally belongs to the people who signed for it.
Can employers check your credit?
Maryland's 2011 law bars most employers from using credit history in hiring unless they have a bona fide job-related reason. Financial institutions are fully exempt.
Do debt collectors need a Maryland license?
Yes. A person must have a license to do business as a collection agency in Maryland (Md. Code Ann., Bus. Reg. § 7-301). The license comes under the Commissioner of Financial Regulation, and applications and renewals go through NMLS.
In Maryland, complaints about debt collectors and credit reporting can go to Maryland Office of Financial Regulation, as well as to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
More to know in Maryland
Maryland gives creditors three years to sue on most debts, whether the contract was written or oral (Md. Code Ann., Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 5-101). Specialties get 12 years, including a promissory note or contract under seal (§ 5-102). For consumer debt the deadline is firm: a creditor or collector can't sue or start arbitration after it runs, and a later payment or acknowledgment doesn't bring the debt back (§ 5-1202). Collection agencies must be licensed, and the Office of Financial Regulation takes complaints. Maryland's medical debt law, from House Bill 1020, took effect October 1, 2025. Besides keeping medical debt off reports, it limits how anyone evaluating a credit application may use medical debt, and it requires hospitals and other providers to bar their collectors from reporting it. Maryland also limits employer credit checks under a 2011 law. Most employers need a bona fide job-related reason to look at credit history, and financial institutions are exempt. Maryland is not a community property state.
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.
Sources
- The Latest: Keeping Medical Debt Out of Credit Reports, National Consumer Law Center
- Medical Debt Can Still Hit Your Credit Report in 35 States, MoneyGeek
- Publication 555, Community Property, Internal Revenue Service
- A Guide to the States that Ban Credit Checks for Employment, backgroundchecks.com
- Maryland Code, Courts and Judicial Proceedings § 5-101: Three-year limitation in general, Maryland General Assembly
- Maryland Code, Courts and Judicial Proceedings § 5-102: Specialties, Maryland General Assembly
- Maryland Code, Courts and Judicial Proceedings § 5-1201: Definitions, Maryland General Assembly
- Maryland Code, Courts and Judicial Proceedings § 5-1202: Consumer debt collection actions, Maryland General Assembly
- Maryland Code, Commercial Law § 3-118: Statute of limitations, Maryland General Assembly
- Maryland Code, Commercial Law § 14-1213: Medical debt, Maryland General Assembly
- Maryland Code, Business Regulation § 7-301: License required, Maryland General Assembly
- Maryland Code, Business Regulation § 7-101: Definitions, Maryland General Assembly
- I have an inquiry or complaint about a collection agency, Maryland Office of Financial Regulation
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