Medical debt and credit reports in Delaware
Delaware law bans medical debt from credit reports.
No one may report any medical debt to a credit bureau, and a credit bureau may not include medical debt in a credit report when it knows or should know about it.
Checked against official sources: October 30, 2026.
The rule in Delaware
Full ban
No one may report any medical debt to a credit bureau, and a credit bureau may not include medical debt in a credit report when it knows or should know about it. Medical debt includes bills that are not past due and bills already paid, but not regular credit card debt.
Who the rule covers: Anyone (no person may report medical debt to a credit bureau), and credit bureaus may not make a report they know or should know contains medical debt
In effect since: October 27, 2025
It covers both paid and unpaid debt.
Law: 6 Del. C. 2502J(11), 2507J (85 Del. Laws c. 107, SB 156)
Other limits on collection in Delaware
- Waiting rules
Wait before a lawsuit: 120 days after the first bill
A hospital or other large health-care facility, or a medical debt collector, may not take any allowed 'extraordinary collection action' (such as suing, placing a lien, or selling the debt without protections) until 120 days after the first bill was sent. At least 30 days before such an action, it must send you a notice that says whether financial assistance is available, with a plain-language summary, names the action it will take and gives a deadline at least 30 days away. It may not report, contact you to collect, sue or send the bill to a collector while it knows an insurance appeal is pending or was pending in the last 60 days. Once the rest of the new financial assistance law takes effect (when the Diamond State Hospital Cost Review Board adopts final rules, or July 1, 2027, whichever comes first): it also may not sue you or send the bill to a collector while your financial assistance application or appeal is pending, and may not take any extraordinary collection action against a patient who qualifies, or likely qualifies, for financial assistance.
- Liens on your home
A medical creditor or medical debt collector may not foreclose on your home or other real property to collect a medical debt. A lien on property is an extraordinary collection action that can come only after the 120-day wait and 30-day notice.
- Wage garnishment
A medical creditor or medical debt collector may not garnish your wages, disability or unemployment benefits or workers' compensation to collect a medical debt.
- Selling the debt
Selling a medical debt counts as an extraordinary collection action unless the buyer agrees in writing not to use extraordinary collection actions, not to charge interest, not to report to credit bureaus, to return the debt if you qualify for financial assistance, and not to collect more than you owe. The facility that sold the debt stays liable for the buyer's violations.
- Lawsuit rules
Anyone suing to collect medical debt must state in court papers whether it is a medical creditor, a medical debt collector or neither. Medical creditors and collectors may not cause your arrest or a body attachment. A spouse or other adult is not liable for another adult's medical bills unless they signed a separate consent, not in an emergency (parents are liable for minor children). Once the new financial assistance rules apply, it is a complete defense to a medical debt suit that the hospital did not follow the financial assistance law or that you qualify for assistance, and no default judgment may be entered without a hospital officer's sworn statement that you were offered screening first.
- Bank account
A medical creditor or medical debt collector may not garnish or attach your bank account, pension, annuity or retirement account, or levy on your personal property, to collect a medical debt.
Law: 6 Del. C. 2502J(4), 2505J, 2506J, 2508J, 2509J, 2511J; 6 Del. C. 2505J(h), 2508J(d)-(e)
Is my debt too old in Delaware?
| Kind of agreement | Time limit to sue |
|---|---|
| Written contract | 3 years |
| Open account | 3 years |
| Oral (spoken) agreement | 3 years |
Lawsuits on a promise, on a debt not evidenced by a record or a sealed instrument, or on an account (a detailed statement of mutual debits and credits) must be filed within 3 years. A lawsuit on a promissory note, or on a signed written acknowledgment of an existing debt, can be filed within 6 years.
- What can restart the clock
A signed written acknowledgment of an existing debt gives a 6-year period to sue on that acknowledgment.
- When the clock starts
From the date the cause of action accrues.
Law: 10 Del. C. 8106(a), 8109
A time limit to sue can differ by kind of agreement, and when it starts and what restarts it can differ; a court decides.
Where to complain in Delaware
- Attorney general: Delaware Department of Justice, Consumer Protection Unit · (800) 220-5424
A hospital, collector or debt buyer broke the Medical Debt Protection Act (a violation is an unlawful practice under the Consumer Fraud Act), or other unfair collection practices. - Health insurance: Delaware Department of Insurance, Consumer Services Division · 1-800-282-8611
Problems with a Delaware health insurance policy, including emergency balance bills and appeals.
Questions about medical bills in Delaware
Can medical debt be reported to credit bureaus in Delaware?
Delaware law bans medical debt from credit reports. No one may report any medical debt to a credit bureau, and a credit bureau may not include medical debt in a credit report when it knows or should know about it.
How long can a medical bill be collected or sued on in Delaware?
Lawsuits on a promise, on a debt not evidenced by a record or a sealed instrument, or on an account (a detailed statement of mutual debits and credits) must be filed within 3 years. A lawsuit on a promissory note, or on a signed written acknowledgment of an existing debt, can be filed within 6 years.