Connecticut debt collection laws

How long can someone sue you over a debt in Connecticut?

Six years for most debts. Section 52-576 of the Connecticut General Statutes says “No action for an account, or on any simple or implied contract, or on any contract in writing, shall be brought but within six years after the right of action accrues”.

Three years for an express contract that was never put in writing. Section 52-581 says “No action founded upon any express contract or agreement which is not reduced to writing, or of which some note or memorandum is not made in writing and signed by the party to be charged therewith or his agent, shall be brought but within three years after the right of action accrues.”

Four years for a contract for the sale of goods, which the six-year rule leaves out. Section 42a-2-725 says “An action for breach of any contract for sale must be commenced within four years after the cause of action has accrued. By the original agreement the parties may reduce the period of limitation to not less than one year but may not extend it.”

Twenty years to enforce a Connecticut court judgment. Section 52-598 says “No execution to enforce a judgment for money damages rendered in any court of this state may be issued after the expiration of twenty years from the date the judgment was entered”, and no action on such a judgment after twenty-five years, with one exception for judgments for personal injury caused by sexual assault. Which period applies to a particular account, and when it started, are questions for a lawyer rather than this page.

Sources: Connecticut General Statutes Sections 52-576, 52-581 and 52-598 and Section 42a-2-725 · quoted 3 November 2026

Can a payment restart the clock, and what must a collector say about old debt?

For a debt buyer, a payment does not restart it. Section 36a-814 says: “Notwithstanding any other provision of law, when the applicable statute of limitations on a cause of action to collect debt owed by a consumer has expired, any subsequent payment toward or oral or written affirmation of the debt owed by the consumer shall not extend the limitations period within which the creditor or consumer collection agency that purchased the debt may bring the cause of action.” The same section bars the suit itself: “No creditor or consumer collection agency that purchased debt shall initiate a cause of action to collect the debt owed by a consumer debtor when such creditor or consumer collection agency knows or reasonably should know that the applicable statute of limitations on such cause of action has expired.”

That rule covers only a debt that was bought. No Connecticut statute was found that says whether a payment restarts the clock for the original creditor, so this page does not say either way.

The notice on time-barred debt. Section 36a-805 makes it a prohibited practice for an agency, when a debt is beyond the statute of limitations, to fail to give a disclosure “in type not less than ten-point informing the consumer debtor in its initial communication”. For a debt that can still be reported to the credit bureaus it reads: “The law limits how long you can be sued on a debt. Because of the age of your debt, (INSERT OWNER NAME) will not sue you for it. If you do not pay the debt, (INSERT OWNER NAME) may report or continue to report it to the credit reporting agencies as unpaid”. For an older debt, past the federal reporting limit, the notice instead says the owner “will not report it to any credit reporting agencies.”

Sources: Connecticut General Statutes Section 36a-814 and Section 36a-805 (2026 Supplement) · quoted 3 November 2026

Do debt collectors have to be licensed in Connecticut?

Yes, office by office. Section 36a-801 says: “No person shall act within this state as a consumer collection agency, directly or indirectly, unless such person has first obtained a required consumer collection agency license for such person's main office and for each branch office where such person's business is conducted.” The license is applied for and renewed on the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System, which the banking law calls “the system”.

Who counts. Section 36a-800 defines a consumer collection agency as any person “engaged as a third party in the business of collecting or receiving payment for others on any account, bill or other indebtedness from a consumer debtor”, any person “engaged in the business of debt buying”, and anyone collecting property tax or federal income tax payments for a town or the United States Treasury. It also covers a creditor collecting its own accounts under a name that suggests a third party is collecting.

Agencies based elsewhere. An agency outside Connecticut is acting within the state, under Section 36a-801, when it collects from Connecticut residents for Connecticut creditors or for its own account, when it “regularly collects from consumer debtors, property tax debtors or federal income tax debtors who reside within this state for creditors who are located outside this state”, or when it collects child support for Connecticut creditors.

How long a license lasts. Every license ends on 31 December. Section 36a-801 says “Each such license shall expire at the close of business on December thirty-first of the year in which the license was approved, unless such license is renewed” (a license approved on or after 1 November runs to the end of the following year), and “An application for renewal of a license shall be filed between November first and December thirty-first of the year in which the license expires.” The license costs $500 and each renewal $400.

Collecting without one. Section 36a-810 says a person who operates a consumer collection agency without a license “shall be fined not more than one thousand dollars or imprisoned not more than one year, or both.” Section 36a-812 also requires every agency to follow the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, and makes a breach of it a breach of Connecticut law the Banking Commissioner can act on.

Sources: Connecticut General Statutes Sections 36a-800 and 36a-801 (2026 Supplement) and Sections 36a-810 and 36a-812 · quoted 3 November 2026

Who is not a consumer collection agency?

Section 36a-800 says a consumer collection agency “does not include”:

• “an individual employed on the staff of a licensed consumer collection agency, or by a creditor who is exempt from licensing, when attempting to collect on behalf of such consumer collection agency”;
• people not mainly in the business of collecting consumer debts who hold money in escrow for others, such as real estate brokers and lenders holding borrowers’ tax and insurance money;
• “any public officer or a person acting under the order of any court”;
• “any member of the bar of this state”;
• a servicer that handles loans or accounts for their owners, when its work covers current accounts as well as delinquent ones;
• “a bank or out-of-state bank, as defined in section 36a-2”; and
• a bank’s subsidiary or affiliate, “provided such affiliate or subsidiary is not primarily engaged in the business of purchasing and collecting upon delinquent debt, other than delinquent debt secured by real property.”

This matters when you look a company up. A Connecticut lawyer, a bank, a servicer of current and delinquent accounts, or an original creditor collecting its own accounts under its own name can be operating lawfully and appear on no list of licensed agencies.

Source: Connecticut General Statutes Section 36a-800 (2026 Supplement) · quoted 3 November 2026

The bond, and the money it protects

Section 36a-802 requires every agency except one engaged solely in debt buying to file “a bond to the people of the state in the penal sum of fifty thousand dollars for the main office and fifty thousand dollars for each branch office”. The bond is conditioned “that such licensee shall well, truly and faithfully account for all funds entrusted to the licensee and collected and received by the licensee in the licensee's capacity as a consumer collection agency.”

This bond can also protect the people being collected from: “Any person who may be damaged by the wrongful conversion of any creditor, consumer debtor, property tax debtor or federal income tax debtor funds received by such consumer collection agency may proceed on such bond against the principal or surety thereon, or both, to recover damages.” Money collected for others must also be held in trust accounts, under Section 36a-811, except by a business that only buys debt.

The Department of Banking’s list records the license, not the bond, which is why this directory describes Connecticut agencies as licensed, never as bonded.

Sources: Connecticut General Statutes Section 36a-802 (2026 Supplement) and Section 36a-811 · quoted 3 November 2026

How may a Connecticut collector contact you?

The Department of Banking’s regulations set the rules, and they follow the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act closely. On timing, Section 36a-809-9 says that “In the absence of knowledge of circumstances to the contrary, a consumer collection agency shall assume that the convenient time for communicating with a debtor is after 8:00 a.m. and before 9:00 p.m., local time at the debtor’s location”.

Within five days of first contacting you, an agency must send you a written notice, unless the first communication contained it or you have paid. Section 36a-809-13 lists what it must say, starting with “The amount of the debt” and “The name of the creditor to whom the debt is owed”, and that you have thirty days to dispute it in writing, after which the agency must get verification of the debt and mail it to you before it carries on collecting.

Source: Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies Sections 36a-809-9 and 36a-809-13, Department of Banking · quoted 3 November 2026

How do you check a Connecticut collector?

The Department of Banking publishes a downloadable list of licensed consumer collection agencies, giving each one’s name, license number, license type and address, and the same page directs readers to NMLS Consumer Access to verify a license. The list shows only current licensees: it carries no license dates, and a license that ends simply leaves the next list. A main office and each branch office hold separate license numbers. A Connecticut lawyer, a bank or an original creditor collecting its own accounts under its own name can be lawfully absent, under the exclusions above. Our step-by-step guide covers the traps, and this directory’s Connecticut page lists agencies as they pass verification against the list.

Source: Connecticut Department of Banking, Consumer Collection Agencies Licensed in Connecticut · read 3 November 2026