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Delaware

In Delaware, the statute of limitations on a written contract is 3 years under 10 Del. C. §§ 8106, 8109.

Rule

A written contract claim in Delaware must be brought within 3 years.

Authority10 Del. C. §§ 8106, 8109
Written contract
3 yr
Oral contract
3 yr
Open account
3 yr
Promissory note
6 yr

What the statute says

no action to recover a debt not evidenced by a record or by an instrument under seal, no action based on a detailed statement of the mutual demands in the nature of debit and credit between parties arising out of contractual or fiduciary relations, no action based on a promise, no action based on a statute, and no action to recover damages caused by an injury unaccompanied with force or resulting indirectly from the act of the defendant shall be brought after the expiration of 3 years from the accruing of the cause of such action
10 Del. C. §§ 8106, 8109

When does the clock start?

Three years from the accruing of the cause of action; on a mutual and running account the period does not begin to run while the account continues open and current (§ 8108).

What pauses it?

§ 8117 stops the clock while the defendant is out of state and not reachable by process; § 8116 preserves the claim of a person under infancy or incompetency of mind until three years after the disability is removed.

Last reviewed 2026-07-26

This is an informational reference, not legal advice, and using it creates no attorney-client relationship. Limitations periods turn on facts this page cannot know — which state's law governs, the contract type, when the claim accrued, and whether anything tolled or revived it. Confirm against the primary source and your own counsel before acting.

About Otto

This table is a free reference and it is not the product. Otto is case management for US collections law firms; the rules engine ships all fifty states configured — four shown in end-to-end depth in the demo — and it checks a date like this one before a file moves rather than after.