Debt limitation period in France: time limits and how to rely on it

A debt collection agency is chasing you for a 2022 phone bill, or for an old loan you had forgotten. Before you pay, check one thing: does the creditor still have the right to act? The debt limitation period answers that question, and it often protects you better than you think. A lawyer reviews your situation in 20 minutes on Avocat20min.fr.

What the debt limitation period changes

French law calls it prescription. It sets a time limit. Once that limit has passed, the creditor can no longer get a court to order you to pay. It also loses the right to have your goods or your salary seized for that debt.

Be careful, though: the debt does not vanish on its own. The creditor can still write to you and ask for payment. It is up to you to raise the limitation period, in writing or before the judge.

In practice, this rule matters most in three situations:

• A late reminder, often from a debt collection agency that bought or received the file.
• An order for payment served for an old bill.
• A seizure based on an old judgment.

In each case, your first step is to date the debt and identify the creditor. Then you look for the time limit that applies.

Debt limitation periods at a glance

Each debt has its own time limit. The table below sums up the periods known on 20 October 2026, based on the official service-public.gouv.fr guidance.

Debt	Time limit	Reference
Phone and internet	1 year	Postal and Electronic Communications Code, art. L34-2
Business against a consumer (credit, energy, subscription)	2 years	Consumer Code, art. L218-2
Electricity and gas	2 years	guidance F19134
Water, private supplier	2 years	guidance F19134
Water, public supplier	4 years	Local Authorities Code, art. L1617-5
Private clinic or private health facility	2 years	Social Security Code, art. L160-11
Public hospital	4 years	Public Health Code, art. L6145-9
Rent and service charges under a residential lease	3 years	Act of 6 July 1989, art. 7-1
Tax collection by the public Treasury	4 years	Tax Procedures Book, art. L274
Debt between private individuals (general rule)	5 years	Civil Code, art. 2224
Enforcing a judgment	10 years	guidance F1780

Within these rules, the two-year debt limitation period matters most. It covers most everyday debts, whenever a business claims money from a consumer.

Two years: the consumer debt limitation period

Article L218-2 of the Consumer Code sets the rule. A business has two years to act against a consumer for the goods or services it supplied.

For the debt limitation period, this two-year rule covers in particular:

• Credit, including overdrafts and revolving credit cards.
• Energy, meaning electricity and gas.
• Subscriptions, such as a gym or an online service.
• Bills from a tradesperson or a shop sent to a private individual.

The starting point depends on the debt: the date of the bill, of the service or of the first missed payment. A lawyer checks it document by document, because a single month can change everything.

In addition, the Court of Cassation allows the judge to raise this two-year limit on their own, provided the parties can first discuss it. Still, do not count on it: raise it yourself.

A useful point for relatives: according to a Court of Cassation ruling of 20 April 2022, a person who stood as guarantor cannot rely on this two-year period.

Phone, internet, energy, water: everyday bills

For everyday bills, the debt limitation period is short. That is good news if you find an old reminder in your mailbox.

Phone and internet. The operator must claim payment within one year of the date the bill fell due. Do not confuse this one-year limit with how long you should keep your bills, often advised at five years.

Electricity and gas. The supplier has two years to claim a bill. This rule also applies to a catch-up bill after a meter reading.

Water. The limit depends on the supplier. A public water service has four years, a private supplier two years.

If an energy bill puts you in difficulty, our article on the payment plan and grace periods explains how to negotiate instalments.

Rent, hospital, CAF: the debt limitation period for common bills

Rent and service charges. The landlord has three years to claim rent or charges, even after you have moved out. For service charges, the clock starts from the annual adjustment. Our guide to the security deposit explains what can be withheld when you leave.

Hospital and clinic. A public hospital has four years to claim hospital fees. A private health facility has only two years.

CAF overpayments. The family benefits office can claim back an overpayment over two years. The limit is longer in cases of fraud or false declaration, up to five years. On this point, the official sources do not all agree, so have the notice reviewed by a professional. Our article on the RSA also explains how to challenge an overpayment claim.

Taxes: four years for the public Treasury

The debt limitation period for taxes follows its own rules. For a tax already placed in collection, the public accountant has four years to act. That period starts from the date of collection.

However, in tax matters the clock restarts easily. A request for time to pay, a partial payment or an enforcement step interrupts it. According to the tax authority's own guidance, a formal notice to pay is also enough. As a result, an old tax debt often remains payable.

Debts between individuals: five years

The general debt limitation period applies when no special text does. Its limit is five years, under Article 2224 of the Civil Code.

This covers a loan between friends or family members. An IOU is therefore time-barred five years after the date the money became payable. The parties may, however, agree on a different limit, between one and ten years.

This limit also concerns debts left by a deceased person. Our guide to settling an estate explains how heirs can protect themselves.

After a judgment: ten years to enforce

A judgment changes the debt limitation period entirely. Once a court has ruled, the debtor no longer benefits from the original limit of the debt. The creditor now has ten years to enforce the decision.

Better still for the creditor, each enforcement step, even a partial seizure, opens a new ten-year period. That is why an enforcement officer can act on an old decision.

The same goes for an order for payment that has become final. Since 1 September 2026, the creditor must have it served within three months, otherwise it lapses. You then have one month to object. Our article on the unpaid invoice and the order for payment describes this procedure.

Consumer credit: the foreclosure period

Consumer credit follows its own rule. The lender must go to court within two years of the first missed payment that was not made good. The period also runs from the acceleration of the loan, or from an unauthorised overrun of a revolving credit line that was not made good.

French law calls this foreclosure (forclusion), not a debt limitation period in the strict sense. The difference matters: this period cannot be interrupted like an ordinary limitation period. In addition, the judge can raise it on their own, even if you do not.

A reform of consumer credit takes effect on 20 November 2026. The article numbers of the Consumer Code may change on that date. So have the text that applies to your contract checked.

What stops or pauses the clock

The debt limitation period does not always run smoothly. Two mechanisms change it.

Interruption wipes out the time already elapsed and starts a full new period. As a general rule, three events interrupt it:

• Your acknowledgment of the debt. A partial payment, even €10, counts as acknowledgment under case law. So does a letter in which you admit owing the money.
• A court claim, such as a summons or an application for an order for payment.
• An enforcement step, for example a seizure, or a protective measure.

By contrast, a simple reminder or a formal notice does not interrupt the limitation period of an ordinary civil debt. Taxes are the exception, as explained above.

Suspension pauses the clock without resetting it. Mediation or conciliation pauses it. The same applies when you accept the simplified procedure for small claims before an enforcement officer.

So a debtor who pays "a small gesture" to calm a collection agency may restart a two-year or five-year period without knowing it. Before any payment on an old debt, check the date.

How to rely on the debt limitation period

Do you think the debt is past its time limit? Proceed step by step.

1. Gather the documents: bill, contract, last payment, every reminder you received.
2. Work out the time limit from its starting point, then look for any event that interrupted it.
3. Pay nothing and sign no repayment schedule until the calculation is done.
4. Reply by registered letter with acknowledgment of receipt: state that you rely on the limitation period and ask for the reminders to stop.
5. Before the judge, raise the limitation period as a defence, known as a plea of inadmissibility. An objection to an order for payment gives you that opportunity.

If you receive a summons or an order for payment, react within the stated time limit. Silence lets the creditor obtain an enforceable title, and the limitation period of the original debt will no longer help.

Free help and what a lawyer brings

Several bodies help you sort out debts for free. A budget advice point (point conseil budget) offers confidential, personal support. Your town's social welfare office (CCAS) and consumer associations can also guide you. Finally, a point-justice gives a free first legal consultation, on 30 39.

Legal aid covers lawyer's fees if your income is modest. In 2026, full legal aid applies to a single person whose reference tax income does not exceed €12,957.

A lawyer brings a precise reading of your file. They identify the right time limit and its starting point, spot a questionable interrupting event and raise limitation or foreclosure before the judge. They also file the objection to an order for payment, where a lawyer is mandatory above €10,000. If debts keep piling up anyway, they will look with you at an over-indebtedness file or, in the most serious cases, a debt write-off through personal recovery.

A consumer law lawyer answers in 20 minutes. The official limits appear on the service-public page on bills.