Prescription Law: the section this site discusses

Because timing is usually the first consideration, checking a cause of action for a class action is done against the timetable of the limitation period, not after it.

What the law provides

Section 5 of the Law sets three limitation periods according to the type of claim: seven years for a claim for which no other period was set (the vast majority of contract, tort and monetary claims), fifteen years for a claim in land, and twenty-five years if the land was registered in the land register in a settlement of title. However, since 1 January 1970 the Prescription Law does not apply to claims to enforce a right in settled land (section 159(b) of the Land Law, 5729-1969), so the twenty-five-year period is relevant today only to limitation defenses that arose before then. Section 6 of the Law provides that the count starts on the day on which the cause of action arose: usually the day of the breach, the day the damage occurred or the due date of the debt, and not the day the contract or agreement was made.

Section 2 of the Law is the key to understanding its actual legal effect: a claim that has become time-barred blocks the hearing of the case on its merits if the defendant raised the defense, but it does not cancel the substantive right itself, only the procedural possibility of filing a claim on it. This means that a debt for which the claim has become time-barred can still be used in defense, as a set-off or as a counterclaim in a claim filed by the other side, when they concern the same subject or arise from the same circumstances (section 4). It is also important to know that the court does not examine the limitation period on its own initiative: it is a defense that the defendant must raise expressly, at the first opportunity after the claim is filed (section 3).

A numerical example

A contractor did work in September 2018 and the customer did not pay. The contractor’s cause of action arose on the payment date set in the agreement, not on the date the work itself was done. If the payment was due on 1 October 2018, the seven years in section 5 end on 1 October 2025. But because the limitation period had not yet ended on the eve of the entry into force of Amendment No. 8 to the Law (“Swords of Iron”, 25 January 2024), the 183 days between 7 October 2023 and 6 April 2024 are not counted in it (section 15A(a)). The calculation: 1 October 2025 + 183 days, so the last date for filing the claim is postponed to the beginning of April 2026. A claim filed after that date is exposed to a limitation defense by the customer, but only if the customer raises it at the first opportunity after the claim is filed (section 3).

For a broader overview of claims, arbitration and mediation in Israel, see Proceedings, claims and business regulation: the complete guide. See also: Limitation period for wage and employment claims: what becomes time-barred and when.

The sections the site discusses

This page brings together 1 section of the Prescription Law that is discussed in 3 guides on this site. The title of each section is the marginal note of the consolidated version of the Law (unofficial translation), not a heading we wrote. The last column links to the guides on this site that discuss that section.

The original text of the law

• Prescription Law, 5718-1958: text of the Law
• Land Law, 5729-1969: section 159(b) (Wikisource)
• Prescription Law: consolidated version on Nevo (Israeli legal database)

FAQ

How long do you have to file a civil claim in Israel?
As a rule, seven years from the day on which the cause of action arose. For claims in land the period is longer, fifteen years (section 5), and a claim to enforce a right in settled land does not become time-barred at all (section 159(b) of the Land Law).

From when does the limitation period start to run?
From the day on which the cause of action arose (section 6): usually the day of the breach, the day the damage occurred or the set due date, and not the date the agreement was signed.

What postpones the end of the limitation period or starts it again?
Several provisions of the Law. When the facts that give rise to the cause of action were unknown to the plaintiff for reasons beyond their control, which they could not have prevented even with reasonable care, the period starts on the day they became known to the plaintiff (section 8). An admission of the right by the defendant, in writing or before a court, not accompanied by a limitation argument, starts the period again from the day of the admission, and performing part of the right, such as paying part of the debt, counts as an admission (section 9). The following are not counted in the period: the time during which the plaintiff was a minor (section 10), the time during which the plaintiff refrained from suing because the defendant knowingly misled them, used force against them, threatened them or took advantage of their distress (section 7), and, in a claim not concerning land that had not become time-barred before 7 October 2023, as a rule also the period between 7 October 2023 and 6 April 2024 (section 15A).

If a claim is time-barred, is the debt erased?
No. Section 2 of the Law provides that the limitation period blocks the hearing of the claim if the defendant raised the defense, but it does not cancel the substantive right. So the debt can still be used for a set-off or a counterclaim in a claim that concerns the same subject or arises from the same circumstances (section 4).

Does the court examine the limitation period on its own initiative?
No. The limitation period is a defense that the defendant must raise expressly, at the first opportunity after the claim is filed (section 3); the court is not required to examine it by itself.

This page collects the references to legislation on the site. The section headings are the marginal notes as worded in the consolidated text of the law, and are not our interpretation. The binding text is the one published in Sefer HaHukim (the official gazette of statutes). The content here is general information and is not legal advice. Translated: 12 November 2026 · Hebrew version updated: 13 October 2026.