Atlas · Governance
Prescription occurs in ten years when the law has not established a shorter period
Reviewed on 2026-10-02 · next review 2027-04-02
Data
| Who | Criterion | Consequence | Source | Data date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Holder of the claim | Absence of a shorter period established by law | Prescription occurs in ten years | Law 10.406/2002, art. 205 | 10/01/2002 |
Data consulted on 02/10/2026.
Basis
- Lei n.º 10.406/2002 (Planalto, in Portuguese): article 205 establishes that prescription occurs in ten years, when the law has not established a shorter period.
How it applies
The general prescription period applies to claims for which civil legislation has not expressly established a shorter period, such as the one, two, three, four, or five-year periods provided for in article 206 of Law 10.406/2002. The counting begins from the violation of the right, the moment when the claim arises for the holder, extinguishing the claim by prescription according to the established legal periods. Under the applicable legislation, intervening prescription shall observe the same prescription period of the claim, observing the causes of impediment, suspension, and interruption of prescription provided for in the Civil Code and observing the provisions of art. 921 of Law No. 13.105, of March 16, 2015, which institutes the Code of Civil Procedure. The interruption of prescription, which may only occur once, shall take place by order of the judge, even if incompetent, who orders the citation, if the interested party promotes it within the period and in the form of procedural law, by protest, by exchange protest, by presentation of the credit instrument in probate court or in creditor ranking, by any judicial act that puts the debtor in default, or by any unequivocal act, even if extrajudicial, that implies recognition of the right by the debtor, starting to run again from the date of the act that interrupted it or from the last act of the process to interrupt it.
Limits
- This sheet exclusively covers the general prescription rule of article 205 of the consulted law; it does not cover the special periods provided for in article 206 nor forfeiture rules.
- The version read is the one published by Planalto; subsequent amendments must be checked in the official source before any decision.