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Limitation periods in Uruguay

Last verified: 2026-10-27 · Status: Stable

Since the 2020 reform (Ley 19.889), ordinary personal and commercial claims prescribe in 10 years instead of 20, while real actions keep 20 years. Many claims are much shorter: 4 years for torts, interest and periodic payments and for promissory notes, 2 years for professional fees, 6 months for cheques, 1 year after the end of employment for labour claims, and 5 years for tax claims (10 in cases of fraud or non filing). Courts do not apply prescription of their own motion; it is interrupted by acknowledgement of the debt or by a served claim, even before an incompetent judge, and by a conciliation summons followed by a claim within 30 days.

USD figures use UYU 40.214 per US dollar, the BCU quotation for DLS. USA BILLETE on 26 October 2026, retrieved from the BCU quotations service on 27 October 2026. Amounts set in UR use UYU 1,940.77, the latest published UR value (September 2026, Decreto 229/026, IMPO values table); amounts in UI use UYU 6.6792 per UI (BCU, 27 October 2026). Conversions are rounded and for orientation only.

Key facts

General limitation for personal civil actions	10 yearsCC art. 1216 (Ley 19.889), as of 2026-10-27 · in force
General limitation for commercial obligations	10 yearsCCom art. 1018 (Ley 19.889), as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Limitation for real actions	20 yearsCC art. 1215, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Limitation for non contractual damages	4 yearsCC art. 1332, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Limitation for promissory notes, vales and conformes	4 yearsCCom art. 1019, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Limitation for cheque actions	6 monthsDecreto Ley 14.412 art. 68, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Labour claims: after end of employment / per credit	1 year / 5 years yearsLey 18.091 art. 1 and 2, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Tax claims limitation (extended for fraud or non filing)	5 (10) yearsCódigo Tributario art. 38, as of 2026-10-27 · in force

The rule

1. Every personal action for a due debt prescribes in ten years, unless special laws say otherwise, counted from when the debt is due; real actions prescribe in twenty years. For conditional or term obligations the period runs from fulfilment of the condition or expiry of the term, and rights declared by a judgment prescribe from the date the judgment became final. The ten year term for personal actions was introduced in 2020.
Cost to do it: None; the cost of letting a claim prescribe is the claim itself.
Example: A loan between two Montevideo individuals that fell due in March 2020 prescribes in March 2030 unless interrupted. / A US$100,000 contractual claim governed by Uruguayan civil law that fell due in 2018 prescribes in 2028.Código Civil, art. 1216 as worded by Ley Nº 19.889 art. 463, art. 1215, 1216, 1218 and 1220, 2020-07-09 official text · verified 2026-10-27 · changed: Ley Nº 19.889 (9 July 2020) art. 463 cut the general term for personal actions in the Civil Code from twenty to ten years.

2. All actions arising from commercial obligations, whether in public or private documents, prescribe if not brought within ten years. Four years apply, among others, to actions on vales, conformes and promissory notes against the issuer where the debt was not acknowledged in a separate document, to debts shown by accepted current accounts or settled sales accounts, and to interest and periodic payments. Claims for goods sold on credit without a signed document prescribe in two years if the debtor is domiciled in Uruguay and four if abroad, and any commercial obligation provable only by witnesses in two years. Insurance policy actions prescribe in one year if contracted in Uruguay and three if contracted abroad.
Cost to do it: Getting a signed acknowledgment converts short terms into longer ones (art. 1019.1 and 1020).
Example: A Montevideo wholesaler that delivered goods on credit without any signed document to a local buyer has only two years to sue. / A foreign exporter that sold US$250,000 of goods on open account to a Uruguayan buyer without a signed document has four years if the buyer is abroad, but two if the buyer is domiciled in Uruguay, as is usual.Código de Comercio, art. 1018 as worded by Ley Nº 19.889 art. 464, art. 1018, 1019, 1020 and 1021, 2020-07-09 official text · verified 2026-10-27 · changed: Ley Nº 19.889 art. 464 cut the general commercial term in Código de Comercio art. 1018 from twenty to ten years.

3. The Civil Code sets four years for arrears of alimony, rents, interest on loans and anything payable yearly or at shorter periods; two years for fees of lawyers, court agents, notaries and doctors; and four years from the wrongful act for non contractual damages claims.
Cost to do it: None.
Example: A landlord in Montevideo can recover unpaid rent only for the last four years. / A tort claim for US$50,000 of damage to a warehouse caused in January 2026 must be filed by January 2030.Código Civil, art. 1222, 1223 and 1332, 1994-10-19 official text · verified 2026-10-27

4. Prescription is interrupted by the debtor's express or tacit acknowledgment of the obligation, and civilly by service of a judicial summons on the debtor, even if issued by an incompetent judge or null for formal defects; under the Commercial Code also by a judicial demand served personally and by admission of insolvency proceedings filed by the debtor. A summons to conciliation interrupts prescription from the day it is made if a claim is filed and served within 30 days after the hearing. Interruption against one joint debtor interrupts it against all. Prescription cannot be waived in advance, it may be raised at any stage in first and second instance, and judges cannot apply it of their own motion.
Cost to do it: A certified telegram or a signed payment plan can secure an acknowledgment cheaply.
Example: A debtor who asks for more time to pay in writing interrupts the period, which starts again from that date. / A creditor of US$500,000 facing expiry can request conciliation; it must then file and serve the claim within 30 days of the hearing.Código Civil; Código de Comercio, art. 1026 as worded by Ley Nº 17.292, CC art. 1234, 1235, 1236 and 1240; CCom art. 1014, 1015 and 1026, 2001-01-25 official text · verified 2026-10-27

5. The holder's actions on a cheque against the drawer and endorsers prescribe six months after the end of the presentation period. Labour actions prescribe one year after the employment ends, and labour credits in any case five years after they became payable; filing for conciliation at the Ministry of Labour or any judicial step interrupts the terms. Tax claims prescribe five years after the end of the calendar year of the taxable event (for annual income taxes, the fiscal year end), extended to ten years in cases of fraud, failure to register, report the taxable event or file returns.
Cost to do it: None; but labour exposure can reach five years of back pay.
Example: A former employee who left in March 2026 can sue until March 2027, and recovers only credits that became payable within the five years before the claim. / A company that never filed returns in Uruguay remains exposed to tax claims for ten years rather than five.Decreto Ley Nº 14.412 art. 68; Ley Nº 18.091 art. 1 to 4; Código Tributario art. 38, DL 14.412 art. 68; Ley 18.091 art. 1, 2, 3 and 4; CT art. 38, 2007-01-07 official text · verified 2026-10-27

6. Consumer claims for apparent defects lapse in 30 days (non durable) or 90 days (durable), hidden defects within three months of appearing (if they appear within six months), and personal injury claims prescribe in four years from knowledge, with a ten year cap. Amparo must be filed within 30 days of the act. An annulment claim against an administrative act must be filed within 90 days after the administrative route ends and in any case lapses two years after the administrative appeals were filed. Under Uruguayan private international law, prescription of personal actions is governed by the law applicable to the obligation.
Cost to do it: None.
Example: A company sanctioned by an agency must file its annulment claim within 90 days after the administrative route ends. / A contract governed by New York law and litigated in Montevideo applies New York's limitation rules to personal actions (Ley 19.920 art. 56).Ley Nº 17.250 art. 37 and 38; Ley Nº 16.011 art. 4; Código de lo Contencioso Administrativo art. 55 and 56; Ley Nº 19.920 art. 56, Ley 17.250 art. 37 and 38; Ley 16.011 art. 4; CCA art. 55 and 56; Ley 19.920 art. 56, 2024-09-11 official text · verified 2026-10-27

Claim	Period	Source
Personal civil actions	10 years	CC art. 1216
Commercial obligations	10 years	CCom art. 1018
Real actions	20 years	CC art. 1215
Tort	4 years from the act	CC art. 1332
Rents, interest, periodic payments	4 years	CC art. 1222; CCom art. 1019.4
Promissory notes, vales, conformes	4 years	CCom art. 1019.1
Goods on credit without signed document	2 years (4 if debtor abroad)	CCom art. 1020
Insurance policies	1 year (3 if contracted abroad)	CCom art. 1021
Professional fees	2 years	CC art. 1223
Cheques	6 months after presentation period	DL 14.412 art. 68
Labour	1 year after termination; 5 years per credit	Ley 18.091
Taxes	5 years (10 for fraud or non filing)	CT art. 38
Amparo	30 days	Ley 16.011 art. 4
Annulment of administrative acts	90 days; 2 year absolute lapse	CCA art. 55 and 56
Consumer personal injury	4 years; 10 year cap	Ley 17.250 art. 38

Main limitation periods

Worked example

A Uruguayan distributor owes a US exporter US$250,000 (about UYU 10,053,500) for goods delivered on open account in June 2025 without any signed document. Under Código de Comercio art. 1020, the exporter has two years, to June 2027, because the distributor is domiciled in Uruguay. In May 2027 the exporter obtains a written payment plan signed by the distributor: the acknowledgment interrupts prescription (art. 1026), and as a signed document it takes the claim out of the two year rule. If the distributor refuses, the exporter can request conciliation and must then file and serve the claim within 30 days of the hearing to keep the interruption (CC art. 1236).

Step by step

Classify the claim: civil or commercial, contractual or tort, title based (cheque, note) or open account.
Diary the shortest applicable period, not the general ten years.
Obtain signed acknowledgments or payment plans to interrupt prescription (CCom art. 1026).
If expiry is near, request conciliation or file suit and serve it promptly (CC art. 1235 and 1236).
For foreign law contracts, check the governing law's limitation rules (Ley 19.920 art. 56).

Common traps

Claims that fell under the old twenty year term may now be governed by ten years; check transitional effects with counsel.
Open account sales without signed documents have only two years (CCom art. 1020).
Courts will not raise prescription for you; the debtor must plead it (CCom art. 1015).
Labour claims survive five years per credit even while employment continues (Ley 18.091 art. 2).

Sources

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