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💷 Old Debts Guide

Is My Debt Statute Barred in Northern Ireland?

The 6-year time limit, what restarts it and debt collectors.

✅ Last verified: 24 September 2026 📚 Sources: listed at the end, each checked on the date shown 🇬🇧 Northern Ireland

💬 Check your own situation

Describe what has happened. The checker answers only from this guide, plus what you tell it, and says so if something is not covered.

Check an Old Debt →

Who this guide is for

People in Northern Ireland who are being chased for an old debt under an ordinary contract, such as a credit card, store card, catalogue, overdraft, personal loan or payday loan, and want to know whether it is statute barred (too old for the creditor to take you to court).

What this guide does not cover

⚖ At a glance

  • For most debts under an ordinary contract, the time limit for court action is generally 6 years (Limitation (Northern Ireland) Order 1989).
  • An acknowledgment or a payment made before the 6 years run out starts a new 6 years.
  • An acknowledgment or part payment does not revive a debt that is already statute barred.
  • A statute-barred debt still exists in Northern Ireland, and the creditor can still ask you to pay. It cannot make you pay through the courts.
  • A debt collector regulated by the FCA must not say you may be taken to court for a debt it knows is statute barred.

The questions that decide the answer

  1. Where do you live? Northern Ireland: this guide. England, Wales and Scotland have their own guides.
  2. What kind of debt is it? A credit card, loan, overdraft, catalogue or similar: this guide. Rates, tax, benefits, fines, child maintenance, student loans or a mortgage shortfall: different rules.
  3. When did you last pay anything towards it, or acknowledge it? Less than 6 years ago: it is not statute barred. More than 6 years ago, with nothing since: it may be.
  4. Has the creditor already got a court judgment, or started court action? Yes: ask Advice NI straight away.

The 6-year time limit

The FCA's rules say that in Northern Ireland the limitation period for debt is generally 6 years. The time limits are in the Limitation (Northern Ireland) Order 1989 (article 4 for contract). Check the dates with Advice NI.

What starts the 6 years again

If a debt collector is chasing you

A statute-barred debt still exists in Northern Ireland, so a creditor can still ask you to pay. The FCA's rules for regulated firms say:

Deadlines

Money figures

This guide gives no money figures.

Where to go for help

Advice NI: 0800 915 4604

Traps

📜 Sources (checked 24 September 2026)

  • legislation.gov.uk: Limitation (Northern Ireland) Order 1989 - article 4(a) text (simple contract: 6 years from the date the cause of action accrued; legislation.gov.uk explanatory notes to the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 and Agnew v University of Ulster [2018] NIQB 39; checked 24 Sep 2026, v277); article headings 57, 59 and 65 (fresh accrual on acknowledgment and payment; formalities) and Schedule 2 paragraph 2 (1982 change preventing revival of a barred right). Articles 57 and 65 follow the same form as articles 54, 62 and 66 read on legislation.gov.uk on 26 September 2026 (the right of action is treated as accruing on and not before the date of the acknowledgment or payment).
  • FCA Handbook CONC 7.15.1G, 7.15.2G, 7.15.4R, 7.15.6R and 7.15.7G (generally 6 years in Northern Ireland; statute-barred debt still exists; no recovery without contact; not misleading).
  • Advice NI number reused from earlier guides (checked 24 September 2026).
⚠ Important disclaimer: This guide covers statute-barred debts in Northern Ireland as at 24 September 2026. General legal information only, not legal advice. ukworkrights.co.uk — Not a law firm.

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