Prescription is the legal rule in Scotland that prevents a person from pursuing their legal rights to a claim after a certain time period has elapsed (the equivalent in England is limitation). A claim ‘prescribes’ when the relevant time period runs out (known as the ‘prescriptive period’). For contractual claims, the prescriptive period is five years. However, the start date at which that five-year period begins can be difficult to determine, leaving a pursuer in an uncertain position as to their ability to pursue their claim.