About StatuteLimits.com | Free SOL Reference

Why This Site Exists

People who have been injured, shortchanged or wronged often ask one simple question first: “How long do I have to file?” The answer is scattered across 51 state codes, law-firm blogs of uneven quality and paywalled databases. StatuteLimits.com puts the filing deadlines for the most common civil claims in one place, in plain English, with the statute cited so you (or your attorney) can check it.

It is a reference, not a substitute for a lawyer. The disclaimers on every page are meant literally.

What We Cover

StatuteLimits.com covers all 50 US states plus the District of Columbia (51 jurisdictions) across 14 civil claim types: personal injury, medical malpractice, written contracts, oral contracts, defamation, wrongful death, property damage, fraud, slip and fall, dog bites, product liability, assault and battery, sexual assault, and nursing home abuse. That is 714 state-and-claim pages, each showing the filing period, the statute citation, when the clock starts, common exceptions and plain-language notes.

How We Build and Check the Data

We want to be precise about what our process is and is not.

Statute citations. Every entry names the statute that sets the period, so you can read the law yourself.
Cross-checking. Periods were compared against several independent published references (legal-information publishers, state-law summaries and, where available, the state’s own code). Where sources disagreed, we chose the value supported by the statute text or by multiple sources, and flagged uncertain entries for further review.
Not every entry is traced to primary text. Some entries (especially sub-categories such as sexual-assault claims, which many states have changed recently) are summaries and may omit nuance. Always confirm with the current statute and an attorney.
Last full review: October 2026. Changes are recorded in our public changelog.
Corrections. If you spot an error or a law change, tell us through the feedback form, ideally with the statute citation. We investigate substantiated reports and update the data.

The full dataset is available for reuse as JSON and CSV. If you cite it, a link back to the relevant page is appreciated.

Editorial Standards

Cite the statute, not just the rule, so readers can verify.
Show the exceptions. Tolling, discovery rules, notice requirements for government defendants and repose periods are listed where we know of them.
Plain English. Technical terms are explained when used.
Be upfront about limits. Every page says it is general information, not legal advice, and that laws change.

Notable Facts From the Data

Shortest Deadlines

1 year — Kentucky and Tennessee allow just 1 year for personal injury. Kentucky, Tennessee, Ohio and Louisiana allow 1 year for medical malpractice, and about half the states allow only 1 year for defamation.

Longest Deadlines

10 years — written contracts in 9 states (including Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Rhode Island and West Virginia) have the longest common civil filing period. For personal injury, Maine, North Dakota and Minnesota give 6 years for negligence claims.

Recent Changes

Florida cut its negligence period from 4 years to 2 (2023), Louisiana extended its tort period from 1 year to 2 (2024), and Ohio shortened its contract periods in 2021. These are why “what year did it happen?” matters.

The most common personal injury deadline is 2 years, and the most common written-contract deadline is 6 years. These are context only; check your own state.

What This Site Is Not

StatuteLimits.com is a legal information resource, not a legal advice resource. There is a legally and practically meaningful difference:

Legal information explains what the law says in general terms — the kind of information in a legal encyclopedia, a law school textbook, or this website.
Legal advice applies the law to the specific facts of your individual situation and tells you what you should do. Only a licensed attorney can provide legal advice.

The information on this site does not create an attorney-client relationship. For any specific legal matter, consult a licensed attorney in the relevant state. Our deadline calculator is a useful starting point, but its results should always be verified with a licensed attorney before you rely on them to make any decisions.

Frequently Asked Questions About This Site

Yes, completely and permanently free. We are ad-supported through Google AdSense. You never need to register, subscribe, or pay anything to access any feature of the site, including the deadline calculator and all state and case type pages.

Use our feedback form to report errors, outdated statutes, or law changes. If you are an attorney or paralegal, you can also email us directly at info@statutelimits.com with the correct statute citation. We investigate all substantiated reports and update the database promptly when changes are verified. Your reports directly improve the accuracy of the site for future visitors.

Yes — you are welcome to link to any page on StatuteLimits.com. If citing us in an article or research piece, please note that individual statutory citations (e.g., "Cal. Civ. Proc. Code § 335.1") are public domain law. Our compilation, annotations, and explanatory content are copyrighted. Always verify statutory citations independently against the official state legislature source before relying on them professionally.

No. StatuteLimits.com is a legal information and reference website, not a law firm. We are not attorneys, we do not provide legal advice, and we do not represent clients. No attorney-client relationship is formed by using this website. We are legal information researchers and publishers committed to making publicly available statutory information accessible to everyone.

Contact Us

We welcome corrections, updates, and feedback. If you've identified an error in our data or a law that has recently changed, please contact us:

General inquiries: info@statutelimits.com

Press and media: press@statutelimits.com

Feedback form: Submit via our feedback page

We review all substantive corrections and update the database promptly when verified changes are identified. We typically respond to emails within 2–3 business days.

Privacy

Please review our Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy to understand how we handle data. In short: we do not collect personal information through this site. Any calculator inputs you enter stay in your browser via URL parameters and are not transmitted to our servers in any way that identifies you.