Statute of limitations on bank debts in Colombia: promissory note, civil action and negative credit report

Short answer: three different clocks run on a bank debt. One is the promissory note clock (cambiaria action), another is the civil clock of the contract, and the third is how long the negative record stays in the credit bureau. They do not add up, do not replace each other, and none of them works alone. This reading is dated October 21, 2026 and does not replace a lawyer reviewing your file.

If a debt collection agency sent you a letter about a credit card from years ago, you have probably been told that it "already prescribed" or that it "is already being removed from Datacrédito." Both statements may be false or incomplete. Let's take it step by step.

What prescription is and what a collection call does not do

Extinctive prescription means the creditor loses the ability to demand the debt through the courts after a certain time, counted from when the obligation became enforceable (Civil Code, art. 2535). But there is a key rule: whoever wants to benefit from it must raise it. The judge does not declare it on his own initiative (Civil Code, art. 2513; Commercial Code, art. 784 for the cambiary exception).

That is why a collection agency can keep calling after three years. That does not prove the action is still alive, but a call is also not a judicial procedure: it does not replace the judge or a payment order. And be careful: having a prescription argument does not authorize you to ignore a court notice.

Promissory note: three years, one year and six months

If the bank collects with a promissory note, the Commercial Code governs, arts. 781 and 788 to 792:

• Direct cambiary action (against whoever signed the note and its guarantors): prescribes after 3 years from the due date (art. 789).
• Recourse action of the last holder: 1 year from the protest or, if the instrument has no protest, from the due date (art. 790).
• Action of the obligated party of recourse against the previous ones: 6 months from voluntary payment or from notification of the lawsuit (art. 791).

Interrupting prescription against one cambiary debtor does not interrupt it against the others, except for signatories of the same rank (art. 792). In addition, cambiary forfeiture (for example, of presentation or protest) is only suspended by force majeure and is never interrupted; it is a figure distinct from prescription.

Now, one detail that changes everything: a judge is the one who defines from what date each term ran and whether a blank promissory note was filled in with a due date or with an acceleration clause. The date of "the three years" is not always the one you assume.

Credit card or loan: it is not automatic that it expires at three years

This is the most repeated mistake. Not every bank debt or credit card prescribes at three years. The three years are the term of the direct cambiary action of the instrument. If the bank has no negotiable instrument, or the contractual action remains alive, the general framework is art. 2536 of the Civil Code, as amended by Law 791 of 2002: the enforcement action prescribes after 5 years and the ordinary action after 10. The enforcement action converts into an ordinary one after a period of five years and, once converted, lasts another five. If it is interrupted or waived, the term starts counting again.

With a credit card, then, the instrument and the contract can have different terms. It is not correct to say that the contract always survives ten years after the promissory note, nor the reverse. It depends on the case, which is why the documents need to be reviewed.

A note to avoid confusion: the term for traffic fines is a different topic. If what worries you is a traffic ticket (comparendo), read how the prescription of traffic tickets works, which is not governed by the promissory note.

What restarts the clock

This is where many people lose their defense without realizing it:

• Acknowledgment of the debt, express or tacit, naturally interrupts prescription (C.C. art. 2539).
• Tacit waiver: prescription can only be waived after it has been fulfilled, and there is a tacit waiver when whoever could raise it pays interest or asks for payment extensions (C.C. art. 2514).
• Lawsuit: it interrupts if the admission order or payment order is served on the defendant within one year, counted from the day after the plaintiff is notified of that order. After that year, the effect only arises upon service on the defendant (CGP art. 94).
• Written demand by the creditor: interrupts prescription only once (CGP art. 94).

In practice: a partial payment, a payment agreement, or a letter in which you acknowledge the debt can interrupt the term or, if it has already run out, work as a waiver. Also, not every collection agreement is a "novation"; that is a different legal figure, and calling any paper that is imprecise.

If you have already been served a payment order

In the enforcement proceeding, you have 10 days from notification of the payment order to raise merit defenses, including prescription, stating the facts and providing evidence (CGP art. 442). This article is not a template for a filing: if you received a notice, go to a lawyer or a legal aid clinic before the term runs out.

If the case has already reached your accounts, the limits and the procedure for lifting the seizure are in our guide on seizure and release of bank accounts, which we do not repeat here.

The negative record runs separately from the debt

The permanence of the record in Datacrédito, CIFIN or another operator is governed by art. 13 of Law 1266 of 2008, as amended by Law 2157 of 2021:

• If the obligation is paid or extinguished, the default record stays for twice the time of the default and at most 4 years from payment or extinction.
• If it remains in default, the negative record expires 8 years after the default began, and the operator must remove it, even if there was no payment (Constitutional Court, C-282 of 2021).
• Positive information remains indefinitely.

But be careful: deleting the record at eight years does not declare the debt prescribed, nor does it by itself prevent the creditor from suing within the term of the applicable action (Superfinanciera opinion 2022149874-003 of October 31, 2022). The old formula "10 years of prescription plus 4 of reporting" no longer applies either; it came from a 2011 opinion on art. 13 prior to Law 2157.

Checking your information is free, at any time and through any means. To review your history, see how to check Datacrédito and improve your score. A useful detail: whoever evaluates a loan cannot decide solely on the reported default; the Superfinanciera can sanction a supervised entity that denies credit solely because of a negative record.

Filters before reporting: the source must send a communication to the holder and may report only after twenty calendar days from sending it to the last registered address. For very low-amount obligations (up to 15% of a minimum wage), at least two communications on different days are required. In addition, the source must report the negative record no later than eighteen months after the default began. These deadlines are requirements for the report, not a prescription of the debt.

Two paths to request removal of the record

First, which is your case:

1. Eight-year expiry: the claim is filed with the operator or the source, which has fifteen business days from receipt, extendable by eight more if they inform the reason and the new date. If they do not respond within that period, the request is deemed accepted. Meanwhile, the operator marks "claim in process" within no more than two business days.
2. Prescribed obligation: according to the Superfinanciera (query page, consulted on October 21, 2026), a court ruling declaring prescription is required, and then a request to update the reporting party. This is a different path from the eight-year one.

If the claim is not successful, a complaint before the Superfinanciera requires having first claimed with the operator or the source. The SFC handles the case if the source, the operator, or the user is supervised by it; if not, it falls to the SIC (here you have the guide to filing a complaint with the SIC).

If your debt portfolio was sold, you do not need anyone to ask your permission: the assignment does not require the debtor's consent, and the new creditor is the one who reports and to whom the claim is directed. And if you have already paid and have a closing document, that is a different procedure: see the paz y salvo and removal of the record.

What not to sign with a collection agency

My advice, plainly: do not sign or pay anything without knowing which term is running. A "symbolic" payment, an agreement, or an acknowledgment letter can cost you your defense, because they restart the term or amount to a tacit waiver. Ask in writing for the details of the obligation and who the creditor is today.

And be wary of anyone offering to "delete your Datacrédito record" for a fee or a payment via WhatsApp. The official route is a claim with the source or the operator and, if necessary, with the SFC or the SIC. The duty to pay and procedural defense coexist; neither is resolved by a collection phrase alone.

Frequently asked questions

❓ After how many years does a promissory note with a bank prescribe?

The direct cambiary action of the promissory note prescribes after three years counted from the due date (Commercial Code, art. 789). That alone does not erase the contract or the record, and a judge defines from what date the term runs according to how the instrument was filled in (verify with the official source).

❓ Does a credit card prescribe after three years?

There is no single three-year term for every credit card. It depends on whether the bank collects with a promissory note or under the contract, and on whether the term was interrupted. Without an instrument, art. 2536 of the Civil Code applies: five years for the enforcement action and ten for the ordinary action (verify with the official source).

❓ If the record reaches eight years in default, does the debt disappear?

The operator must remove the negative record eight years from the default, even if there was no payment. But that is not equivalent to a ruling of prescription, nor does it prevent the creditor from suing within the term of the applicable action (verify with the official source).

❓ Does paying an installment or signing an agreement restart the term?

Acknowledging the debt can interrupt prescription, and paying interest or asking for payment extensions when the term has already run can be a tacit waiver. A written demand by the creditor interrupts only once. Not every collection paper is a novation (verify with the official source).

❓ Will Datacrédito remove me without a ruling?

Removal after eight years in default does not require a ruling. Removal because the obligation is prescribed, according to the Superfinanciera, does require a ruling and then a request to the reporting party. In both cases, you start by claiming with the source or the operator (verify with the official source).

❓ Does the complaint go to the Superfinanciera or to the SIC?

You first claim with the operator or the source. Then the complaint goes to the Superfinanciera only if one of them is supervised by it; if not, it falls to the SIC (verify with the official source).

❓ What do I do if I have already been served a payment order?

You have ten days from that notification to raise prescription as a merit defense, with facts and evidence (CGP, art. 442). Do not ignore the notice; look for a lawyer or legal aid clinic, because this article does not replace the filing in the proceeding (verify with the official source).