What does time-barred debt mean?

A debt is called “time-barred” when it is actually so old, that a debt collector is not entitled to sue the person in order to force payment. Certainly states have their own regulations regarding the legislative aspect of these time barred debts, but taking the example of a credit card debt if it is older then three to ten years it becomes time-barred type of debt. It is important to know that the law dictates these debts should not be collected by the creditor party, but by legal bodies (lawyer/debt collector) representing them.