All jurisdictions

Georgia

In Georgia, the statute of limitations on a written contract is 6 years under O.C.G.A. §§ 9-3-24, 9-3-25 (quoted in Titshaw v. Geer, 320 Ga. 128 (2024)).

Written contract

6 yr

Oral contract

4 yr

Open account

4 yr

Promissory note

6 yr

What the statute says

When does the clock start?

A written-contract claim runs from when the contract becomes due and payable (§ 9-3-24); an open-account, unwritten-contract or implied-promise claim from when the right of action accrues (§ 9-3-25) — “All actions upon open account, or for the breach of any contract not under the hand of the party sought to be charged, or upon any implied promise or undertaking shall be brought within four years after the right of action accrues.” Which of the two governs a card claim turns on whether a signed agreement is produced, not on how the debt is described. Georgia’s accrual test is “the time when the plaintiff could first have maintained his action to a successful result,” and on a contract claim the period runs from breach rather than from when damage results or is ascertained (Agassi v. Holiday Hospitality Franchising, LLC, Ga. Ct. App., 22 June 2026). NOTE ON THE SOURCE: the Official Code of Georgia Annotated is published for the Code Revision Commission by LexisNexis and its portal serves a CAPTCHA rather than section text, so the citation above links to the Supreme Court of Georgia’s own opinion, which reproduces both sections verbatim.

What pauses it?

O.C.G.A. § 9-3-94 tolls the period during a defendant’s absence from the state until he returns (Humphries v. Weekly, Ga. Ct. App., 30 June 2021); the section’s own wording was not read, and the Court of Appeals’ statement of it is what is relied on. REVIVAL IS WRITING-DEPENDENT: § 9-3-112 makes “a payment entered upon a written evidence of debt by the debtor or upon any other written acknowledgment of the existing liability” equivalent to a new promise to pay, which renews a right of action already barred (Malak v. Unifund CCR, LLC, 343 Ga. App. 692 (2017)). Do not read the revival columns as meaning a bare telephone or electronic payment restarts the Georgia clock — the writing is doing the work. Note also that § 9-3-24 excludes negotiable instruments under Article 3 of Title 11, which § 11-3-118(a) puts at six years from the due date, and that an instrument under seal gets twenty years under § 9-3-23.

In practice

The Official Code of Georgia Annotated is published for the Code Revision Commission by LexisNexis and its portal serves a CAPTCHA rather than section text, so there is no official Georgia URL a reader or a crawler can open — the case editorial policy §2.3 contemplates. The link on this row opens the Supreme Court of Georgia's opinion in Titshaw v. Geer, 320 Ga. 128 (2024), which reproduces both operative sections verbatim: § 9-3-24 as quoted above, and § 9-3-25 — “All actions upon open account, or for the breach of any contract not under the hand of the party sought to be charged, or upon any implied promise or undertaking shall be brought within four years after the right of action accrues.” (The row previously cited ga.elaws.us, a private database carrying a 2013 snapshot; it now answers HTTP 503 and has been removed.) FOR CARD FILES. Six years applies to a credit-card claim on a written agreement — Malak v. Unifund CCR, LLC, 343 Ga. App. 692 (2017) — but § 9-3-25's “not under the hand of the party sought to be charged” is what decides it, so the six-year and four-year columns are the same claim on different proof. REVIVAL IS WRITING-DEPENDENT. § 9-3-112 provides that “a payment entered upon a written evidence of debt by the debtor or upon any other written acknowledgment of the existing liability shall be equivalent to a new promise to pay,” which renews a right of action already barred (Malak, quoting §§ 9-3-112 and 9-3-110). Do not read the true in the revival columns as meaning a bare telephone or electronic payment restarts the Georgia clock; the writing is doing the work. NOT SIMPLE WRITTEN CONTRACTS. § 9-3-24 excludes negotiable instruments under Article 3 of Title 11, which § 11-3-118(a) puts at six years from the due date, and an instrument under seal gets twenty years under § 9-3-23 (Taylor v. Ameris Bank, Ga. Ct. App., 1 Oct. 2020).

Last reviewed 2026-07-27

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.