Accident Claim Lawyers

Data · checked 4 November 2026

Statute of limitations for accident claims, by state

Pick where the accident happened and the date. We show the general deadline from the statute, the exceptions to ask about, and a link to the law itself.

Check a deadline

We're not a law firm and no lawyer has reviewed this page. It's general information, not legal advice. How we check the data.

Quick answer

Most US states give you two or three years to sue for an injury, but some give more. In England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland it is generally three years. Ontario, British Columbia and Alberta generally allow two years. Exceptions can make it shorter or longer, so confirm yours with the statute or a local lawyer.

AlabamaCheckingChecking
Alaska2 yearsAlaska Stat. § 09.10.070(a)(2) · as of 4 November 20262 yearsAlaska Stat. § 09.10.070(a)(3) · as of 4 November 2026
Arizona2 yearsA.R.S. § 12-542 · as of 4 November 20262 yearsA.R.S. § 12-542(3) · as of 4 November 2026
ArkansasCheckingChecking
California2 yearsCal. Code Civ. Proc. § 335.1 · as of 4 November 20263 yearsCal. Code Civ. Proc. § 338(c) · as of 4 November 2026
Colorado3 years for motor vehicle accidents (2 years for other injuries)C.R.S. § 13-80-101(1)(n); § 13-80-102(1)(a) · as of 4 November 20263 years for motor vehicle accidentsC.R.S. § 13-80-101(1)(n) · as of 4 November 2026
Connecticut2 yearsConn. Gen. Stat. § 52-584 · as of 4 November 20262 yearsConn. Gen. Stat. § 52-584 · as of 4 November 2026
Delaware2 years10 Del. C. § 8119 · as of 4 November 20262 years10 Del. C. § 8107 · as of 4 November 2026
District of Columbia3 yearsD.C. Code § 12-301(8) · as of 4 November 20263 yearsD.C. Code § 12-301(3) · as of 4 November 2026
Florida2 yearsFla. Stat. § 95.11(5)(a) · as of 4 November 2026Accidents before 24 March 2023: 4 years (ch. 2023-15, s. 28)2 yearsFla. Stat. § 95.11(5)(a) · as of 4 November 2026Accidents before 24 March 2023: 4 years (ch. 2023-15, s. 28)
GeorgiaCheckingChecking
Hawaii2 yearsHRS § 657-7 · as of 4 November 20262 yearsHRS § 657-7 · as of 4 November 2026
Idaho2 yearsIdaho Code § 5-219(4) · as of 4 November 20263 yearsIdaho Code § 5-218(3) · as of 4 November 2026
Illinois2 years735 ILCS 5/13-202 · as of 4 November 20265 years735 ILCS 5/13-205 · as of 4 November 2026
Indiana2 yearsInd. Code § 34-11-2-4(a)(1) · as of 4 November 20262 yearsInd. Code § 34-11-2-4(a)(2) · as of 4 November 2026
Iowa2 yearsIowa Code § 614.1(2) · as of 4 November 20265 yearsIowa Code § 614.1(4) · as of 4 November 2026
Kansas2 yearsK.S.A. 60-513(a)(4) · as of 4 November 20262 yearsK.S.A. 60-513(a)(2) · as of 4 November 2026
Kentucky2 years for motor vehicle accidents (1 year for other injuries)KRS 304.39-230(6); KRS 413.140(1)(a) · as of 4 November 20262 yearsKRS 413.125 · as of 4 November 2026
Louisiana2 yearsLa. Civ. Code art. 3493.1 (Acts 2024, No. 423) · as of 4 November 2026Accidents before 1 July 2024: 1 year (Acts 2024, No. 423, s. 3)2 yearsLa. Civ. Code art. 3493.1 (Acts 2024, No. 423) · as of 4 November 2026Accidents before 1 July 2024: 1 year (Acts 2024, No. 423, s. 3)
Maine6 years14 M.R.S. § 752 · as of 4 November 20266 years14 M.R.S. § 752 · as of 4 November 2026
Maryland3 yearsMd. Code, Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 5-101 · as of 4 November 20263 yearsMd. Code, Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 5-101 · as of 4 November 2026
Massachusetts3 yearsM.G.L. c. 260, § 2A · as of 4 November 20263 yearsM.G.L. c. 260, § 2A · as of 4 November 2026
Michigan3 yearsMCL 600.5805(2) · as of 4 November 20263 yearsMCL 600.5805(2) · as of 4 November 2026
Minnesota6 yearsMinn. Stat. § 541.05(5) · as of 4 November 20266 yearsMinn. Stat. § 541.05, subd. 1(4) · as of 4 November 2026
MississippiCheckingChecking
Missouri5 yearsRSMo § 516.120(4) · as of 4 November 20265 yearsRSMo § 516.120(4) · as of 4 November 2026
Montana3 yearsMCA § 27-2-204(1) · as of 4 November 20262 yearsMCA § 27-2-207 · as of 4 November 2026
Nebraska4 yearsNeb. Rev. Stat. § 25-207(3) · as of 4 November 20264 yearsNeb. Rev. Stat. § 25-207(2) · as of 4 November 2026
Nevada2 yearsNRS 11.190(4)(e) · as of 4 November 20263 yearsNRS 11.190(3)(c) · as of 4 November 2026
New Hampshire3 yearsRSA 508:4(I) · as of 4 November 20263 yearsRSA 508:4(I) · as of 4 November 2026
New Jersey2 yearsN.J.S.A. 2A:14-2(a) · as of 4 November 20266 yearsN.J.S.A. 2A:14-1(a) · as of 4 November 2026
New MexicoCheckingChecking
New York3 yearsN.Y. CPLR 214(5) · as of 4 November 20263 yearsN.Y. CPLR 214(4) · as of 4 November 2026
North Carolina3 yearsN.C. Gen. Stat. § 1-52(5), (16) · as of 4 November 20263 yearsN.C. Gen. Stat. § 1-52(4) · as of 4 November 2026
North Dakota6 yearsN.D.C.C. § 28-01-16(5) · as of 4 November 20266 yearsN.D.C.C. § 28-01-16(4) · as of 4 November 2026
Ohio2 yearsOhio Rev. Code § 2305.10(A) · as of 4 November 20262 yearsOhio Rev. Code § 2305.10(A) · as of 4 November 2026
Oklahoma2 years12 O.S. § 95(A)(3) · as of 4 November 20262 years12 O.S. § 95(A)(3) · as of 4 November 2026
Oregon2 yearsORS 12.110(1) · as of 4 November 20266 yearsORS 12.080(4) · as of 4 November 2026
Pennsylvania2 years42 Pa.C.S. § 5524(2) · as of 4 November 20262 years42 Pa.C.S. § 5524(3) · as of 4 November 2026
Rhode Island3 yearsR.I. Gen. Laws § 9-1-14(b) · as of 4 November 202610 yearsR.I. Gen. Laws § 9-1-13(a) · as of 4 November 2026
South Carolina3 yearsS.C. Code § 15-3-530(5) · as of 4 November 20263 yearsS.C. Code § 15-3-530(3) · as of 4 November 2026
South Dakota3 yearsSDCL 15-2-14(3) · as of 4 November 20266 yearsSDCL § 15-2-13(3) · as of 4 November 2026
TennesseeCheckingChecking
Texas2 yearsTex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.003(a) · as of 4 November 20262 yearsTex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.003(a) · as of 4 November 2026
Utah4 yearsUtah Code § 78B-2-307 · as of 4 November 20263 yearsUtah Code § 78B-2-305 · as of 4 November 2026
Vermont3 years12 V.S.A. § 512(4) · as of 4 November 20263 years12 V.S.A. § 512(5) · as of 4 November 2026
Virginia2 yearsVa. Code § 8.01-243(A) · as of 4 November 20265 yearsVa. Code § 8.01-243(B) · as of 4 November 2026
Washington3 yearsRCW 4.16.080(2) · as of 4 November 20263 yearsRCW 4.16.080(2) · as of 4 November 2026
West Virginia2 yearsW. Va. Code § 55-2-12(b) · as of 4 November 20262 yearsW. Va. Code § 55-2-12(a) · as of 4 November 2026
Wisconsin3 yearsWis. Stat. § 893.54(1m) · as of 4 November 20266 yearsWis. Stat. § 893.52(1) · as of 4 November 2026
Wyoming4 yearsWyo. Stat. § 1-3-105(a)(iv)(C) · as of 4 November 20264 yearsWyo. Stat. § 1-3-105(a)(iv)(B) · as of 4 November 2026
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Injury deadlines in the states we've verified

2 years: Alaska, Arizona, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Nevada, New Jersey, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia; 2 years for motor vehicle accidents (1 year for other injuries): Kentucky; 3 years for motor vehicle accidents (2 years for other injuries): Colorado; 3 years: District of Columbia, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin; 4 years: Nebraska, Utah and Wyoming; 5 years: Missouri; 6 years: Maine, Minnesota and North Dakota. Other states are still being checked.

Exceptions to ask about. The general period can change if the injured person was a child or lacked capacity, the claim is against a public body, the injury was found late, someone died, or the claim is under your own policy (PIP, accident benefits, uninsured motorist cover), which can have its own notice deadlines.

Canada and the UK

In Canada each province sets its own limitation period, and in many the period run from when you discovered, or should have discovered, the claim. In England and Wales the injury period is three years from the accident or from your date of knowledge, and claims for a child start when they turn 18. Scotland uses the same three years for injury but a separate five-year prescription period for property damage.

Common questions

What is a statute of limitations?

It is the law that sets how long you have to start a court case. If you miss it, the court will usually throw the claim out however strong it is. In Canada it is often called a limitation period, and in Scotland a time bar.

When does the clock start?

Usually on the day of the accident. Many places start it later if you could not reasonably have known about the injury or its cause, and many pause it for children. The statute linked in each row sets the rule for that place.

Does dealing with the insurer stop the clock?

No. Talking to an adjuster, getting an offer or being told "we are reviewing it" does not extend the deadline. Only starting a court case, or a written agreement that the law recognises, protects the claim.

Is the deadline shorter for claims against the government?

Often, yes. Claims against cities, counties, states, provinces and public transit can need a written notice within a much shorter time than the general period. Check the specific notice law straight away if a public body was involved.

What does the checker's date mean?

It adds the general period to the accident date. It does not apply exceptions or court day-counting rules, so treat it as the latest date to have in mind, not a target.

Related

Statute of limitations explained · The claims process · Documents checklist

Updated 4 November 2026. General information, not legal advice.