Wyoming credit and debt laws

Wyoming statute of limitations on debt

• Oral contracts. Covers a contract not in writing, express or implied.

Time limits to sue vs. time on your credit report

The Wyoming 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?

Yes. When a contract debt has been partly paid, or the debtor signs a written acknowledgment or promise to pay, the time to sue runs from the date of that payment, acknowledgment or promise (Wyo. Stat. 1-3-119).

Medical debt on credit reports in Wyoming

Wyoming 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

Wyoming 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 Wyoming license?

Yes. No one may run a collection agency or act as a debt collector or solicitor in Wyoming without a license under the Wyoming Collection Agency Act (Wyo. Stat. 33-11-102). The act's definition of a collection agency includes debt buyers and businesses that collect Wyoming debts from out of state by phone, mail or electronic means (33-11-101), and it creates a five-member collection agency board appointed by the governor (33-11-103).

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

More to know in Wyoming

Wyoming gives creditors ten years to sue on a written contract and eight years on an unwritten one (Wyo. Stat. 1-3-105). Those are long windows, so a Wyoming debt can stay legally enforceable well after it has dropped off your credit report. A partial payment, or a signed written acknowledgment or promise, starts the clock over from that date (1-3-119). Wyoming also has a borrowing rule: if a claim is already barred under the law of the state or country where it arose, it is barred in Wyoming too (1-3-117). If you moved to Wyoming from a state with a shorter deadline, that rule can matter. Collection agencies, including debt buyers and out-of-state agencies collecting Wyoming debts, must hold a Wyoming license (33-11-101, 33-11-102). The Attorney General's consumer unit accepts written complaints and may forward them to the business, though it does not act as a lawyer for individual consumers.

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.