# Washington — Does paying old debt restart the statute of limitations, by state

For Washington, does payment or acknowledgment revive the clock is Payment after expiry does not revive; how the statute states the rule is Any payment on the contract made after the limitation period has expired shall not restart, revive, or extend the limitation period; section is RCW 4.16.270, recorded from its source on 2026-09-01.

- **State:** Washington _(our reading, not quoted from the source)_
- **Does payment or acknowledgment revive the clock:** Payment after expiry does not revive _(our reading, not quoted from the source)_
- **How the statute states the rule:** Any payment on the contract made after the limitation period has expired shall not restart, revive, or extend the limitation period. _(verified: appears in the quote below)_
- **Section:** RCW 4.16.270 _(verified: appears in its own passage below)_

## What the source says

> When any payment has been or shall be made upon any existing contract prior to its applicable limitation period having expired, whether the contract is a bill of exchange, promissory note, bond, or other evidence of indebtedness, if the payment is made after it is due, the limitation period shall restart from the time the most recent payment was made. Any payment on the contract made after the limitation period has expired shall not restart, revive, or extend the limitation period.

## Where each value comes from

This source states these in separate places, so each value is shown with the passage that states it.

### Section

> RCW 4.16.270 Effect of partial payment.

## Source

- https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=4.16.270

Last verified: 2026-09-01. Review by: 2027-09-01.
Part of [Does paying old debt restart the statute of limitations, by state](https://referencesource.org/time-barred-debt-revival-rules-by-state/).