Massachusetts credit and debt laws

Massachusetts statute of limitations on debt

• Promissory notes. For a note payable on a set date, the six years run from the due date in the note, or from the accelerated due date if the lender called the full balance due.
• Credit card and other consumer debt. The state's guide to debt collection law on Mass.gov says the six-year period for consumer debt covers credit card debt.

Time limits to sue vs. time on your credit report

The Massachusetts 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 or promise only restarts the clock on a contract if it is in a writing signed by you (Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 260, § 13). The model notice in the Attorney General's debt collection rules warns that making a payment on an old debt can renew the creditor's time to sue (940 CMR 7.07(24)(a)).

Does Massachusetts limit lawsuits on old debt?

Under the Attorney General's debt collection rules, a creditor that knows or should know a debt is time-barred may collect it, or ask you to admit or promise to pay it, only after disclosing that you may not be sued on it and that you don't have to pay, sign anything or waive your rights (940 CMR 7.07(24)). The federal Regulation F ban on suing or threatening suit over time-barred debt applies to debt collectors.

Medical debt on credit reports in Massachusetts

Massachusetts 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. State regulations proposed in June 2026 to ban it had not been finalized as of early October 2026.

Compare every state in medical debt laws by state.

Marriage and debt

Massachusetts 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.

Do debt collectors need a Massachusetts license?

Yes. A debt collector needs a license from the Commissioner of Banks before collecting in Massachusetts (Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 93, §§ 24, 24A), and the Division of Banks lists licensees through NMLS. Massachusetts attorneys don't need this license. The state's highest court held in Dorrian v. LVNV Funding that a passive debt buyer was not a debt collector under ch. 93, § 24 and did not need a license.

In Massachusetts, complaints about debt collectors and credit reporting can go to Massachusetts Division of Banks, as well as to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

More to know in Massachusetts

Massachusetts gives creditors six years to sue on most contracts, written or oral, and the state's guide to debt collection law says that period covers credit card debt (Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 260, § 2). A court judgment lasts far longer: after 20 years it is treated as paid and satisfied (ch. 260, § 20). The Attorney General's debt collection rules require a creditor collecting a debt it knows is time-barred to tell you, in writing or on the phone, that you may not be sued on it, using model wording set out in 940 CMR 7.07(24). Debt collectors need a license from the Division of Banks. Complaints about collection companies go to that division, and complaints about debt buyers go to the Attorney General's office. Massachusetts has no medical debt credit reporting law in effect. The governor proposed regulations in June 2026 that would ban medical debt from credit reports, and they had not been finalized as of early October 2026. Massachusetts 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.