Last reviewed: October 2026 by the InjuryLawResource Editorial Team. This table is general information, not legal advice. Deadlines change and exceptions are common, so confirm yours with a licensed attorney in your state.
The statute of limitations for a personal injury lawsuit is two years in about half of U.S. states and three years in most of the rest. Kentucky and Tennessee are the shortest at one year. Maine, Minnesota and North Dakota are the longest at six. The table below gives the general deadline for a negligence-based injury claim in every state and the District of Columbia, with the statute it comes from. To work out your own filing date, use the deadline calculator.
Filing deadlines by state: map
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District of Columbia: 3 years. Hover over or tap a state for its statute and any exception. Work out your exact date with the calculator →
Personal injury filing deadlines in all 50 states
| State | General deadline | Statute |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 2 years | Ala. Code § 6-2-38 |
| Alaska | 2 years | Alaska Stat. § 09.10.070 |
| Arizona | 2 years | A.R.S. § 12-542 |
| Arkansas | 3 years | Ark. Code § 16-56-105 |
| California * | 2 years | Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 335.1 |
| Colorado * | 2 years | C.R.S. § 13-80-102 |
| Connecticut | 2 years | Conn. Gen. Stat. § 52-584 |
| Delaware | 2 years | 10 Del. C. § 8119 |
| District of Columbia | 3 years | D.C. Code § 12-301 |
| Florida * | 2 years | Fla. Stat. § 95.11 |
| Georgia | 2 years | O.C.G.A. § 9-3-33 |
| Hawaii | 2 years | Haw. Rev. Stat. § 657-7 |
| Idaho | 2 years | Idaho Code § 5-219 |
| Illinois | 2 years | 735 ILCS 5/13-202 |
| Indiana | 2 years | Ind. Code § 34-11-2-4 |
| Iowa | 2 years | Iowa Code § 614.1(2) |
| Kansas | 2 years | K.S.A. § 60-513 |
| Kentucky * | 1 year | KRS § 413.140 |
| Louisiana * | 2 years | La. Civ. Code art. 3493.1 |
| Maine | 6 years | 14 M.R.S. § 752 |
| Maryland | 3 years | Md. Code, Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 5-101 |
| Massachusetts | 3 years | M.G.L. ch. 260, § 2A |
| Michigan | 3 years | MCL § 600.5805 |
| Minnesota * | 6 years | Minn. Stat. § 541.05 |
| Mississippi | 3 years | Miss. Code § 15-1-49 |
| Missouri * | 5 years | RSMo § 516.120 |
| Montana | 3 years | Mont. Code § 27-2-204 |
| Nebraska | 4 years | Neb. Rev. Stat. § 25-207 |
| Nevada | 2 years | NRS § 11.190(4)(e) |
| New Hampshire | 3 years | RSA 508:4 |
| New Jersey | 2 years | N.J.S.A. 2A:14-2 |
| New Mexico | 3 years | NMSA § 37-1-8 |
| New York | 3 years | CPLR § 214 |
| North Carolina | 3 years | N.C. Gen. Stat. § 1-52 |
| North Dakota | 6 years | N.D.C.C. § 28-01-16 |
| Ohio | 2 years | Ohio Rev. Code § 2305.10 |
| Oklahoma | 2 years | 12 O.S. § 95 |
| Oregon | 2 years | ORS § 12.110 |
| Pennsylvania | 2 years | 42 Pa.C.S. § 5524 |
| Rhode Island | 3 years | R.I. Gen. Laws § 9-1-14 |
| South Carolina | 3 years | S.C. Code § 15-3-530 |
| South Dakota | 3 years | SDCL § 15-2-14 |
| Tennessee | 1 year | Tenn. Code § 28-3-104 |
| Texas | 2 years | Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.003 |
| Utah | 4 years | Utah Code § 78B-2-307 |
| Vermont | 3 years | 12 V.S.A. § 512 |
| Virginia | 2 years | Va. Code § 8.01-243 |
| Washington | 3 years | RCW 4.16.080 |
| West Virginia | 2 years | W. Va. Code § 55-2-12 |
| Wisconsin | 3 years | Wis. Stat. § 893.54 |
| Wyoming | 4 years | Wyo. Stat. § 1-3-105 |
* State notes
California: claims against public entities generally require a written claim within 6 months.
Colorado: 3 years for most motor vehicle accident claims (§ 13-80-101).
Florida: 4 years for negligence claims that arose on or before March 24, 2023.
Kentucky: 2 years for most motor vehicle accident claims (KRS § 304.39-230).
Louisiana: 1 year for injuries that occurred before July 1, 2024.
Minnesota: 2 years for some intentional injuries such as assault (§ 541.07).
Missouri: a bill to cut the deadline to 2 years passed the House in 2025 but did not become law.
These are the general deadlines for an ordinary negligence claim, such as a car accident or a fall. Medical malpractice, wrongful death, product liability and claims against government bodies often have different, usually shorter, deadlines.
How the deadline works
A statute of limitations is the time you have to file a lawsuit in court. It is not a deadline for settling with an insurance company, and negotiating with an insurer does not pause it. If the deadline passes before a lawsuit is filed, the court will almost always dismiss the case, however strong it was.
The clock usually starts on the day of the injury. Many states apply a “discovery rule” when an injury could not reasonably have been noticed at the time, starting the clock when you knew, or should have known, that you were hurt and what caused it. How far that rule reaches varies a great deal by state and by type of claim.
Exceptions that shorten or extend the time
- Claims against a government body. Suing a city, county, state agency or public school usually requires a formal written notice of claim first, often within 30 to 180 days of the injury. This is the exception most likely to catch people out.
- Children. Most states pause the clock for an injured minor until they turn 18, though some limit this, particularly for medical malpractice.
- Medical malpractice. Often a shorter period than the general deadline, with its own discovery rule and an outer limit that applies even if the injury is found late.
- Wrongful death. Usually a separate deadline that runs from the date of death.
- The defendant leaves the state or cannot be found. Some states pause the clock while that lasts.
- Insurance and workers’ compensation deadlines. No-fault benefits, uninsured motorist claims and workers’ compensation each have their own notice and filing periods, separate from the lawsuit deadline.
Recent changes to know about
- Florida cut its deadline for negligence claims from four years to two for claims arising after March 24, 2023.
- Louisiana doubled its deadline from one year to two for injuries on or after July 1, 2024.
- Missouri lawmakers debated cutting the five-year deadline to two years in 2025 and 2026. The bill did not become law, so five years still applies.
Many older charts online still show the previous Florida and Louisiana figures, so check the date on anything you rely on.
What to do if your deadline is close
Speak to a lawyer now rather than later. A lawyer needs time to investigate and prepare a complaint, and many will not take a case with only weeks left. If the injury happened in a different state from where you live, the deadline that applies is usually the one for the state where it happened. See how to find a personal injury lawyer for where to start.
Partly at fault? Your deadline is only half the picture. Whether you can recover anything at all depends on your state’s fault rule. See comparative negligence rules in all 50 states.
Frequently asked questions
Which state has the shortest personal injury statute of limitations?
Kentucky and Tennessee, at one year for most injury claims. Kentucky allows two years for most motor vehicle accident claims.
Which state has the longest?
Maine, Minnesota and North Dakota each allow six years for a general negligence claim.
Does the deadline apply to insurance claims?
No. The statute of limitations governs lawsuits. Insurance policies set their own notice requirements, which are usually much shorter. But if you have not settled or filed suit by the statute of limitations, the insurer no longer has any reason to pay.
Is the deadline the same for property damage?
Not always. Some states use the same period for injury and property damage, and others set a different one, so check both if your claim includes vehicle or other property damage.
Sources
Each deadline comes from the state statute cited in the table. The Louisiana, Minnesota and Missouri entries and the Florida and Kentucky notes were checked against state legislative sources and recent legal commentary in October 2026. State guides for individual states: Texas, California.
