Can a debt collector garnish your wages after 7 years?
Old debt doesn't always mean uncollectible debt. Here's what the 7-year mark actually means for wage garnishment.
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March 23, 2026 / 11:49 AM EDT / CBS News
Americans ended last year on a high, but perhaps not in the way they'd hoped. At the end of 2025, borrowers nationwide were carrying more debt than ever before. Credit card balances hit a fresh record in the fourth quarter of the year, rising to $1.28 trillion — up dramatically from where they were just five years ago. At the same time, delinquency rates climbed to 4.8% of all outstanding debt, a clear indicator of a widening gap between what borrowers owe and what they can pay.
When a debt goes unpaid, the initial repercussions follow a predictable trajectory: collection calls, letters and damaged credit . If it remains unpaid, the creditor may write it off and sell it to third-party debt collectors for a fraction of what's owed. In these cases, it's not uncommon to start hearing from debt collectors about debts you assumed had simply disappeared after the statute of limitations expired. And that's where the confusion begins.
While you might assume that old debts are no longer impactful once enough time has passed — usually around the seven-year mark — it isn't always that straightforward. In some cases, long-standing debts can still trigger serious collection actions, including wage garnishment . Can a debt collector really get a court order to take part of your paycheck after seven years, though? Below, we'll break down what borrowers should know.
Learn how to take control of your unpaid debt today .