SOL in most states including CA, is a legal defense you can raise in court as a defense if the creditor sues you in court for a bad debt.
In most states the time that your begainning of your stastue of limitations begains on a date that is usually referrred to in the law as their date of legal "cause of action."
That is the first date that you went into default of your payment agreement with the OC. I thinki, but am not sure, that the Ca SOL tolls after 4 years
Excepf for Texas,it never bars them brinhing suit against you at any time, forever. So you must show up in court and first prove that the SOL on the alleged debt has expired.
If you show that in cuur and prove that your SO L has expired, then case dismissed
SOL expiration,, if proven, is a absoute legal defense in most states
But credit reportng has nothing, zero, zilithch to do with SOL Credit reporiing has its own dates. FCRA 605(a).