Statute of Limitations by State 2026: Deadlines You Cannot Afford to Miss

Q: <strong>Can the statute of limitations be extended or tolled?</strong>

Yes, but only in limited circumstances such as the plaintiff being a minor, suffering a disability, or the defendant actively concealing wrongdoing. These are narrow exceptions and should not be treated as a general safety net.

Updated March 2026 · All 50 States

Statute of Limitations by State 2026

Most states give you 2 years to file. Tennessee and Kentucky give you just 1. Miss the deadline by one day and your case is dismissed forever.

Check My Deadline See Full Chart

1 yr Shortest (TN · KY · LA)

2 yrs Most Common

6 yrs Longest (ME · ND)

90 days Govt Notice (NY)

The statute of limitations is the legal deadline to file a civil lawsuit. Once it expires, your right to sue is permanently gone regardless of how strong your evidence is. For personal injury, the most common deadline is 2 years, applying in California (CCP § 335.1), Texas (CPRC § 16.003), Florida (for incidents on or after March 24, 2023), and most other states. Tennessee and Kentucky set just 1 year. New York and Michigan allow 3 years. Maine and North Dakota allow 6 years.

For written contracts, deadlines range from 3 years in Delaware and North Carolina to 15 years in Kentucky and Rhode Island. Defamation claims carry the shortest deadlines, with most states allowing only 1 year from the date of publication. If a government entity is involved, a separate pre-suit notice is usually required within 60 to 180 days far shorter than the regular deadline.

Last reviewed and updated: March 2026. Verify at your state’s official court website or with a licensed attorney before filing.

Quick Answer

Most personal injury claims must be filed within 2 years. Written contracts range from 3 to 15 years. Defamation is usually 1 year from publication. Miss the deadline and your case is dismissed permanently. Use the calculator below to find your exact deadline.

Statute of Limitations Calculator 2026

Select your state, claim type, and incident date

Your State Type of Claim Date of Incident

Full Statute of Limitations Chart 2026

All 50 States + DC · Last reviewed March 2026

State	Personal Injury	Written Contract	Oral Contract	Property Damage	Defamation
Alabama	2 years	6 years	6 years	2 years	1 year
Alaska	2 years	6 years	3 years	2 years	2 years
Arizona	2 years	6 years	3 years	2 years	1 year
Arkansas	3 years	5 years	3 years	3 years	3 years
California	2 years	4 years	2 years	3 years	1 year
Colorado	2 years	6 years	6 years	2 years	1 year
Connecticut	2 years	6 years	3 years	2 years	2 years
Delaware	2 years	3 years	3 years	2 years	2 years
District of Columbia	3 years	3 years	3 years	3 years	1 year
Florida	2 years*	5 years	4 years	4 years	2 years
Georgia	2 years	6 years	4 years	4 years	1 year
Hawaii	2 years	6 years	6 years	2 years	2 years
Idaho	2 years	5 years	4 years	3 years	2 years
Illinois	2 years	10 years	5 years	5 years	1 year
Indiana	2 years	10 years	6 years	2 years	2 years
Iowa	2 years	10 years	5 years	5 years	2 years
Kansas	2 years	5 years	3 years	2 years	1 year
Kentucky	1 year	15 years	5 years	2 years	1 year
Louisiana	1 year	10 years	10 years	1 year	1 year
Maine	6 years	6 years	6 years	6 years	2 years
Maryland	3 years	3 years	3 years	3 years	1 year
Massachusetts	3 years	6 years	6 years	3 years	3 years
Michigan	3 years	6 years	6 years	3 years	1 year
Minnesota	2 years	6 years	6 years	2 years	2 years
Mississippi	3 years	3 years	3 years	3 years	1 year
Missouri	5 years	10 years	5 years	5 years	2 years
Montana	3 years	8 years	5 years	2 years	2 years
Nebraska	4 years	5 years	4 years	4 years	1 year
Nevada	2 years	6 years	4 years	3 years	2 years
New Hampshire	3 years	3 years	3 years	3 years	3 years
New Jersey	2 years	6 years	6 years	6 years	1 year
New Mexico	3 years	6 years	4 years	4 years	3 years
New York	3 years	6 years	6 years	3 years	1 year
North Carolina	3 years	3 years	3 years	3 years	1 year
North Dakota	6 years	6 years	6 years	6 years	2 years
Ohio	2 years	8 years	6 years	4 years	1 year
Oklahoma	2 years	5 years	3 years	2 years	1 year
Oregon	2 years	6 years	6 years	6 years	1 year
Pennsylvania	2 years	4 years	4 years	2 years	1 year
Rhode Island	3 years	15 years	15 years	10 years	1 year
South Carolina	3 years	3 years	3 years	3 years	2 years
South Dakota	3 years	6 years	6 years	6 years	2 years
Tennessee	1 year	6 years	6 years	3 years	1 year
Texas	2 years	4 years	4 years	2 years	1 year
Utah	4 years	6 years	4 years	3 years	1 year
Vermont	3 years	6 years	6 years	3 years	3 years
Virginia	2 years	5 years	3 years	5 years	1 year
Washington	3 years	6 years	3 years	3 years	2 years
West Virginia	2 years	10 years	5 years	2 years	1 year
Wisconsin	3 years	6 years	6 years	6 years	3 years
Wyoming	4 years	10 years	8 years	4 years	1 year

* Florida personal injury: 2 years for incidents on or after March 24, 2023. Incidents before that date may still fall under the prior 4-year deadline.

⚖️ Legal Disclaimer: This article is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Laws vary by state and are subject to change. Always verify current deadlines at your state’s official court website or with a licensed attorney before filing any claim.

What Is the Statute of Limitations?

The statute of limitations is the legal deadline for filing a civil lawsuit. Once this deadline passes, you permanently lose the right to bring your claim to court, no matter how strong your evidence is or how clearly the other party was at fault. Every state sets its own time periods for different types of claims to ensure cases are filed while evidence is still available and witness memories are still reliable.

Think of it as a legal expiration date. After that date, your right to sue someone expires permanently, even if the case has obvious merit.

Why Do Statutes of Limitations Exist?

These deadlines were not created to trick people out of their rights. They serve practical and fairness purposes that protect everyone involved in a dispute.

Here is why they exist:

Fresh evidence: Witnesses remember events more accurately soon after they happen. Memories fade, people move, and key witnesses become unavailable over time.
Fair defense: Defendants should not have to defend against claims from years ago where records may have been lost or destroyed.
Court efficiency: Without deadlines, courts would be flooded with cases that are nearly impossible to resolve fairly.
Encouraging prompt action: Deadlines push both sides to address disputes while resolution is still meaningful and practical.

How Does the Statute of Limitations Clock Start?

Knowing the length of your deadline is only half the picture. You also need to know exactly when that deadline begins, because the start date is not always the day the incident happened.

The Standard Rule

In most cases the clock starts on the date the injury occurred, the contract was breached, or the damage happened. This is straightforward for most accidents and business disputes.

The Discovery Rule

Some states and claim types use the discovery rule, which changes the starting point. Instead of beginning on the date of the incident, the clock starts when you first discovered, or reasonably should have discovered, the injury or harm.

The discovery rule most commonly applies to:

Medical malpractice cases
Fraud and financial misconduct
Toxic exposure and environmental injuries
Hidden product defects

It does not automatically apply to all claims. A court must find it appropriate for your specific situation, and you cannot assume it applies simply because you did not know about the harm right away.

Other Starting Point Rules

Wrongful death claims: In most states the clock starts on the date of death, not the date of the underlying incident. Tennessee is an important exception the wrongful death clock there runs from the date of the injury that caused the death, not from the date of death itself.
Continuing violations: In some employment and civil rights cases where wrongful conduct is ongoing rather than a single event, the clock may restart with each new violation.
Fraud cases: The clock often starts when the fraud was discovered or reasonably should have been discovered, not when it was committed, though hard caps still apply in many states.

Statute of Limitations in the Most Searched States

People search for statute of limitations information most often for a handful of states. If your state is among these five, here is exactly what you need to know before taking any legal action.

California

California’s personal injury deadline is 2 years from the injury. Written contracts carry a 4 year deadline, oral contracts 2 years, and property damage 3 years. The discovery rule is broadly applied here, especially in medical malpractice and toxic exposure cases.

Claim Type	Time Limit
Personal Injury	2 years
Medical Malpractice	3 years from injury, or 1 year from discovery, whichever comes first
Wrongful Death	2 years from date of death
Written Contracts	4 years
Oral Contracts	2 years
Property Damage	3 years

In California, a medical malpractice lawsuit must be filed no later than whichever of these occurs first: three years after the date of the patient’s injury, or one year after the patient discovers, or through the use of reasonable diligence should have discovered, the injury. For wrongful death, you have two years from the date of the victim’s death to file. If a government agency caused the wrongful death, you have only six months from the date of death to file a claim.

Texas

Under Texas law, most personal injury cases based on negligence must be filed within two years from the date the injury occurs, under Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 16.003(a).

Claim Type	Time Limit
Personal Injury	2 years
Medical Malpractice	2 years, with a 10 year hard cap
Wrongful Death	2 years from date of death
Written Contracts	4 years
Oral Contracts	4 years
Property Damage	2 years

Medical malpractice cases in Texas are subject to a two year statute of limitations, but also a 10 year statute of repose, meaning that regardless of when the injury is discovered, no medical malpractice lawsuit can be filed more than 10 years after the date of the medical treatment, per Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 74.251. If a patient dies from medical malpractice, certain close relatives have until two years after the patient’s date of death to file a wrongful death claim.

Florida

Florida’s general negligence deadline, covering car accidents, slip and falls, and premises liability, is two years from the date of injury for claims accruing on or after March 24, 2023. Wrongful death carries a two year deadline from the date of death. This deadline was already two years before the 2023 reform and did not change.

Claim Type	Time Limit
Personal Injury	2 years (for incidents on or after March 24, 2023)
Medical Malpractice	2 years from discovery, with a 4 year hard cap
Wrongful Death	2 years from date of death
Written Contracts	5 years
Oral Contracts	4 years
Property Damage	4 years

Medical malpractice claims in Florida must be filed within two years of when you discovered, or should have discovered, the injury, but no more than four years from when the incident occurred. Product liability cases follow the standard two year rule, but Florida’s statute of repose bars claims 12 years after the product was delivered to its first purchaser.

New York

New York’s personal injury deadline is 3 years from the date of injury. Medical malpractice carries a 2.5 year limit from the malpractice or discovery date. Breach of contract is 6 years for written contracts.

Claim Type	Time Limit
Personal Injury	3 years
Medical Malpractice	2.5 years (30 months) from date of malpractice or end of continuous treatment
Wrongful Death	2 years from date of death
Written Contracts	6 years
Oral Contracts	6 years
Property Damage	3 years

For wrongful death, family members, dependents, or the estate of the deceased have two years from the date of death to bring action. New York strictly enforces all of these deadlines with very limited exceptions. When filing any injury or wrongful death lawsuit against the government in New York, you must file notice with the government of your intent to sue within 90 days of the death or injury. This applies to any level of government, including the state, city, local municipalities, school boards, and government operated public transit agencies and hospitals.

Tennessee

According to Tennessee Code Section 28-3-104, you generally have one year from the date of the accident to file a personal injury lawsuit. This includes injuries caused by car accidents, slips and falls, medical malpractice, dog bites, and product liability. Tennessee has one of the shortest personal injury deadlines in the country.

Claim Type	Time Limit
Personal Injury	1 year
Medical Malpractice	1 year from injury, or 1 year from discovery, with a 3 year hard cap
Wrongful Death	1 year from the date of the injury that caused death
Written and Oral Contracts	6 years
Unpaid Wages	3 years
Property Damage	3 years

Important Tennessee distinction: Tennessee’s wrongful death statute of limitations runs one year from the date of the injury that caused death, not from the date of death itself. For deaths occurring the same day as the injury, the deadline is one year from that date. This is different from most other states.

The statute of limitations for medical malpractice claims in Tennessee is generally 1 year from the date of the injury. If the injury is not discovered within that period, the patient may bring a claim up to 1 year after discovery. However, a statute of repose bars all medical malpractice claims after 3 years from the original act, regardless of when the injury was discovered, with a narrow exception for fraudulent concealment.

Statute of Limitations by Claim Type

Beyond the common personal injury and contract claims, many people need deadlines for specific types of cases. The claim type matters just as much as the state because the same state can have very different deadlines depending on the nature of your dispute. Also read our guide on small claims court limits by state

Medical Malpractice

Medical malpractice deadlines are almost always shorter than the general personal injury deadline in the same state. They also commonly include hard caps, meaning a maximum cutoff from the date of the incident regardless of when you discovered the harm.

State	Time Limit	Hard Cap
California	1 year from discovery or 3 years from injury, whichever is first	3 years
Texas	2 years	10 years
Florida	2 years from discovery	4 years
New York	2.5 years (30 months)	None (7 years for cancer misdiagnosis)
Tennessee	1 year from injury or discovery	3 years

Because malpractice deadlines are highly technical and state specific, consulting an attorney is strongly recommended rather than relying on a general chart alone.

Wrongful Death

Wrongful death claims operate on their own separate timeline from personal injury claims. In most states the clock starts on the date of death, not the date of the underlying incident. In cases where someone survives an injury for weeks or months before dying, this distinction can significantly affect your deadline. Tennessee is a notable exception where the clock runs from the date of the injury, not the date of death. Common wrongful death deadlines by state:

1 year: Tennessee (from date of injury, not death), Kentucky, Louisiana
2 years: California, Texas, Florida, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania
3 years: Illinois, Maryland

Always verify your specific state because wrongful death statutes can differ substantially from the personal injury statutes in the same state.

Defamation, Libel, and Slander

Each state has its own statute of limitations for defamation, which can vary depending on whether the case involves libel or slander. Most states have a one to three year statute of limitations for defamation claims. In a defamation case, the statute of limitations generally begins running on the day the defendant first says or writes the defamatory words.

Common defamation deadlines:

1 year: California, New York, Tennessee, Georgia, Illinois, Virginia
2 years: Texas, Florida, Pennsylvania, Ohio
3 years: Maine, Massachusetts, some other states

Some states, like Arkansas, have an unusually long three year limit for libel claims while maintaining a shorter one year deadline for slander. If you believe you have a defamation claim, you have very little time regardless of which state you are in.

Product Liability

Product liability claims cover injuries caused by defective products and generally follow the personal injury deadline in most states at 2 to 3 years. However, most states also impose a separate statute of repose measured from the date the product was first sold rather than when you were injured.

Key verified statutes of repose:

Florida: 12 years from date of delivery to first purchaser
Texas: 15 years for certain products
Tennessee: 10 years from date of sale
Georgia: 10 years from date of sale
North Carolina: 12 years from date of sale

The statute of repose can bar your claim entirely even if you had no way of knowing the product was defective when you bought it.

Fraud

Fraud claims typically use the discovery rule, meaning the clock starts when you discovered or reasonably should have discovered the fraud. However, most states also impose a hard cap, often 10 years from when the fraud actually occurred, regardless of discovery. Courts examine delayed discovery arguments carefully and will not extend time indefinitely simply because the fraud was well concealed.

Employment Discrimination

Federal employment discrimination claims under Title VII, the ADA, and the ADEA do not follow state statutes of limitations. They operate through an entirely separate administrative process that many people are unaware of until it is too late.

Here is how the process works step by step:

Step 1: File a charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) before filing any lawsuit. You cannot skip this step.
Step 2: The EEOC deadline is 180 days from the discriminatory act if your state has no equivalent agency, or 300 days if your state has a Fair Employment Practices Agency, which applies in most states.
Step 3: After the EEOC issues a Right to Sue letter, you have only 90 days from receipt to file your lawsuit in federal court.

Missing either the EEOC filing deadline or the 90 day court filing deadline permanently ends your federal claim.

Federal Claims and How They Differ from State Law

If your claim involves a federal agency, a federal statute, or a constitutional right, the applicable deadline comes from federal law rather than your state’s statutes of limitations. These two systems operate independently and both deadlines can apply to the same situation.

Key Federal Deadlines to Know

Civil rights violations under Section 1983: Borrows the personal injury deadline of the state where the violation occurred, so it varies by state
ERISA pension and benefits claims: 6 years for breach of fiduciary duty, or 3 years from the date you knew about the breach
Federal tort claims against the U.S. government: Administrative claim must be filed within 2 years, then a lawsuit filed within 6 months after the agency denies the claim
Patent infringement: 6 years
Copyright infringement: 3 years
Federal securities fraud: 2 years from discovery with a hard 5 year cap

Many people pursuing claims with both state and federal components get the state deadline right but inadvertently let the federal deadline expire. Always verify the federal deadline separately if any federal element exists in your case.

Claims Against Government Entities

Suing a city, county, state, or federal government entity is one of the most deadline intensive areas of law. Most people do not realize that you cannot simply file a lawsuit against a government entity the way you would against a private individual. You must first file a formal pre-suit notice with the agency, and that notice deadline is almost always far shorter than the regular statute of limitations.

Pre-Suit Notice Requirements by State

California: Government tort claim must be filed with the agency within 6 months of the incident. For wrongful death caused by a government entity, you have only 6 months from the date of death.
New York: Notice of Claim to the city or county must be filed within 90 days of the injury or death
Florida: Written notice to the government agency must be submitted within 3 years of the incident for most tort claims, or within 2 years for wrongful death. The agency then has a mandatory 180 day investigatory period before you can file suit.
Texas: Notice to the government entity required within 6 months of the incident in most cases under the Texas Tort Claims Act
Tennessee: Claims against the state must be filed with the Tennessee Claims Commission within 1 year, but additional notice requirements may apply even earlier

Failure to file the government notice on time, even if you file your actual lawsuit within the regular limitations period, almost always results in permanent dismissal.

Tolling: Events That Pause Your Deadline

Tolling temporarily stops the statute of limitations clock from running. These are narrow legal exceptions and should never be treated as a backup plan, but knowing them can save a claim that would otherwise appear expired.

Common Events That Toll the Clock

Minor plaintiff: The clock typically does not start until the injured person turns 18, though medical malpractice cases in some states like Texas have stricter rules for minors
Mental incapacity: A plaintiff’s mental disability can pause the clock in most states
Defendant concealment: Active hiding of the wrongdoing by the defendant can toll the deadline
Defendant out of state: If the defendant cannot be located or served, many states pause the clock
Bankruptcy filing: A defendant’s bankruptcy triggers an automatic stay that may pause the deadline
Written tolling agreement: A signed agreement between both parties before the deadline can extend it
Military service: The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act protects active duty service members in certain civil matters
Pandemic orders: Some states issued tolling orders during 2020 through 2022, so if your claim arose during that period you should check whether those orders apply to you. California, for example, tolled statutes of limitations longer than 180 days from April 6 to October 1, 2020 under Emergency Rule 9.

Tolling pauses the clock but does not eliminate the deadline. Once the tolling condition ends, the remaining time continues to run. Act promptly even when you believe tolling applies.

Criminal vs. Civil Statutes of Limitations

Many people confuse criminal and civil deadlines. They are entirely separate systems that operate independently of each other.

Criminal Statutes of Limitations

Most serious felonies such as murder carry no deadline at all in most states, meaning charges can be filed at any time
Sexual assault and child abuse deadlines have been extended or eliminated in many states in recent years
DNA evidence can restart the clock even on older offenses in states with DNA tolling laws
Misdemeanors typically carry short deadlines of 1 to 2 years

A criminal case and a civil lawsuit arising from the same incident operate on completely separate timelines. Being outside the criminal limitations period does not affect your ability to file a civil lawsuit, and missing the civil deadline does not prevent criminal prosecution.

Statute of Limitations for Debt Collection

When a creditor sues to collect a debt, the applicable deadline is the contract statute of limitations for the state where the debt was incurred. But there are important nuances that go beyond the basic deadline.

What Most People Do Not Know About Debt Deadlines

Partial payments can restart the clock: Making even a small payment on an old debt can reset the limitations period entirely in many states, giving the creditor a fresh window to sue you
Debt and credit reporting are separate systems: A debt can remain on your credit report for up to 7 years regardless of whether the creditor can still successfully sue you. These two frameworks are frequently confused.
Time-barred debt still exists legally: Once the limitations period expires, a creditor cannot win a lawsuit against you, but the debt itself does not legally disappear. Some collectors continue pursuing time-barred debts, which is regulated by the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.

Common Mistakes That Cost People Their Cases

Even people who are aware of statutes of limitations frequently lose valid claims because of subtle but fatal errors.

Waiting for settlement talks to conclude: Ongoing negotiations do not pause your deadline. You must file before the clock expires regardless of whether you are in active discussions.
Assuming the clock starts when you decide to sue: The clock starts on the incident date, not when you make the decision to pursue legal action.
Using the wrong state’s law: If you were injured in a different state from where you live, the law of the state where the injury occurred typically governs your deadline.
Ignoring government notice requirements: Many people file their lawsuit in time but lose because they skipped the required pre-suit notice to the government agency.
Applying the general deadline to a specialized claim: Your state may have a shorter specific deadline for your claim type, such as medical malpractice or defamation, that is shorter than the general personal injury rule.
Trusting informal promises to extend time: Verbal assurances or emails from the other side do not pause the deadline. Only a signed written tolling agreement has legal effect.
Confusing the Tennessee wrongful death rule: In Tennessee specifically, the wrongful death clock runs from the date of the injury, not the date of death. This is the opposite of how most other states work.

Tips for Calculating Your Deadline Accurately

Getting the math right on your deadline requires more than just adding years to the incident date.

Count the exact number of years or days from the correct trigger date, and confirm which trigger date applies to your specific claim type
In most states, exclude the first day and include the final day as your last valid filing date
Add tolling time only if you have confirmed it applies to your specific situation
If any government entity is involved, identify the pre-suit notice deadline separately and calendar it immediately, because it is almost certainly shorter than the lawsuit deadline
Use your state’s official court website ending in .gov to verify the current deadline for your exact claim type
If your deadline is within 60 days, consult a licensed attorney rather than relying solely on your own research

What Happens If You Miss the Deadline?

Missing the statute of limitations is one of the very few outcomes in civil law that is almost entirely irreversible. Courts have almost no discretion to revive a time-barred claim outside of the narrow tolling exceptions already covered above, and those exceptions are applied very strictly. Here is what happens when you miss the deadline:

Your case is dismissed permanently. There is no second chance or appeal based on the merits of your claim.
The strength of your evidence does not matter. Even if you have overwhelming proof the other party was at fault, a missed deadline ends everything.
The other party’s behavior does not matter. Even if they acted in bad faith or caused serious harm, a dismissed case cannot be refiled.

If you are close to your deadline, file your case immediately. Do not wait for a settlement offer, more evidence, or a response from the other side. A case filed on the last valid day preserves your rights completely. A case filed one day late is dismissed permanently.

Conclusion

The statute of limitations is one of the few legal rules where being even a single day late produces the same result as never having a case at all. It does not matter how serious your injury was, how clear the other party’s fault is, or how strong your evidence is. Once the deadline passes, the courthouse door is permanently closed.

The good news is that this is entirely avoidable. The deadlines
are public, they are predictable, and with the right information you can calendar your filing date the same day the incident happens. That is exactly what this guide is designed to help you do.

Here are the most important things to take away before you act. Know your state and your claim type. The same state can have a 2 year deadline for personal injury and a 10 year deadline for written contracts. The general deadline does not automatically apply to your specific situation. Medical malpractice, defamation, wrongful death, and fraud all follow their own rules in most states.

Know when your clock started. In most cases it is the date of the incident. But if your state applies the discovery rule to your claim type, it may be the date you first discovered the harm. Getting this start date wrong is just as dangerous as missing the deadline itself.

If a government entity is involved, act faster. Pre-suit notice requirements in most states range from 60 to 180 days, which is far shorter than the regular lawsuit deadline. Missing the notice requirement is just as fatal as missing the lawsuit deadline and most people do not find out about it until it is too late.
Do not rely on settlement talks to protect your time. Ongoing negotiations, demand letters, and even written settlement offers from the other side do not pause the clock. Only a signed written tolling agreement has legal effect. File first, negotiate after.

Tolling exceptions are narrow. If you are a minor, mentally incapacitated, or the defendant actively concealed the wrongdoing, the clock may pause under your state’s tolling rules. But these are strict legal exceptions applied case by case, not a general safety net you can rely on without verification.
When in doubt, file early. There is no penalty for filing before you are fully ready. There is no recovery from filing one day late. If your deadline is within 60 days, stop researching and start filing.

Use the calculator and chart above to find your deadline. Then verify it against your state’s official court website or with a licensed attorney before taking any action. The law in this area is clear and unforgiving, but it is also completely navigable when you know the rules.

This article is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Laws and court limits vary by state and are subject to change. Always verify current limits directly with your local courthouse before filing a claim.

Frequently Asked Questions

Yes, but only in limited circumstances such as the plaintiff being a minor, suffering a disability, or the defendant actively concealing wrongdoing. These are narrow exceptions and should not be treated as a general safety net.

No. It applies mainly to medical malpractice, fraud, and hidden defects. Standard contract breaches and obvious property damage start the clock on the date the event occurred, not when you discovered it.

Almost always shorter than the regular statute of limitations, and a formal pre-suit notice must be filed with the agency before any lawsuit can proceed. In California this is 6 months; in New York it is 90 days; requirements vary by state and entity.

Yes. Exactly the same deadlines apply in small claims court. Missing the statute of limitations there results in the same permanent dismissal as in any other court.

In many states, both parties can sign a written tolling agreement to extend the deadline before it expires. Attempts to shorten deadlines in consumer contracts are often unenforceable and closely scrutinized by courts.

In almost all cases, no. The only recognized exceptions are the specific tolling situations covered in this article, and courts apply them very strictly.

You need to check and meet both deadlines separately. They operate independently and satisfying one does not protect the other.

Sources and References

California Courts Self-Help, Deadlines to Sue: https://selfhelp.courts.ca.gov/civil-lawsuit/statute-limitations
California Code of Civil Procedure Section 340.5 (Medical Malpractice): https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov
Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 16.003 and § 74.251: https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov
Florida Legislature, Florida Statutes Section 95.11: https://www.leg.state.fl.us/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0000-0099/0095/Sections/0095.11.html
New York Courts, Statute of Limitations Chart: https://nycourts.gov/courthelp/GoingToCourt/SOLchart.shtml
Tennessee Code Section 28-3-104 and Section 29-26-116: https://law.justia.com/codes/tennessee
Tennessee Code Section 20-5-113 (Wrongful Death): https://law.justia.com/codes/tennessee
EEOC, Time Limits for Filing a Charge: https://www.eeoc.gov/time-limits-filing-charge
U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Tort Claims Act: https://www.justice.gov/civil/federal-tort-claims-act
Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, 50 U.S.C. Section 3936
Nolo Legal Encyclopedia, Statute of Limitations for Civil Cases by State: https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/statute-of-limitations-state-laws-chart-29941.html
Justia, Civil Statutes of Limitations 50-State Survey: https://www.justia.com/trials-litigation/lawsuits-and-the-court-process/civil-statutes-of-limitations-50-state-survey/
Minc Law, Defamation Statute of Limitations by State: https://www.minclaw.com/defamation-statute-of-limitations/