Wanneer verjaar 'n skuld of 'n eis? Kies die soort skuld en die datum waarop dit opeisbaar geword het, en kry die datum waarop verjaring voltooi word, die laaste dag om dagvaarding te beteken, hoeveel van die tydperk reeds verloop het, en dieselfde antwoord vir elke ander soort skuld. Gebou op die Prescription Act 68 of 1969 en die Road Accident Fund Act.
'n Onbetaalde faktuur, 'n motorongeluk, 'n mislukte operasie, 'n kontrakbreuk: die meeste eise in Suid-Afrika verjaar drie jaar nadat dit ontstaan, en sodra dit verjaar het, kan dit nie afgedwing word nie. Die sakrekenaar gee die datum, die laaste dag om dagvaarding te beteken, hoeveel van die tydperk reeds verloop het, en dieselfde antwoord vir elke ander soort skuld.
Prescription Act 68 of 1969, section 11, en die Road Accident Fund Act.
| Skuld | Tydperk | Gesag | Nota |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contract, delict or any other debt (general rule) | 3 jaar | 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 jaar | 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 jaar | Prescription Act s 11(b) | Fifteen years for money advanced by the State or land sold or leased by the State. |
| Judgment debt | 30 jaar | 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 jaar | Prescription Act s 11(a)(i) | Thirty years while the bond secures the debt. |
| Debt in respect of taxation | 30 jaar | Prescription Act s 11(a)(iii) | Thirty years for tax debts imposed by legislation. |
| Road Accident Fund claim, driver or owner identified | 3 jaar | 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 jaar | 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. The first month is R1.
Sodra die tydperk verstryk, kan die eis nie afgedwing word nie. 'n Gelyste prokureur kan voor die datum dagvaarding beteken of 'n erkenning van aanspreeklikheid verkry.
Vind 'n prokureur om nou op te tree'n Firma-wye verjaringsregister, elke saak sonder 'n datum gemerk, amber by 90 dae en rooi by 30, op die paneelbord en op die saak.