Texas credit and debt laws

Texas statute of limitations on debt

• Debts, written or oral. Texas sets four years for an action for "debt" without splitting written from oral agreements. The debt buyer law in Tex. Fin. Code 392.307 ties consumer debt suits to this section.
• Promissory notes. For a note payable at a definite time, six years after the due date, or after the accelerated due date if the lender accelerated.

Time limits to sue vs. time on your credit report

The Texas 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 most creditors, an acknowledgment of a time-barred claim only counts if it is in writing and signed by you (Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code 16.065). For debt buyers the rule is stricter: once suit is barred, a payment, a written or oral reaffirmation, or any other activity on the debt does not revive it (Tex. Fin. Code 392.307(d)).

Does Texas limit lawsuits on old debt?

Yes. A debt buyer may not sue or start arbitration to collect a consumer debt after the limitations period in Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code 16.004 or Tex. Bus. & Com. Code 3.118 has run, and its first written notice on a time-barred debt must carry a required disclosure that begins "THE LAW LIMITS HOW LONG YOU CAN BE SUED ON A DEBT" in at least 12-point type (Tex. Fin. Code 392.307).

Medical debt on credit reports in Texas

Texas law bars credit bureaus from reporting a collection account with a medical industry code when you had health coverage and the bill is the balance left after copays, deductibles and coinsurance from an out-of-network emergency or facility-based provider. On August 10, 2026, a federal court in the Western District of Texas held in CDIA v. Paxton that the FCRA preempts this provision and barred the state from enforcing it. The law: Tex. Bus. & Com. Code 20.05(a)(5).

Compare every state in medical debt laws by state.

Marriage and debt

Texas 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.

Do debt collectors need a Texas license?

Texas requires a bond, not a license. A third-party debt collector or credit bureau must obtain a $10,000 surety bond from a company authorized in Texas and file a copy with the Secretary of State before collecting (Tex. Fin. Code 392.101).

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

More to know in Texas

Texas gives creditors four years to sue on a debt (Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code 16.004(a)(3)), and six years on a promissory note with a set due date (Tex. Bus. & Com. Code 3.118). The state goes further than most on debt buyers. Under Tex. Fin. Code 392.307, a debt buyer can't sue or start arbitration on a time-barred consumer debt, and nothing you do afterward revives its right to sue: not a payment, not a written promise, not a verbal one. Its first letter on that debt has to tell you, in large type, that the law limits how long you can be sued. If a debt buyer's letter about an old Texas debt leaves that notice out, keep the letter. This protection is aimed at debt buyers. An original creditor or its collection agency is still governed by the general rule that only a signed written acknowledgment revives a barred claim (16.065). Third-party collectors must keep a $10,000 bond on file with the Secretary of State (392.101).

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.