If the repayment period is clearly stipulated in the IOU, the IOU shall be valid for 3 years from the date of repayment period. If there is no clear agreement on the repayment period, it shall be valid for 3 years from the date of the first claim, and shall not exceed the limitation of action.
Handwritten IOUs with legal effect shall include the following contents:
1. The full names of the borrower and the lender shall be clearly written;
2. The loan amount should be clearly written, including the amount expressed in words and figures;
3. The term of the loan should be clearly written, including the start and end dates of the loan and a clear loan term;
4. The specific repayment date should be clearly written;
5. The loan interest should be clearly written, with a clear annual interest rate or monthly interest rate, and the total amount of loan interest that should be paid at last, including the amount expressed in words and figures;
6. The date, month, day, time and payment method of repayment of loan principal and interest shall be stated;
7. There should be the borrower's personal signature, handprint or handwritten signature.
Printing IOUs is legally binding. Under normal circumstances, IOUs should be signed and fingerprinted. According to the relevant regulations, "if the parties conclude a contract in the form of a contract, they shall sign or seal it. If the parties press their fingerprints on the contract, the people's court shall determine that it has the same legal effect as the signature or seal. " Thus, the fingerprint on the IOU has the same legal effect as the signature. If the debtor does not admit it, only fingerprint identification is needed.
legal ground
People's Republic of China (PRC) Civil Code
Article 188 The limitation of action for requesting the people's court to protect civil rights shall be three years. Where there are other provisions in the law, those provisions shall prevail.
The limitation period of action shall be counted from the date when the creditor knows or should know that the right is damaged and the debtor knows it. Where there are other provisions in the law, those provisions shall prevail. However, the people's court shall not protect the rights that have been damaged for more than 20 years. Under special circumstances, the people's court may decide to extend the time according to the application of the obligee. Article 667 A loan contract is a contract in which the borrower borrows money from the lender, repays the loan at maturity and pays interest.