Most everyday claims become time-barred after 3 years. Here is how to calculate the period, how to raise the defence of limitation, and how to avoid the small-down-payment trap.
Suddenly a collection agency (Inkassobüro) gets in touch about an invoice from 5 years ago, supposedly plus interest and fees. Many people pay out of a guilty conscience or fear. Yet the rule is: most everyday claims become time-barred after 3 years. You no longer have to satisfy a time-barred claim if you behave correctly. But this is exactly where two traps lurk: limitation does not take effect automatically, and even a small part payment can restart the period completely.
The standard limitation period is 3 years (§ 195 BGB, German Civil Code) and begins at the end of the year in which the claim arose and the creditor knew of it or should have known of it (§ 199 Abs. 1 BGB). An invoice from March 2023 therefore becomes time-barred at the end of 31 December 2026. Important: you must actively invoke limitation as a defence; the court or the collection agency does not check it of its own accord (§ 214 BGB). Do not pay a single cent on a possibly time-barred claim and do not agree to instalments: an acknowledgement, including through a part payment, causes the limitation period to begin anew (§ 212 BGB). Only for claims established with legal force (a judgment or an enforcement order) does a period of 30 years apply (§ 197 BGB).
Almost all everyday claims are subject to the standard limitation of 3 years: purchase prices, tradesmen's invoices, mobile-phone and internet bills, electricity back-payments, doctors' invoices, rent, gym fees, claims from online orders, and also the associated collection claims.
The period does not begin to the day, but at the end of the year in which two things come together (§ 199 Abs. 1 BGB): the claim has arisen (as a rule: the service was performed and is due), and the creditor knows the circumstances and the identity of the debtor or would know them without gross negligence.
Worked example: You buy a sofa on invoice in March 2023 and never pay. Limitation begins at midnight on 31 December 2023 and ends at the end of 31 December 2026. From 1 January 2027, the claim is time-barred. Whether the invoice was issued in March or only in December 2023 makes no difference to the end date; that is why particularly many claims become time-barred all at once at the turn of the year.
Regardless of the creditor's knowledge, such claims become time-barred at the latest 10 years after they arose (§ 199 Abs. 4 BGB).
If the creditor has had the claim established in court, a limitation period of 30 years applies (§ 197 Abs. 1 Nr. 3 BGB). This concerns final judgments and above all enforcement orders (Vollstreckungsbescheide) that follow an unanswered court order for payment (Mahnbescheid). That is exactly why it is so important to react to a Mahnbescheid in the yellow envelope within 2 weeks: otherwise a claim that would have become time-barred in 3 years becomes a title that can follow you for 30 years. Longer periods also apply to some further individual cases, for example 10 years for claims relating to rights in land (§ 196 BGB).
Certain events suspend the limitation period; the clock is stopped and then continues to run afterwards. The most important cases (§ 204 BGB):
And now the point that collection agencies like to keep quiet about: ordinary reminders, collection letters, phone calls and emails do not suspend the limitation period. Even a registered letter with a "final reminder" changes nothing about the expiry of the period. Only court steps or genuine negotiations stop the clock. Be careful, therefore, with friendly follow-up questions: anyone who negotiates over the substance of the claim ("can we talk about a discount?") may trigger suspension themselves. A simple dispute of the claim, by contrast, is not a negotiation.
Even sharper than suspension is the fresh start (§ 212 BGB): if the debtor acknowledges the claim towards the creditor, the full limitation period begins anew. According to the law, an acknowledgement lies in particular in a part payment, an interest payment or the provision of security, and according to case law regularly also in an agreed instalment arrangement or a request for deferral.
That is exactly what some collection letters aim at: "Show good will and transfer just 10 EUR for now" or "Secure our settlement with a small down payment". Anyone who pays even a symbolic amount on an almost time-barred or already time-barred claim risks the 3-year period beginning to run again, or the enforceability extending again. The same applies to signed acknowledgements of debt and instalment plans. So: first check limitation, then talk about payments, never the other way round.
A time-barred claim does not cease to exist; it remains legally in place. But the debtor obtains the right to refuse performance permanently (§ 214 Abs. 1 BGB). You must actively exercise this right, meaning you must raise the so-called defence of limitation. Neither a collection agency nor a court checks limitation of its own motion; anyone who fails to raise the defence in proceedings can be found liable despite limitation.
Here is how to do it right: reply in writing (registered letter with proof of delivery, Einwurf-Einschreiben), for example like this: "The asserted claim is time-barred. I raise the defence of limitation and will not pay." If in doubt, first demand evidence of the reason and date of the claim. Important: if you have already paid a time-barred claim, you cannot reclaim the money (§ 214 Abs. 2 BGB). This too is why the rule is: before any payment on old claims, check limitation first.
In Austria, many everyday claims (for example purchase-price and remuneration claims of daily life) likewise become time-barred after 3 years (§ 1486 ABGB); the general period is 30 years. There, too, limitation must be raised as a defence.
In Switzerland, a general limitation period of 10 years applies (Art. 127 OR); for many everyday claims such as rent, tradesmen's work and everyday goods, a 5-year period applies (Art. 128 OR). Limitation is taken into account only when raised as a defence (Art. 142 OR), and there, too, acknowledgement or a part payment leads to a fresh start (Art. 135 OR).
The collection agency has been sending regular reminders for years. Does that prevent limitation? No. Out-of-court reminders do not suspend the limitation period, no matter how often they arrive and in what form.
The claim is time-barred, but the collection agency writes anyway. Is that allowed? Time-barred claims may in principle still be pursued with reminders, because the claim continues to exist. But you do not have to pay: raise the defence of limitation once, in writing.
May a SCHUFA entry be made for a time-barred claim? For a disputed or time-barred claim that you have objected to, a report to credit bureaus (Auskunfteien) is regularly not permitted. Object in writing and, if necessary, demand deletion.
We are an independent citizens' initiative (Bürgerinitiative) and provide general information. This text is not legal advice for an individual case. In the event of a dispute or uncertainty, contact your Verbraucherzentrale (consumer advice centre) or a lawyer.