When does a debt or a claim prescribe? Pick the kind of debt and the date it fell due, and get the date prescription completes, the last day to serve summons, and the rule that applies. Built on the Prescription Act 68 of 1969 and the Road Accident Fund Act.
An unpaid invoice, a car accident, a botched operation, a breach of contract: most claims in South Africa prescribe three years after they arise, and once prescribed they cannot be enforced. The calculator gives the date and the last day to serve summons.
Prescription Act 68 of 1969, section 11, and the Road Accident Fund Act.
| Debt | Period | Authority | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contract, delict or any other debt (general rule) | 3 years | Prescription Act s 11(d) | The three-year period covers most claims: unpaid invoices, damages, breach of contract, medical negligence, professional negligence. |
| Bill of exchange, cheque, promissory note or notarial contract | 6 years | Prescription Act s 11(c) | Six years for debts arising from a negotiable instrument or a notarial contract, unless a longer period applies. |
| Debt owed to the State for a loan, advance, or sale or lease of land | 15 years | Prescription Act s 11(b) | Fifteen years for money advanced by the State or land sold or leased by the State. |
| Judgment debt | 30 years | Prescription Act s 11(a)(ii) | A judgment can be executed for thirty years from the date it was granted. |
| Debt secured by a mortgage bond | 30 years | Prescription Act s 11(a)(i) | Thirty years while the bond secures the debt. |
| Debt in respect of taxation | 30 years | Prescription Act s 11(a)(iii) | Thirty years for tax debts imposed by legislation. |
| Road Accident Fund claim, driver or owner identified | 3 years | RAF Act s 23(1) | The claim must be lodged with the Fund within three years of the accident. Once lodged, summons must be served within five years of the accident (s 23(3)). |
| Road Accident Fund claim, hit-and-run (driver and owner unidentified) | 2 years | RAF Regulations | The claim must be lodged with the Fund within two years of the accident. The five-year limit for summons still applies. |
Most debts prescribe three years after they become due: unpaid invoices, damages claims, breach of contract and negligence claims. Six years applies to negotiable instruments and notarial contracts, fifteen years to certain debts owed to the State, and thirty years to judgment debts, mortgage-bond debts and tax. Road Accident Fund claims must be lodged within three years, or two for a hit-and-run.
From the day the debt is due, and not before the creditor knows, or could reasonably have known, who the debtor is and the facts giving rise to the debt (section 12). For a damages claim that is usually the date of the harm; for an invoice, its due date.
An acknowledgement of liability by the debtor interrupts it and it starts again (section 14). Service of a summons or other process claiming payment interrupts it (section 15). Sending a letter of demand does not, on its own, interrupt prescription.
It runs, but it cannot be completed until a year after the child turns 18 (section 13). The same delay applies to other impediments the Act lists, such as the debtor being outside the country or the parties being married to each other.
The day before the period completes. If the debt fell due on 10 March 2024 under the three-year rule, prescription completes on 10 March 2027, so summons must be served by 9 March 2027. Diarise the date with a margin; this page is a working aid, not legal advice.
Yes. AttorneyOS keeps a firm-wide prescription register, flags every open matter with no prescription date and turns amber at 90 days and red at 30. It starts with a 7-day free trial.
Once the period runs, the claim cannot be enforced. A listed attorney can serve summons or secure an acknowledgement of liability before the date.
Find an attorney to act nowA firm-wide prescription register, every matter with no date flagged, amber at 90 days and red at 30, on the dashboard and the matter.