Quick summary: In Guatemala, the general limitation period for a debt is five years from when performance could be demanded, unless a special provision applies (Código Civil, Art. 1508). Some periods are two years (Art. 1514) or one year (Art. 1513). Prescription does not operate on its own: the debtor must invoke it (Art. 1501). A duly served lawsuit, acknowledgment of the debt or a partial payment can interrupt the period (Art. 1506), wiping out the time already elapsed (Art. 1507). If the period has already been completed, paying part of the debt or admitting that you owe it without invoking prescription amounts to waiving it (Art. 1504).
This page explains prescripción extintiva (extinctive prescription, the legal limitation of an obligation) from the debtor’s perspective. If you are the creditor and want the debtor to acknowledge the debt in writing to interrupt the period, see the debt acknowledgment template (in Spanish). The rules below come from the Código Civil (Civil Code) and the Código de Comercio (Commerce Code).
How prescription works (Arts. 1501-1504)
- The debtor must invoke it. Under Art. 1501, extinctive prescription extinguishes the obligation when the debtor raises it as an action or a defense. The same article states that prescription of the principal obligation also produces prescription of the accessory obligation.
- It can be waived once acquired. A person with legal capacity to undertake obligations may waive prescription already acquired, but cannot waive the right to prescription in the future (Art. 1503).
- Your conduct can amount to a waiver. Prescription is deemed waived if the debtor admits owing the debt without invoking prescription, or pays all or part of the debt (Art. 1504).
- Legal representatives. People unable to administer their property may bring a claim against their legal representatives whose intentional misconduct or negligence caused prescription to occur (Art. 1502).
Limitation periods
| Debt or action | Period | When it starts | Rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| All cases not covered by special provisions | 5 years | When performance of the obligation could be demanded; for an obligation not to do something, from the act that breaches it | Código Civil, Art. 1508 |
| Obligation subject to a term or condition | The applicable period | When the term expires or the condition is fulfilled | Código Civil, Art. 1509 |
| Principal of an interest-bearing obligation | The applicable period | Once the term has expired, from the date of the last interest payment | Código Civil, Art. 1511 |
| Price of goods sold by a merchant | 2 years | When the creditor can demand payment | Código Civil, Art. 1514, paragraph 2 |
| Fees, salaries, wages and other compensation for services | 2 years | When the creditor can demand payment | Código Civil, Art. 1514, paragraph 1 |
| Lodging and provision of food | 2 years | When the creditor can demand payment | Código Civil, Art. 1514, paragraph 3 |
| Uncollected pensions, rents, rental payments and other periodic payments due | 2 years | When the creditor can demand payment, whether collection is pursued through a real or a personal action | Código Civil, Art. 1514, paragraph 4 |
| Civil liability arising from a crime or minor offense, or harm to people | 1 year | From the final judgment establishing liability or from when the harm occurred | Código Civil, Art. 1513 |
| Accounting for another person’s property and collecting the resulting balance | 3 years | When administration ends; for the balance, when the account is approved by the interested parties or by a final judgment | Código Civil, Arts. 1512 and 1515 |
| Acciones cambiarias (actions on negotiable instruments) arising from a cheque (check) | 6 months | For the last holder: from presentment; for endorsers and avalistas (guarantors on the instrument): from the day after they pay | Código de Comercio, Art. 513 |
| Acción cambiaria directa (direct action) on a letra de cambio (bill of exchange), also applicable to a pagaré (promissory note) by reference | 3 years | From maturity | Código de Comercio, Arts. 493 and 626 |
| Acción de regreso (recourse action) by the last holder | 1 year | From maturity and, where applicable, the end of the presentment periods; if the instrument requires protesto (formal protest), from when the protest is made | Código de Comercio, Art. 627 |
| Recourse by an obligated party against earlier obligated parties | 6 months | From voluntary payment or service of the lawsuit | Código de Comercio, Art. 628 |
Art. 1516 closes the chapter by preserving the rules that the Código Civil itself or special laws establish for other cases of prescription.
Direct and recourse actions. An acción cambiaria is direct when brought against the principal obligated party or that party’s avalistas, and is a recourse action when brought against any other obligated party (Código de Comercio, Art. 616). A pagaré signer is treated as the acceptor of a bill of exchange, except for acciones causales (actions based on the underlying transaction) and acciones de enriquecimiento (unjust-enrichment actions), for which the signer is treated as the drawer (Art. 492). Acceptance makes the acceptor the principal obligated party (Art. 461).
Bank and credit-card debts
The provisions below distinguish the general period from the periods for actions on particular instruments. They do not, by themselves, establish which rule governs your bank or credit-card contract:
- If no special provision applies, the general period is five years under Art. 1508.
- If the debt is documented in a pagaré or letra de cambio, the direct action on the instrument, against the principal obligated party or that party’s avalistas, is time-barred three years after maturity (Código de Comercio, Arts. 492, 493, 616 and 626). Recourse actions against other obligated parties have the shorter periods in Arts. 627 and 628.
- For interest-bearing loans, the period for overdue principal runs from the last interest payment (Art. 1511).
- Each partial payment toward the debt interrupts prescription (Art. 1506, paragraph 3).
As a practical step, have a lawyer review the contract and how the debt is documented to identify the applicable rule. See lawyer costs in Guatemala.
Continuous supply services. A commentary note to Art. 1514 in the CENADOJ edition cites the cassation judgment in case 360-2005, dated June 8, 2006. In that case, the Supreme Court’s Civil Chamber considered that continuous supply, such as telephone service, involves several periodic obligations subject to the two-year period rather than the five-year period. This is a description of the cited judgment, rather than additional statutory wording.
When the period does not run (Art. 1505)
The limitation period does not run:
- Against minors and legally incapacitated people while they have no appointed legal representative.
- Between parents and children during patria potestad (parental authority).
- Between minors or legally incapacitated people and their guardians while the guardianship continues.
- Between co-owners while the property remains undivided.
- Between spouses during marriage, and between a man and a woman during a unión de hecho (legally recognized de facto union).
What interrupts prescription (Arts. 1506-1507)
| Ground | What Art. 1506 provides | Exceptions |
|---|---|---|
| Lawsuit or precautionary measure | A duly served lawsuit or any executed providencia precautoria (precautionary court measure) | No interruption if the creditor withdraws the action, the defendant is cleared of the claim or the judicial act is declared void |
| Acknowledgment | The debtor expressly acknowledges, orally or in writing, or tacitly through unequivocal conduct, the right of the person against whom prescription is running | |
| Partial payment | Payment of interest or principal installments by the debtor, or partial performance of the obligation |
The effect is substantial: under Art. 1507, interruption makes all the previously elapsed time unusable for prescription. The period starts over.
Negotiable instruments have their own rule: an interruption affecting one debtor on the instrument does not interrupt prescription for the others, unless they signed the same act (Código de Comercio, Art. 629).
Reading the list. A creditor’s collection letters and calls are not expressly listed among the grounds in Art. 1506. That observation is an inference from the enumerated grounds, rather than an express provision about letters or calls; see the collection letter template (in Spanish). Your response can matter: express or tacit acknowledgment, or a partial payment, falls within paragraphs 2 and 3.
Before paying or signing anything about an old debt
- If the period is still running: a partial payment or acknowledgment restarts it (Arts. 1506 and 1507).
- If the period has already been completed: paying all or part of the debt, or admitting that you owe it without invoking prescription, is treated as a waiver (Art. 1504).
- If you are sued: prescription is raised as an action or a defense (Art. 1501). For the collection process, see civil debt collection lawsuits.
For the related credit-history procedure, see checking your credit history with the SIB.
Related procedures
- Debt acknowledgment template (in Spanish): acknowledgment interrupts the limitation period
- Collection letter template (in Spanish)
- Pagaré: promissory note and template
- Letra de cambio: bill of exchange template (in Spanish)
- Contrato de mutuo: loan agreement template (in Spanish)
- Civil debt collection lawsuits
General guidance, not legal advice. The Código Civil references use the CENADOJ (Organismo Judicial) annotated edition, whose internal title page states that it was updated through August 8, 2025. The Código de Comercio references use the Archivo General de Protocolos (Organismo Judicial) copy, which does not state an update date. CENADOJ’s case-law notes are commentary rather than statutory text.