Judgments Expire: How and When to Renew Yours

A judgment doesn't stay collectible forever. Every state puts an outer limit on how long you can enforce one — and if the debtor hasn't paid by the time that limit hits, what happens next depends entirely on which of four different systems your state uses.

1. Four different models, not one national rule

Some states let you renew a judgment indefinitely, filing before each term runs out to reset the clock — California (outside an exception below), Michigan, and New Jersey all work this way. Others allow exactly one renewal to a fixed total lifespan and no more — North Carolina and Washington. Florida and New York keep a judgment automatically enforceable for a full 20 years with no filing required at all, but no way to extend it further once that runs out. Pennsylvania is the strictest: a flat 20-year outer limit with no renewal mechanism whatsoever — once it passes, that collection right is gone for good.

2. Missing the deadline in a renewable state forfeits the judgment

In a state where renewal is available, it only works if you file before the judgment expires — not after. Once the deadline passes, most states don't offer a grace period or a way to revive an already-lapsed judgment. If your debtor still owes you money as a renewal deadline approaches, that's not a decision to put off.

3. California narrows its own renewal window for ordinary debt

California's general rule allows unlimited 10-year renewals, but for an ordinary personal debt judgment against an individual under $50,000 — true of nearly every small claims judgment — the law caps you to a single renewal, and only for 5 years instead of 10. A business debtor, or a wage, tort, or fraud judgment, still gets the unlimited 10-year renewals.

4. Washington gives you a narrow window, not an open one

Washington allows exactly one extension of its 10-year judgment — but only if you file the petition within the 90 days immediately before it expires, not earlier and not later. File too early and the court won't take it; miss the window and there's no second chance.

5. What renewing actually costs

Where a renewal filing exists, it's its own fee, separate from anything already paid to collect — from $20 in Michigan up to roughly $45 in California and Washington. The Judgment Renewal Calculator shows when your judgment expires, whether renewal is available in your state, and what it costs.

Renewal only matters if the judgment is still unpaid — see The Debtor Won't Pay: How to Collect a Small Claims Judgment for the tools available to collect before that clock runs out.