Statute of Limitations by State: Filing Deadlines for Every Case Type in 2026

A statute of limitations is the deadline by which you must file a lawsuit or permanently lose the right to do so. Courts apply these deadlines strictly. A case filed one day after the statute of limitations expires is dismissed regardless of how strong the underlying claim is. No exceptions for not knowing the deadline. No sympathy for a compelling case that just missed the cutoff. Understanding the applicable deadline before the clock runs out is not optional.

Personal Injury: Two to Six Years Depending on State

Personal injury claims from car accidents, slip and falls, and other negligence situations have a two-year statute of limitations in most states. States with a two-year limit include California, Texas, New York, Florida, Michigan, and many others. Some states give three years: Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Connecticut are examples. A few states give more time: Maine allows six years, North Dakota allows six years for some claims.

The clock in most personal injury cases starts on the date of the injury. If you are injured in a car accident on March 1st, your two-year clock starts March 1st in a state with a two-year limit and expires March 1st two years later. Filing the lawsuit on March 2nd is one day too late and the case will be dismissed on the defendant's motion.

The Discovery Rule

The discovery rule provides an exception to the standard accrual date in cases where the plaintiff could not reasonably have known about the injury or its connection to the defendant's conduct at the time it occurred. Under the discovery rule, the clock starts when the plaintiff discovered or reasonably should have discovered the injury and its cause rather than when the harmful act occurred.

Medical malpractice cases frequently benefit from the discovery rule because the harm from a surgical error or misdiagnosis may not become apparent until months or years after the negligent act. Toxic exposure cases, latent product defects, and cases involving gradual harm also commonly use discovery rule accrual.

Not all states apply the discovery rule equally. Some apply it automatically. Others require the plaintiff to show diligent investigation and that they could not have discovered the injury through reasonable effort. California applies the discovery rule with a limitation that the plaintiff had reason to investigate when they had information that would lead a reasonable person to suspect harm.

Contract Claims

Written contract claims generally have longer limitations periods than personal injury claims. Most states allow four to six years to sue for breach of a written contract. California provides four years for written contracts and two years for oral contracts. New York allows six years for written contracts. Florida recently changed its contract limitations period to five years for written contracts and four years for oral contracts. Texas allows four years for written contracts.

The clock on a contract claim starts when the breach occurs, which is typically when the party fails to perform or fails to pay by the required date. In some contracts the breach may be ongoing or the contract may have a series of performance dates, each creating a separate potential breach with its own accrual date.

Property Damage Claims

Property damage claims from negligence generally follow the same limitations period as personal injury in the state. In states with a two-year personal injury limit, property damage claims from the same incident also have a two-year limit. Some states separate the personal injury and property damage limitations, giving property damage a longer period. New York gives three years for property damage claims.

Claims for intentional destruction of property often follow the conversion limitations period, which is the legal theory for someone taking or destroying your property without authorization. These limits vary and may be longer or shorter than negligence limitations.

Fraud Claims

Fraud claims almost universally use the discovery rule because the fraudulent act is often deliberately concealed from the victim. The clock starts when the plaintiff discovered the fraud or should have discovered it through reasonable diligence. Most states combine this with an absolute outer limit called a statute of repose that caps liability regardless of when discovery occurs.

California gives three years from discovery of fraud. New York gives six years from when the fraud occurred or two years from when it was discovered, whichever is later. Texas gives four years from discovery. Federal securities fraud claims have a two-year discovery rule with a five-year absolute limit under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

Medical Malpractice: Special Rules in Many States

Medical malpractice has some of the most complex limitations rules of any claim category. Most states give two to three years to sue for medical malpractice. Many states have a statute of repose, an absolute outside limit beyond which claims are barred regardless of discovery, typically four to seven years from the date of the negligent act.

Claims involving foreign objects negligently left in the body often have their own rules with the clock running from discovery. Claims by or involving minors are often tolled until the minor reaches the age of majority. Claims against governmental entities for medical malpractice, such as against a VA hospital, must follow the Federal Tort Claims Act or state tort claims act procedures with their own notice requirements that can be as short as 60 to 180 days.

Tolling: When the Clock Pauses

Tolling is when the running of the limitations period is paused for a specific reason. Common tolling circumstances include minority, where the clock does not run while the plaintiff is under the age of majority, legal incapacity or incompetency, the defendant's fraudulent concealment of the facts giving rise to the claim, the defendant being out of the state in some circumstances, and in some states active military service.

Filing a lawsuit itself is not always enough to satisfy the statute of limitations. In some states and some procedural contexts, the defendant must also be served within a certain period of filing, or the action may be dismissed even though the complaint was timely filed. Knowing both the filing deadline and the service deadline matters.

Government Entities: Much Shorter Deadlines

Suing a government entity, whether a city, county, state agency, or the federal government, requires following a notice procedure before filing suit and often has much shorter deadlines than claims against private parties. California requires a government claim to be filed with the relevant agency within six months of the incident for personal injury cases and within one year for property damage. Failing to file the government claim on time bars the subsequent lawsuit.

Federal government claims under the Federal Tort Claims Act require an administrative claim to be filed within two years of when the claim accrued, before any lawsuit can be filed. The agency then has six months to act on the claim before you can file suit. These procedural requirements are strictly enforced and are separate from the general civil statutes of limitations that apply to private defendants.