Washington Statute of Limitations on Business Debt: A Creditor Guide for Seattle Accounts

Ask a credit manager how long they have to collect from a Seattle customer and you will usually hear "six years" or "three years," depending on who they last talked to. Both numbers are real. Neither one is the whole answer, and the gap between them is where Washington accounts get written off.

Washington does something most states do not. It gives an unpaid business account six years even when there is no signed contract behind it, as long as the debt came out of the ordinary course of your business. That is good news for creditors who sell on open terms. The catch is that a sale of goods runs on a different clock, and your own terms and conditions may have shortened that one without anyone noticing. Here is how the deadlines actually work, what restarts them, and where Washington creditors lose time.

Key takeaways

• Washington gives six years to an action on a written contract and six years to an action on an account receivable under RCW 4.16.040. An account receivable is any obligation for payment incurred in the ordinary course of your business, signed paperwork or not.
• A contract that is not in writing and is not an account receivable gets three years under RCW 4.16.080(3).
• A breach of a contract for the sale of goods gets four years under RCW 62A.2-725, and the original agreement can cut that to as little as one year. Check your own terms before you assume you have more time.
• A payment made before the period runs out restarts it under RCW 4.16.270. An acknowledgment or promise only counts if it is in writing and signed under RCW 4.16.280. Since 2019, nothing revives a claim once the period has expired.
• If you have a signed agreement that allows for collection costs or collection agency fees, those charges may be included in the amount sought during collection. If legal action becomes necessary, recoverable fees and costs are determined under applicable Washington law and are ultimately subject to the court.

How long do you have to sue on a business debt in Washington?

Direct answer

Six years for a written contract and six years for an account receivable under RCW 4.16.040. Three years for an unwritten contract that is not an account receivable under RCW 4.16.080(3). Four years for a breach of a contract for the sale of goods under RCW 62A.2-725, which the parties can shorten to one year in their original agreement.

Most of the confusion comes from people quoting one of those numbers as if it were the only one. In practice the right period depends on what kind of claim you have, and a single customer relationship can involve more than one.

A distributor shipping product to a Seattle contractor on a signed credit application, invoicing monthly, has a written agreement, an account receivable and a sale of goods all at once. A staffing firm billing a Tacoma warehouse for temporary labor on a handshake has an account receivable and no goods at all. Those two creditors are looking at different deadlines, and each needs to know which one governs before the account ages out.

What counts as an "account receivable" under Washington law?

Direct answer

RCW 4.16.040(2) defines it as any obligation for payment incurred in the ordinary course of the claimant's business or profession, whether it arises from one transaction or many and whether or not it was earned by performance. If you invoiced a customer for what you normally sell, you almost certainly have one.

This is the provision that matters most to B2B creditors, and it is broader than most people expect. It does not require a signature. It does not require a formal contract. It covers a running open account built up over dozens of invoices just as well as a single sale.

That is why the three-year rule for unwritten contracts in RCW 4.16.080(3) opens with the words "except as provided in RCW 4.16.040(2)." The legislature carved business receivables out of the short period on purpose. The 2007 amendment that added this language also says it applies to every action on an account receivable, whenever it was filed.

The practical takeaway: a creditor who sells on open terms with no signed paperwork is not stuck with three years in Washington. But you still have to be able to show the obligation came out of your ordinary course of business, which means your invoices, statements, delivery records and correspondence need to be in order. Six years only helps if you can prove the debt.

Does a sale of goods get four years or six in Washington?

Direct answer

Washington's version of the Uniform Commercial Code, RCW 62A.2-725, sets four years for breach of a contract for sale, and the original agreement can reduce it to not less than one year. How that interacts with the six-year account receivable rule for a particular goods sale is a question for a Washington attorney. Plan around the shorter number.

Here is where Washington creditors get caught by their own paperwork. Many national terms and conditions include a clause shortening the time to bring claims, often written with the seller's own exposure in mind. Washington allows that clause on a sale of goods. If your terms say one year, you may have agreed to one year on your own receivables too.

That is the opposite of Colorado, where the statute says the sale-of-goods period cannot be varied by agreement at all. We covered that in our Colorado statute of limitations guide. In Washington the clause can work, so read it before you decide an account can wait.

The accrual rule on goods also cuts against waiting. Under RCW 62A.2-725(2) the cause of action accrues when the breach occurs, regardless of whether you knew about it. For an unpaid invoice, that is normally the day payment was due and did not come.

Does a payment or a promise to pay restart the clock in Washington?

Direct answer

A payment made after the debt is due but before the period expires restarts the period from the most recent payment under RCW 4.16.270. A promise or acknowledgment only restarts it if it is in writing and signed by the debtor under RCW 4.16.280. Once the period has expired, neither one revives the claim.

Washington tightened this in 2019. Before that change, creditors would sometimes chase a small payment on a very old account hoping to bring it back to life. Both statutes now say plainly that a payment, acknowledgment or promise made after the limitation period has expired does not restart, revive or extend it.

Two practical points follow. On a live account, a partial payment is worth taking, because it resets the clock. And when a debtor tells you on the phone that they will pay, get it in writing with a signature. A verbal promise does nothing for your deadline in Washington.

Can you take a Washington business debt to small claims court?

Direct answer

Only small ones. Under RCW 12.40.010 the small claims department of a Washington district court hears money claims up to $10,000 when the claimant is a natural person and up to $5,000 in all other cases, which includes businesses.

For a commercial creditor, that cap rules out most of the accounts worth fighting about. It also tells you something about timing. By the time a commercial balance is large enough to justify court, it is large enough that you do not want to discover a deadline problem at the courthouse. The work that protects a Washington account happens in the first few months, not the last few.

Does a collection agency need a Washington license?

Direct answer

Yes. RCW 19.16.110 says no person may act as a collection agency or an out-of-state collection agency without first obtaining a license from the director, and the chapter defines a claim as any obligation for the payment of money arising out of any agreement. It is not limited to consumer debt.

So before you place a Washington account, confirm that whoever is working it is licensed to do so. That is why it is important to use a certified commercial collection agency. Sven works with C2C Resources, which is certified by the Commercial Law League of America, endorsed by the International Association of Commercial Collectors, carries a $500,000 surety bond, and holds collection licenses in the states that require them.

What should a creditor do with a Seattle account right now?

Direct answer

Sort your Washington accounts by claim type, check your own terms for a clause that shortens the time to sue, and move on anything past 60 days while every option is still open. Six years on paper is not six years of leverage.

Pull every Washington account over 60 days and sort it into three buckets: signed written agreement, open account with no signature, and sale of goods. Then pull your terms and conditions and look for any clause that shortens the time to bring a claim. If one exists, assume it applies to your goods sales until a Washington attorney tells you otherwise.

After that, the rule is the same one that applies everywhere. Move early. The longer an account ages, the more likely the debtor has changed entities, moved assets or lined up other creditors ahead of you. A claim that is 45 days past due is a conversation. A claim that is two years past due is a project.

We work commercial claims from $1,000 to hundreds of thousands of dollars, under 120 days past due, and we do it on contingency through our commercial debt collection services, so there is no fee unless we collect. If you have Washington accounts aging on your books, send over the aging report and the last activity dates. You will get a straight read on which ones still have time and which ones need to move now.

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Frequently asked questions

Is Washington a three-year or a six-year state for business debt?

Mostly six. RCW 4.16.040 gives six years to actions on a written contract and to actions on an account receivable, which covers any obligation for payment incurred in the ordinary course of your business, signed paperwork or not. The three-year period in RCW 4.16.080(3) applies to unwritten contracts that are not accounts receivable. A breach of a contract for the sale of goods runs four years under RCW 62A.2-725 and can be shortened to one year by agreement.

Does a partial payment restart the statute of limitations in Washington?

Yes, if it is made after the debt is due and before the limitation period expires. RCW 4.16.270 restarts the period from the most recent payment. Since 2019, a payment made after the period has expired does not restart, revive or extend it.

Can my terms and conditions shorten the deadline on a Washington account?

On a sale of goods, yes. RCW 62A.2-725(1) lets the parties reduce the four-year period to not less than one year in their original agreement, though they cannot extend it. If your terms include a clause shortening the time to bring claims, read it before you assume an account can wait.

Do you collect from Washington businesses?

Yes. Sven works from Phoenix and handles commercial claims against businesses across the country, including Seattle, Tacoma, Bellevue and Spokane. Yes, we collect internationally. Talk to us about your specific account.

What size of claim can you help with?

We work commercial claims from $1,000 to hundreds of thousands of dollars, under 120 days past due, on contingency, so there is no fee unless we collect. Commercial (B2B) collections only. We do not collect consumer debt.

Sources: Revised Code of Washington 4.16.040, 4.16.080, 4.16.270, 4.16.280, 62A.2-725, 12.40.010, 19.16.100 and 19.16.110 as published by the Washington State Legislature on app.leg.wa.gov, reviewed October 2026. Laws vary by state and change over time, and the facts of each account matter. This article is general information from a commercial collections professional, not legal advice, and it is not a substitute for advice from a Washington attorney. Written by Sven Nelson, The Guy That Gets You Paid.