# 民法 / Civil Code — 第百六十六条 (Article 166) - Law: 民法 (Civil Code), 明治二十九年法律第八十九号 - English title "Civil Code": Ministry of Justice translation - Kind: Act — the distinction between 法律 (Act), 政令 (Cabinet Order), 省令 (Ministerial Order) and 条例 (local ordinance) decides who may issue it and what it may say. - Provision: 第百六十六条 (Article 166)（債権等の消滅時効） — address `art-166` - Text in force since: 2026-06-24 - URL (the page that opens at this provision): https://japanlaw.org/en/civil-code/art-166 - Permanent URL (e-Gov law ID, never renamed): https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-166 - Every provision below carries its address and both URLs on the line under it. - Japanese text: e-Gov 法令検索, Digital Agency (デジタル庁). English: as marked on each line below. Only the Japanese as published by the government has legal effect; the text below is a copy of it. Every English rendering below is a translation and says which kind: the Ministry of Justice's translation, or this site's machine translation, whose model and date the Sources list names. They are never merged and never substituted for one another. --- ### 第百六十六条（債権等の消滅時効） — (Extinctive Prescription of Claims) caption: Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System art-166 · https://japanlaw.org/en/civil-code/art-166 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-166 **第一項** 債権は、次に掲げる場合には、時効によって消滅する。 art-166/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/en/civil-code/art-166/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-166/par-1 A claim is extinguished by prescription in the following cases: Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System **一** 債権者が権利を行使することができることを知った時から五年間行使しないとき。 art-166/par-1/item-1 · https://japanlaw.org/en/civil-code/art-166/par-1/item-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-166/par-1/item-1 if the obligee does not exercise the right within five years from the time when the obligee came to know that it was exercisable; or Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System **二** 権利を行使することができる時から十年間行使しないとき。 art-166/par-1/item-2 · https://japanlaw.org/en/civil-code/art-166/par-1/item-2 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-166/par-1/item-2 if the obligee does not exercise the right within 10 years from the time when it became exercisable. Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System **第二項** 債権又は所有権以外の財産権は、権利を行使することができる時から二十年間行使しないときは、時効によって消滅する。 art-166/par-2 · https://japanlaw.org/en/civil-code/art-166/par-2 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-166/par-2 A claim or property right other than ownership is extinguished by prescription if not exercised within 20 years from the time when the right became exercisable. Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System **第三項** 前二項の規定は、始期付権利又は停止条件付権利の目的物を占有する第三者のために、その占有の開始の時から取得時効が進行することを妨げない。ただし、権利者は、その時効を更新するため、いつでも占有者の承認を求めることができる。 art-166/par-3 · https://japanlaw.org/en/civil-code/art-166/par-3 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-166/par-3 The provisions of the preceding two paragraphs do not preclude the commencement of acquisitive prescription for the benefit of a third party that possesses the subject matter of a right with a time of commencement or a right subject to a condition precedent, at the time of commencing the possession; provided, however, that the holder of the right may demand acknowledgment from the possessor at any time to renew the prescription period. Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System --- ## Cites - art-166/par-3: 前二項 → 民法 第百六十六条第一項 (Article 166, paragraph (1)), art-166/par-1 — https://japanlaw.org/en/civil-code/art-166/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-166/par-1 - art-166/par-3: 前二項 → 民法 第百六十六条第二項 (Article 166, paragraph (2)), art-166/par-2 — https://japanlaw.org/en/civil-code/art-166/par-2 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-166/par-2 ## Cited by 3 provisions cite this one. No official source publishes this direction. - 民法 第百六十六条第三項（債権等の消滅時効） — https://japanlaw.org/en/civil-code/art-166/par-3 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-166/par-3 - 民法 第百六十七条第一項（人の生命又は身体の侵害による損害賠償請求権の消滅時効） — https://japanlaw.org/en/civil-code/art-167/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-167/par-1 - 民法 第二百九十一条第一項（地役権の消滅時効） — https://japanlaw.org/en/civil-code/art-291/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-291/par-1 --- ## Sources - e-Gov 法令検索, Digital Agency (デジタル庁) — 民法 — the text in force from 2026-06-24 (https://laws.e-gov.go.jp/law/129AC0000000089/20260624_508AC0000000045), retrieved 2026-10-11 - Japanese Law Translation Database System, Ministry of Justice (法務省) — Civil Code — Ministry of Justice translation (part 1 of 2) (https://www.japaneselawtranslation.go.jp/en/laws/view/4848/tb), retrieved 2026-10-11 - This site's parser, version 190 — 民法 — structure, counts, cross-references and defined terms, computed 2026-10-11