New York Consumer Credit Fairness Act: 3-Year Statute of Limitations & How It Changes Debt Lawsuits

For years, debt collectors held most of the advantages in New York civil courts. They could sue on debts stretching back six years, file bare-bones complaints with minimal documentation, and win default judgments with little more than an attorney's affidavit. The Consumer Credit Fairness Act (CCFA), enacted in 2021 and effective in 2022, changed the landscape. It added four concrete requirements that collectors must now meet — and if they do not, those failures become your defenses.

Change 1: A shorter statute of limitations — CPLR 214-i

Before the CCFA, debt collectors could generally sue on a credit card or personal loan for up to six years from the date of default or last payment. The CCFA created CPLR 214-i, a new three-year limitations period that applies to consumer credit transactions accruing on or after April 7, 2022.

What this means: If your consumer debt accrued on or after April 7, 2022, the collector generally has only three years to sue you. After that, the debt is time-barred. However, the three-year rule does not automatically apply to debts that accrued before that date. Those may still be governed by the older six-year period under CPLR 213(2).

Critical point: The statute of limitations is an affirmative defense — you must raise it in your Answer or you lose it. A judge will not apply it automatically on your behalf. See the time-barred debt guide linked below for the full analysis.

Change 2: Collectors must now attach documents to the complaint — CPLR 3016(j)

The CCFA added CPLR 3016(j), which requires a plaintiff in a consumer credit action to attach specific documents to the initial complaint. These include:

• A copy of the written contract or credit agreement — the original terms under which the account was opened. For a revolving account such as a credit card, where there is often no signed contract, the charge-off statement may be attached instead
• A copy of the charge-off account statement — the statement showing the balance at the time the original creditor wrote the debt off
• If the plaintiff is a debt buyer, the complaint must also recite the chain of ownership — each prior owner of the debt and the date it was transferred

Before the CCFA, collectors could file a complaint that said little more than 'the defendant owes us money' and still obtain a judgment if you did not respond. CPLR 3016(j) requires them to put the documents on the table from the start. A debt buyer that cannot produce a complete chain of assignment is likely in violation of this rule.

Change 3: Stricter proof requirements for default judgments — CPLR 3215(f)

When a defendant does not respond to a lawsuit, the plaintiff can apply for a default judgment. Before the CCFA, collectors often obtained default judgments with minimal documentary proof. The CCFA amended CPLR 3215(f) to require that a plaintiff seeking a default judgment in a consumer credit action submit:

• An affidavit from a person with actual personal knowledge of the facts — not just an attorney who reviewed a file
• Documentation establishing the amount owed and the basis for the claim
• For debt buyers, evidence of the chain of assignment establishing that the plaintiff legally owns the debt

This requirement exists even when you do not respond to the lawsuit. It means that even if you miss the Answer deadline, a debt buyer that lacks competent documentation may not be able to obtain a default judgment. However, do not rely on this as a strategy — courts have discretion, and missing your Answer deadline is a serious risk.

Change 4: Lower post-judgment interest rate

A companion 2021 law, enacted alongside the CCFA, reduced the interest rate that accrues on a court judgment after it is entered in qualifying consumer credit cases. The prior rate under CPLR § 5004 — 9% per year — had applied broadly to all civil judgments in New York. The CCFA established a lower rate for qualifying consumer credit transactions. Check the current statute for the specific rate in effect, as it may have been adjusted since the law's passage.

A lower post-judgment interest rate matters because judgments in consumer debt cases can take years to resolve. A lower rate reduces how quickly the judgment balance grows while it is unpaid or while litigation continues.

What the CCFA does NOT do

• It does not erase or cancel existing debts. Owing money is separate from whether a collector can successfully sue you.
• It does not apply the 3-year SOL to debts that accrued before April 7, 2022. Those debts may still be subject to the older 6-year period.
• It does not stop collectors from calling or sending letters about time-barred debts — though the FDCPA separately limits what collectors can say about such debts.
• It does not automatically dismiss any pending lawsuit. You must still file an Answer and raise the applicable defenses.

How to use the CCFA in your defense

The CCFA gives you concrete tools — but only if you use them. File an Answer. Raise the statute of limitations if applicable. Check whether the complaint attaches the documents required under CPLR 3016(j). If the collector did not attach the required documents, or cannot establish chain of title, those are arguments for dismissal. A debt buyer that relies on robo-signed, incomplete, or missing assignment records is particularly vulnerable under the CCFA's documentation requirements.