# Wisconsin statute of limitations on debt

> In Wisconsin, the statute of limitations on a written contract is 6 years under Wis. Stat. § 893.43. Periods for oral contracts, open accounts and promissory notes.

- Source: https://ottoforfirms.com/statute-of-limitations/wisconsin/
- Publisher: Otto — https://ottoforfirms.com
- Updated: 2026-07-26

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In Wisconsin, the statute of limitations on a written contract is 6 years under Wis. Stat. § 893.43.

**Rule.** A written contract claim in Wisconsin must be brought within 6 years.

**Authority.** [Wis. Stat. § 893.43](https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/statutes/statutes/893/iv/43)

| Contract type | Limitations period |
| --- | --- |
| Written contract | 6 yr |
| Oral contract | 6 yr |
| Open account | — |
| Promissory note | 6 yr |

## When does the clock start?

Six years after the cause of action accrues, which for a contract claim is the date of breach. Wis. Stat. § 893.64 provides that in actions to recover the balance due upon a 'mutual and open account current' the cause of action accrues 'at the time of the last item proved in such account' — but see notes: Wisconsin case law limits that section to genuinely mutual accounts, and it likely does NOT govern an ordinary one-way consumer credit-card balance.

## What pauses it?

Assertion of the claim as a defense or counterclaim, until final disposition (Wis. Stat. § 893.13); minority or mental illness at accrual, measured two years from removal of the disability, with mental-illness extensions capped at five years (§ 893.16); the defendant being out of the state at accrual, or departing and residing outside it afterward, though not where neither party was a resident at accrual (§ 893.19); and a stay by injunction or statutory prohibition (§ 893.23).

Last reviewed 2026-07-26

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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.