Tennessee credit and debt laws

Tennessee statute of limitations on debt

• Oral contracts. Covers actions on contracts not otherwise expressly provided for, written or not.

Time limits to sue vs. time on your credit report

The Tennessee 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.

Medical debt on credit reports in Tennessee

Tennessee 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.

Compare every state in medical debt laws by state.

Marriage and debt

Tennessee 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 Tennessee license?

Yes. No one may run a collection service business in Tennessee without a collection service license issued by the Collection Service Board. Regular employees of a licensed collection service don't need their own license (Tenn. Code Ann. 62-20-105).

In Tennessee, complaints about debt collectors and credit reporting can go to Tennessee Attorney General, Consumer Protection Division, as well as to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

More to know in Tennessee

Tennessee's general contract deadline is six years for actions on contracts not otherwise expressly provided for (Tenn. Code Ann. 28-3-109(a)(3)). That catchall reaches most consumer debts, from card balances to personal loans, whether the agreement was written or spoken. Demand notes are the exception worth knowing. Under 28-3-109(c), an action on a note payable on demand can be brought within ten years after the claim accrues, so a family or business loan written as a demand note can stay enforceable much longer than a card. Tennessee is not on the National Consumer Law Center's 2026 list of states with medical debt reporting laws. When a collector contacts you about an old Tennessee debt, find your last payment date and the date you first fell behind before you agree to anything, and ask for validation in writing. If you are served with a lawsuit, the time limit is a defense you have to raise yourself in your answer.

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.