Free statute of limitations reference for all 50 US states — with official statute citations, plain-English explanations, and a deadline calculator. Updated 2026.
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Complete guide library covering every aspect of filing deadlines.
View All Guides →The basics explained in plain English.
Read Guide →When does your clock actually start?
Read Guide →When the deadline legally pauses.
Read Guide →Options that may still exist.
Read Guide →Special notice requirements before suing.
Read Guide →See how filing deadlines vary from state to state for each case type.
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View All Comparisons →All 50 states ranked from shortest to longest.
View Comparison →All 50 states with repose caps included.
View Comparison →National rankings across case types.
View Rankings →These states recently changed their statutes of limitations. If your incident occurred around these dates, consult an attorney.
Shortened from 4 years → 2 years, effective March 24, 2023 (HB 837). Incidents before this date may still use the 4-year period. Consult a Florida attorney.
Extended from 1 year → 2 years, effective July 1, 2024 (Act 423). Incidents before this date use the 1-year prescriptive period.
Shortened from 4 years → 2 years, effective August 1, 2025. Claims for acts occurring before this date may have a different period.
Shortened from 5 years → 2 years, effective August 28, 2025 (HB 2184). Transitional rules may apply to pending claims.
Understanding the rules before your clock runs out.
A statute of limitations is a law that sets the maximum time you have to file a lawsuit after an injury or event. Once the deadline passes, your case is typically dismissed regardless of merit — you permanently lose the right to sue.
These laws exist to ensure timely resolution of disputes, protect defendants from stale claims, and preserve the quality of evidence.
The start date depends on the type of claim:
Yes — certain "tolling" rules can pause or extend the clock:
A statute of limitations is a procedural law that sets an absolute deadline on how long a person has to initiate a legal proceeding. The idea is straightforward: if you have been wronged, you must act within a defined window. Once that window closes, the court will not hear your case — regardless of how compelling your evidence or how serious the harm.
These laws exist for several important reasons. Courts need timely claims because evidence degrades over time: witnesses' memories fade, documents are lost, and physical evidence disappears. Defendants deserve to be able to organize their affairs without the permanent threat of litigation for events that may have happened decades ago. And the legal system functions more fairly when disputes are resolved while facts are still fresh.
These two concepts are related but distinct. A statute of limitations begins running from the date of injury or discovery and can often be paused (tolled) by certain circumstances such as the victim being a minor or the injury being concealed. A statute of repose, by contrast, is an absolute outer limit measured from the date of the defendant's act — not the date of discovery — and generally cannot be extended by tolling. Statutes of repose are most common in medical malpractice and products liability law.
Each state sets its own civil procedure rules, and legislators weigh competing interests differently. States that are more plaintiff-friendly tend to allow longer filing windows; states that prioritize business certainty tend toward shorter ones. Florida's 2023 reduction of personal injury deadlines from four years to two years — at the urging of insurance industry groups — is a recent example of how political and economic pressures shape these laws.
Many states have adopted the discovery rule, which delays the start of the limitations clock until the plaintiff knew or reasonably should have known that they were harmed and that the defendant may have caused that harm. This rule is especially significant in medical malpractice cases, where the harm from a doctor's error may not become apparent for months or years after the negligent act. Without the discovery rule, many valid claims would expire before the patient even realized they had been wronged.
Tolling refers to the pausing of the statute of limitations clock. Most states automatically toll the limitations period while the plaintiff is a minor — the clock doesn't start running until the victim's 18th birthday. Courts also recognize tolling for mental incapacity, fraudulent concealment by the defendant, active military service, and in some cases, the defendant's absence from the state. These exceptions exist because fairness demands that plaintiffs who genuinely could not have filed — not ones who simply delayed — are not barred from seeking justice.
Understanding these rules is critical before assuming any deadline has passed. In many cases, what appears to be an expired claim may still be viable under a tolling doctrine. Always consult a licensed attorney before concluding that your window to file has closed.
Personal injury deadlines for the most visited states on StatuteLimits.com.
Common questions about statutes of limitations answered in plain English.
Missing the statute of limitations deadline is almost always fatal to your claim. The defendant will file a motion to dismiss based on the expired limitations period, and courts virtually always grant it. Your case will be dismissed with prejudice — meaning you cannot refile. This happens regardless of how strong your case is on the merits. Once the deadline passes, even a clear-cut injury with documented proof is legally unrecoverable in most circumstances. This is why acting promptly and consulting an attorney well before the deadline is critical.
This site covers civil statutes of limitations — the deadlines for filing lawsuits between private parties. Criminal statutes of limitations are separate and set how long prosecutors have to file criminal charges. They vary widely: most felonies have longer periods or no limit at all (murder typically has no statute of limitations), while minor misdemeanors may have very short windows. If you are asking about criminal charges against you or by you, consult a criminal defense attorney — the rules are entirely different from the civil statutes described here.
Yes — but only by the defendant, not by the plaintiff. The statute of limitations is an affirmative defense, meaning the defendant must raise it to benefit from it. If a defendant fails to raise the expired limitations period as a defense (either intentionally or by oversight), the court will not dismiss the case on that basis. In practice, defendants almost always assert this defense when applicable. Parties can also agree contractually to shorten or extend limitations periods in some states, though there are limits on how far they can be shortened.
A statute of limitations starts running from the date of injury or discovery and can be tolled (paused) by circumstances such as the plaintiff being a minor or not yet having discovered the harm. A statute of repose is an absolute cutoff measured from the date of the defendant's conduct — not discovery — and cannot generally be extended. For example, in medical malpractice, a state might have a 2-year limitations period but a 7-year statute of repose. This means you must file within 2 years of discovering the harm but in no event more than 7 years from the original act of malpractice, regardless of when you discovered it.
Generally, the statute of limitations that applies is the law of the state where the injury or incident occurred — not where you live. So if you were injured in a car accident in Texas, Texas's limitations period applies even if you live in California. However, this is a simplified rule. Courts sometimes apply the forum state's limitations period, or engage in complex "choice of law" analysis. If your incident crossed state lines or involved parties in different states, consulting an attorney about which state's law applies is essential before assuming any particular deadline.
During the early pandemic (2020–2021), many states issued emergency orders tolling civil statutes of limitations for varying periods — some as short as a few weeks, others for several months. Most of these tolling orders have since expired, and statutes of limitations are once again running normally in all states. However, if your claim arose during 2020 or 2021, the pandemic emergency orders in your state may have affected your deadline. This is a nuanced area, and you should consult an attorney if you believe a COVID tolling order might affect your situation.
The discovery rule delays the start of the limitations clock from the date of injury to the date the plaintiff knew — or reasonably should have known — that they were harmed and that the defendant may have been responsible. It applies most frequently in medical malpractice (where injury from a procedure may not be apparent for months), fraud (where the deception is hidden), and latent disease cases (where symptoms develop years after exposure). Not all states apply the discovery rule to all case types, and courts often scrutinize whether a plaintiff was genuinely unaware of the harm or simply failed to investigate. The discovery rule is a powerful protection, but it is not automatic — you must establish that you could not have reasonably discovered the harm earlier.
In most states, the statute of limitations for a minor's personal injury claim is tolled (paused) until the minor turns 18. The full limitations period then begins running on their 18th birthday. For example, if a child is injured at age 10 in a state with a 2-year personal injury statute, they typically have until age 20 to file — not until they are 12. However, rules vary: some states allow a parent or guardian to file on the minor's behalf during childhood, and medical malpractice cases sometimes have specific rules for minors that differ from the general tolling rule. There are also some states where the tolling is capped, meaning the claim must still be filed within a certain number of years from the injury regardless of the plaintiff's age.
Plain-English guides on every aspect of statute-of-limitations law, plus side-by-side state comparisons.
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