Statute of Limitations for Contract Claims in Missouri

This guide explains each limitations period, how to tell which one applies, when the clock starts running (accrual), and the handful of ways the deadline can be paused or restarted — including tolling, a partial payment, and a written acknowledgment of the debt. Because three different clocks can apply, correctly classifying the contract is often the single most important step in deciding whether a claim is still alive.

How long do you have to sue on a contract in Missouri?

Missouri sets the deadline by the nature of the agreement, not by how serious the breach was. The three periods that matter for contracts are:

• Ten years — written promises to pay money (RSMo § 516.110). Actions on a written contract or instrument for the payment of money or property — promissory notes, written loan agreements, and many written contracts that obligate a party to pay — carry a ten-year limitations period. This is the longest contract clock in Missouri.
• Five years — oral and other contracts (RSMo § 516.120). Oral agreements, and most contract actions not otherwise specified (including many written contracts that are not promises to pay money), carry a five-year period. This is the catch-all for everyday business deals — services, oral understandings, and contracts that fall outside the ten-year rule.
• Four years — sale of goods under the UCC (RSMo § 400.2-725). Contracts for the sale of goods are governed by Missouri's Uniform Commercial Code (RSMo Chapter 400), which sets a separate four-year limitations period that runs from when the breach occurs, regardless of whether the buyer knew of it.

State limitations versus the UCC

It is worth being explicit: the four-year UCC period for goods is distinct from the ten- and five-year general contract periods. If a transaction is a sale of goods — inventory, equipment, raw materials, manufactured products — RSMo § 400.2-725 controls, and the general Chapter 516 clocks do not apply. Conversely, if the deal is a service, a loan, or another non-goods contract, you stay in Chapter 516 and the UCC period is irrelevant. Reaching for the wrong framework is one of the most common ways a viable claim gets mistakenly treated as dead — or a dead claim mistakenly pursued.

Why classifying the contract is critical

Because three clocks can apply — ten, five, or four years — the characterization of the agreement frequently decides whether a claim survives. A written installment loan is a classic ten-year claim under RSMo § 516.110. An oral consulting arrangement is usually a five-year claim under RSMo § 516.120. A purchase order for equipment is usually a four-year UCC claim under RSMo § 400.2-725.

The hard cases are mixed contracts — agreements that involve both goods and services, such as a contract to supply and install machinery. Missouri courts generally apply a "predominant purpose" test: if the deal is mainly about the goods, the UCC's four-year period governs the whole contract; if it is mainly about the service, a Chapter 516 period applies. Because the answer can be genuinely uncertain, a cautious party should assume the shortest plausible period applies and file accordingly rather than gamble on the longer clock.

When does the clock start? (Accrual)

The limitations clock does not start when you sign the contract — it starts when the cause of action accrues. In Missouri, a contract claim generally accrues when the breach occurs and the resulting damage is sustained and capable of ascertainment (the accrual standard reflected in RSMo § 516.100). In plain terms, the clock starts when the other side breaks the promise and you have suffered an ascertainable loss — not necessarily when you discover it.

"Capable of ascertainment" in practice

The phrase "capable of ascertainment" means the clock starts when the damage can, by an objective standard, be discovered and measured — not when the plaintiff actually learns of it. Missouri does not apply a broad "discovery rule" to ordinary contract claims; for most disputes the period runs from the breach, even if the injured party did not immediately realize the contract had been broken. For the sale of goods, RSMo § 400.2-725 is even more pointed: the cause of action accrues when the breach occurs, regardless of the buyer's knowledge — subject to a narrow exception for a warranty that explicitly extends to the future performance of the goods.

Installment obligations

For contracts paid in installments, the clock typically runs separately on each missed payment as each one comes due. That means a claim that looks time-barred as a whole may still be alive as to the most recent payments — and a long-running default does not necessarily wipe out the entire claim. The flip side is that the oldest missed payments may already be barred even while recent ones remain enforceable.

Can the deadline be paused or extended?

Yes, in limited circumstances. Missouri recognizes several ways the running of the limitations period can be paused (tolled) or restarted:

• Tolling for legal disability. When a person entitled to sue is under a recognized legal disability — for example, a minor or someone adjudged incapacitated — Missouri law generally pauses the clock until the disability is removed (the disability-tolling rules appear in RSMo § 516.170 and related sections). The period does not run while the qualifying disability persists.
• Defendant's absence from the state. If the party you need to sue is absent from or conceals themselves within Missouri, the time of that absence may not count against the limitations period in some circumstances.
• Part payment. A voluntary partial payment on the debt can restart the clock, treating the payment as a fresh acknowledgment of the obligation from which a new limitations period runs.
• Written acknowledgment. A written, signed acknowledgment of the debt — or a written promise to pay it — can likewise restart the clock. An oral promise generally is not enough; Missouri requires the new promise or acknowledgment to be in writing to revive the obligation.

Restarting the clock by payment or acknowledgment

The part-payment and written-acknowledgment rules cut both ways and are easy to overlook. A creditor who is near the deadline may find the clock reset simply because the debtor sent a check for part of the balance or signed a letter conceding the debt is owed — effectively buying years of additional time to sue. By the same token, a debtor who wants to run out the clock should be cautious: making a partial payment or putting an admission in writing can revive an otherwise stale debt. Whether a particular payment or statement legally restarts the period is fact-specific, so the safest course is to treat any such act as potentially resetting the clock.

What happens if you miss the deadline?

Missing the statute of limitations is usually fatal to the claim. The limitations defense is an affirmative defense — the defendant must raise it, typically in the answer or by motion — but once raised on a clearly late claim, it is generally a complete bar. The court will not weigh the merits; an otherwise-winning breach claim simply gets dismissed because it was filed too late.

Two practical points follow. Because the defense must be pleaded, a defendant who fails to raise it can waive it — but never count on the other side overlooking it. And contractual deadlines can differ from the statutory ones: parties sometimes agree by contract to a shorter period to bring suit, and such clauses are often enforceable. The conservative move when a deadline might be near is to calendar the earliest plausible date and file before it, rather than litigate later over exactly when the claim accrued.

Frequently Asked Questions