In Indiana, the statute of limitations on a court judgment is 20 years. Under Indiana Code 34-11-2-12, every judgment from a court of record is deemed satisfied once that 20-year period runs, and the creditor loses the ability to enforce it.1Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 34-11-2-12 – Satisfaction of Judgment After Expiration of 20 Years That is one of the longest enforcement windows in the country. During those two decades, interest accrues at 8% per year, which on an unpaid balance can more than double what was originally owed.
When the 20-Year Clock Starts
The clock begins on the date the court enters the judgment, not the date of the underlying debt or the date collection first begins. From entry forward, the creditor has 20 years to use any available collection tool. The statute applies the same way to judgments from Indiana state courts, federal courts sitting in Indiana, and judgments originally entered in another state that have been domesticated here.1Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 34-11-2-12 – Satisfaction of Judgment After Expiration of 20 Years
Once the 20 years expire, the judgment is treated as fully satisfied by operation of law. That is true whether or not the debtor ever paid anything. The obligation the judgment represented does not simply pause; it ends.
The Shorter 10-Year Real Estate Lien
A separate and shorter deadline applies to real estate liens, and it catches creditors off guard. A judgment automatically creates a lien on real property the debtor owns in the county where the judgment is docketed. That lien lasts only 10 years.2Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 34-55-9-2 – Liens Upon Real Estate and Chattels Real
A creditor who lets that 10-year lien lapse loses priority against the property, even though the underlying judgment remains enforceable for another decade. The 20-year life of the judgment does not keep the real estate lien alive. If you are holding a judgment and expect to look to the debtor’s home or land for payment, the 10-year date is the one to calendar first.
Interest at 8% Per Year
Indiana judgments accrue interest from the date the court returns its verdict or finding, at 8% per year. If the original claim arose from a contract that specified an interest rate, that contract rate carries over after judgment, but it is capped at 8%.3Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 24-4.6-1-101 – Money Judgments
People often assume judgment interest compounds monthly like a credit card. Indiana’s default is simple interest on the outstanding balance, with past-due interest periodically added to the principal on which future interest is calculated.4Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 24-4.6-1-104 – Computation of Interest Methods When a debtor pays nothing, unpaid interest rolls into the principal, and the total grows faster than pure simple interest would. A $50,000 judgment left completely unpaid can push past $100,000 over a decade at that rate. Partial payments, even modest ones, keep the interest base from snowballing.
Renewing a Judgment Before Year 20
Indiana’s statutes do not include an explicit renewal procedure. Creditors instead rely on common law and file a new lawsuit on the original judgment before the 20 years expire. A successful action produces a fresh judgment with its own 20-year enforcement window, resetting the clock. In theory, a determined creditor can keep a judgment alive indefinitely by repeating this every 20 years.
The timing has to be exact. The creditor must actually obtain the new judgment before the original expires. Filing the suit on day one of year 20 but not resolving it until year 21 leaves the creditor exposed, because the debtor can raise the expiration as an affirmative defense. Service of process on the debtor is required, just as in any civil case.
What Happens When the Judgment Expires
Once 20 years pass, the judgment is considered satisfied by statute. The creditor can no longer garnish wages, levy bank accounts, or enforce any lien tied to that judgment. Money and property already collected during the 20-year window stays collected, but no new enforcement action is permitted.1Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 34-11-2-12 – Satisfaction of Judgment After Expiration of 20 Years
Federal debt collection rules add another layer once the judgment is time-barred. Debt collectors are prohibited from filing or threatening to file a lawsuit to collect on a time-barred debt. A collector who does faces liability for actual damages, statutory damages, and attorney fees, whether or not the collector knew the judgment had expired. Collectors may still contact the debtor about the debt in other ways, but they cannot threaten litigation or use deceptive tactics.
Defenses That Can End Enforcement Sooner
The 20-year period is an outer limit, not a guarantee that a judgment stays enforceable that entire time. A debtor has several ways to challenge collection before the clock runs.
The Debt Was Already Paid
The most direct defense is showing the judgment has been satisfied. Courts can grant relief from a judgment that has been paid, released, or discharged.5Legal Information Institute. Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60 – Relief from a Judgment or Order Keep every receipt, canceled check, and settlement agreement. Proving payment years later without documentation is very hard.
Void Judgments
A judgment entered without proper jurisdiction over the debtor or without valid service of process is void from the start, and Indiana courts can set it aside at any time. The common pattern involves a debtor who never received notice of the lawsuit because the creditor served an old address. Many debtors first learn about a judgment like this when wages are garnished or a bank account is frozen. A motion to vacate is the remedy.
Fraud or Newly Discovered Evidence
If the judgment was obtained through fraud, misrepresentation, or misconduct by the other party, the debtor can move to set it aside. Newly discovered evidence that could not have been found earlier through reasonable diligence can also support relief.5Legal Information Institute. Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60 – Relief from a Judgment or Order These motions have their own deadlines and demand strong factual backing.
Bankruptcy Discharge
Filing for bankruptcy can eliminate the obligation behind a judgment. A discharge voids any judgment to the extent it determined the debtor’s personal liability on a discharged debt and operates as a permanent injunction against further collection.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 U.S. Code 524 – Effect of Discharge Not every debt qualifies. Student loans, most tax debts, child support, and debts from fraud or intentional harm generally survive bankruptcy. Confirm the specific judgment is dischargeable before filing.
Out-of-State Judgments Domesticated in Indiana
Moving to Indiana does not shake a valid judgment from another state. Indiana has adopted the Uniform Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Act, which lets a creditor file an authenticated copy of an out-of-state or federal judgment with any Indiana county clerk. Once filed, it is treated like an Indiana judgment for enforcement, defenses, and procedure.7Justia. Indiana Code 34-54-11 – Enforcement of Foreign Judgments
The creditor files an affidavit with the last known addresses of both parties and mails notice to the debtor; the clerk sends a separate notice as well. Execution cannot begin until at least 21 days after the judgment was originally entered in its home jurisdiction.7Justia. Indiana Code 34-54-11 – Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Whether the original state’s statute of limitations or Indiana’s 20-year period ultimately controls depends on the specifics of the domesticated judgment, so a debtor facing a foreign judgment filed here should get advice tied to the state it came from.