Debt prescription date calculator
1 point we are still verifying
- The Act counts the period as a lapse of years but does not set out how the last day is counted; KayaClear shows the anniversary date and says that the exact day can matter.
Your details
Earliest date it may prescribe
31 March 2026
3 years from 31 March 2023 (s11(d) of the Prescription Act).
- Period
- 3 years, s11(d)
- Counted from
- 31 March 2023 (due date)
- Checked against
- 30 October 2026
- If the dates are right and nothing interrupted prescription, the debt may have prescribed. Under s126B of the National Credit Act, no one may sell it, and collection must stop once you raise prescription. Paying it still counts as payment (s10(3)).
- Prescription is interrupted, and starts again, if you acknowledge the debt (for example by paying something or promising to pay) or if a summons is served on you (Prescription Act ss14 and 15).
- Completion is delayed in some cases, for example while the debtor is outside South Africa, or if the creditor and debtor are married to each other (s13). This calculator does not apply those delays.
- The Act counts the period in years but does not spell out how the last day is counted. Treat the date as approximate and do not rely on it at the margin.
Prescription periods
| Debt | Period | Section |
|---|---|---|
| Most debts, including loans, credit cards, store accounts and other credit agreements | 3 years | s11(d) |
| A bill of exchange or other negotiable instrument (e.g. a cheque or promissory note), or a notarial contract | 6 years | s11(c) |
| A debt owed to the State from a loan of money or a sale or lease of land by the State | 15 years | s11(b) |
| A debt secured by a mortgage bond, a judgment debt or a tax debt | 30 years | s11(a) |
What interrupts it
- Acknowledgement: any payment, promise to pay or other express or tacit admission that you owe the debt. The period starts again from that day.
- Summons: service of a summons or other process claiming the debt.
Read prescribed debt: your rights for what to do if a collector contacts you about old debt.
Frequently asked questions
How long before a debt prescribes in South Africa?
Most debts, including personal loans, credit cards and store accounts, prescribe after 3 years (s11(d) of the Prescription Act). Debts secured by a mortgage bond, judgment debts and tax debts take 30 years.
When does the period start?
When the debt is due (section 12). It starts again if you acknowledge the debt, for example by making a payment or promising to pay (section 14), or if a summons is served on you (section 15).
Can a collector still collect a prescribed debt?
Section 126B of the National Credit Act says no one may sell a prescribed debt under a credit agreement, or continue to collect or re-activate it once the consumer raises prescription. If a collector does, you can complain to the National Credit Regulator.
If I pay part of a prescribed debt, does it come back?
Paying a prescribed debt still counts as payment (section 10(3)). Whether a payment or acknowledgement after prescription revives the debt is a legal question; get legal advice before you pay or sign anything.