Wisconsin
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.
- Written contract
- 6 yr
- Oral contract
- 6 yr
- Open account
- —
- Promissory note
- 6 yr
What the statute says
893.43 Action on contract. (1) Except as provided in sub. (2), an action upon any contract, obligation, or liability, express or implied, including an action to recover fees for professional services, except those mentioned in s. 893.40, shall be commenced within 6 years after the cause of action accrues or be barred.
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
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.