Time-barred loans in Georgia: limitation period and defence

Under Article 129 of the Civil Code, the limitation period for contractual claims — including loans — is 3 years, and 6 years for contracts concerning real estate. For periodic (e.g. monthly) payments it is 3 years, counted separately for each payment. The period starts when the creditor learned or should have learned of the breach — for a loan, usually from the missed payment date.

Once the period has expired, the debtor may refuse to pay (Article 144). But the court does not check the time bar on its own — if you don't raise it when sued, the court may order you to pay even a time-barred debt. And if you pay after the period has expired, you cannot ask for the money back.

What restarts the period

• Acknowledging the debt — paying part of it or interest, a guarantee, a letter or signature acknowledging it (Article 137)
• The creditor suing, applying to a state body, or taking an enforcement step (Article 138)
• After an interruption the period starts again — time already passed no longer counts (Article 141)

Court decisions and enforcement

If the debt has already been confirmed by a court decision that has entered into force, the limitation period for the claim is 10 years — even if the loan's own period was 3 years (Article 142).

There is a limit at the enforcement stage too: enforcement proceedings for a money claim end 10 years after they began — except in cases set by law, such as alimony (Law on Enforcement Proceedings, Article 34).

If a collector calls you

• Don't pay a 'token' amount or sign an acknowledgment of the debt until you have checked the period with a lawyer
• Ask in writing: whose claim it is, on what basis it was transferred and when the last payment was made
• Keep records of calls and messages