Pennsylvania
In Pennsylvania, the statute of limitations on a written contract is 4 years under 42 Pa.C.S. § 5525(a).
Rule
A written contract claim in Pennsylvania must be brought within 4 years.
- Written contract
- 4 yr
- Oral contract
- 4 yr
- Open account
- —
- Promissory note
- —
What the statute says
Except as provided for in subsection (b), the following actions and proceedings must be commenced within four years: ... (3) An action upon an express contract not founded upon an instrument in writing. (4) An action upon a contract implied in law, except an action subject to another limitation specified in this subchapter. ... (8) An action upon a contract, obligation or liability founded upon a writing not specified in paragraph (7), under seal or otherwise, except an action subject to another limitation specified in this subchapter.
When does the clock start?
42 Pa.C.S. § 5502(a) computes the period "from the time the cause of action accrued" — for contract claims, the date of breach. NOT INDEPENDENTLY VERIFIED: I did not fetch § 5502 in this pass.
What pauses it?
42 Pa.C.S. § 5532 tolls while the defendant is outside the Commonwealth when the claim accrues, departs and stays away four or more months, or resides under an assumed name — but § 5532(b) shuts the tolling off whenever jurisdiction can be obtained without personal in-state delivery of process, which is the ordinary case. § 5533 (infancy, insanity, imprisonment) and § 5535 (effect of other actions) also apply. NOT INDEPENDENTLY VERIFIED — I did not fetch §§ 5532, 5533 or 5535 in this pass.
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.