Statute of limitations definition: what it means and how it works

What is a statute of limitations?

A statute of limitations is a deadline written into law: the plaintiff must file suit, or the prosecutor must bring charges, within a set time after the claim arises. The U.S. Supreme Court describes these statutes as requiring plaintiffs to pursue “diligent prosecution of known claims”, so that defendants are protected from having to defend stale claims after evidence and memories fade.^[1] Each state sets its own periods for claims under state law, and Congress sets them for federal claims.

The deadline is a defense the defendant raises. If the defendant shows the case was filed too late, the court dismisses it, even if the claim was otherwise valid. That is why the date matters more than the strength of the evidence once the period has run.

Statute of limitations vs. statute of repose

A statute of repose is a harder outer limit: it runs from the defendant’s last act (for example, the sale of a product or the completion of a building) rather than from the injury, and it can bar a claim before the injury is even discovered.^[1] In CTS Corp. v. Waldburger the Supreme Court explained the difference: a limitations period begins when the claim accrues and can be tolled for fairness, while a repose period reflects a legislative judgment that a defendant should be free from liability after a fixed time and generally is not tolled.^[1]

When does the clock start?

The clock starts when the claim “accrues”, which for most injuries is the day of the injury and for contracts is the day of the breach. Some claims accrue later under a discovery rule, which starts the clock when the injured person knew or reasonably should have known of the harm and its cause. Whether a discovery rule applies depends on the state and the claim type: many states apply it to medical malpractice, fraud and latent product defects, and some refuse to apply it at all outside the statute.

Federal courts are strict about this. In Rotkiske v. Klahr the Court held that the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act’s one-year period runs from the date of the violation, not from when the consumer discovered it,^[2] and in Gabelli v. SEC it held that the five-year limit on government penalty actions runs from when the fraud occurs.^[3]

What can pause or extend a statute of limitations?

Tolling pauses the clock for a reason the law recognises. The common ones are:

• Minority. In most states the clock does not run while the injured person is under 18 (19 or 21 in a few), then the full period runs. Several states limit this, especially for medical malpractice.
• Mental incapacity of the person entitled to sue.
• The defendant’s absence from the state or concealment of their identity.
• Fraudulent concealment of the claim by the defendant.
• Bankruptcy, military service and pending related proceedings, which have their own federal and state rules.

Some deadlines get shorter instead. Claims against a state, city or county often require a written notice of claim within months of the injury, long before the ordinary deadline. For a federal agency, a tort claim must be presented in writing within two years, and suit must follow within six months of a final denial.^[5]

How long are statutes of limitations?

Most states give 2 or 3 years for personal injury and 3 to 6 years for contracts, with written contracts usually allowed more time than oral ones. The personal injury deadline ranges from 1 year in Kentucky, Tennessee to 6 years in Maine, Minnesota, North Dakota.

Federal claims follow federal law: civil claims under federal statutes passed after December 1, 1990 get four years unless the statute says otherwise,^[4] and most federal crimes must be charged within five years.^[6] There is no time limit for federal crimes punishable by death.^[7]

Civil vs. criminal statutes of limitations

A civil statute of limitations limits a private lawsuit for money or another remedy; a criminal statute of limitations limits the government’s time to charge a crime. They are separate: a person can be sued for wrongful death long after criminal charges became impossible, and murder can be charged at any time in every state even after a civil claim has expired. See which crimes have no statute of limitations.

Do debts have a statute of limitations?

Yes. A creditor or debt buyer must sue on a debt within the state’s period, usually 3 to 6 years from default; Texas, for example, allows 4 years.^[9] An expired (“time-barred”) debt still exists, and in many states a payment can restart the clock. Our page on the statute of limitations on credit card debt lists every state.

Find your deadline

Use the statute of limitations by state calculator to get a date for your state and claim type, then read the state page for the rules that can change it, for example the Florida statute of limitations after the 2023 tort reform or the statute of limitations for New York claims against the city. For a lawsuit that would be small, compare the small claims limit by state.