How Long You Have to Sue: Statute of Limitations by Claim Type

Every claim has a deadline. File after your state's statute of limitations has run out and the case gets dismissed no matter how strong it is — the clock doesn't care whether you knew about it.

1. The clock starts when the claim arose, not when you decide to sue

The standard rule counts from the date of the wrong — when the contract was broken, the damage happened, or the injury occurred — not from whenever you get around to filing. Waiting to sue doesn't pause anything; every day that passes after the triggering event counts against your deadline.

2. The period depends on what kind of claim you have

States don't give every claim the same amount of time. California gives a written contract 4 years but an oral one only 2. Florida runs 5 years for a written contract against just 2 years for personal injury. A few states don't bother distinguishing written from oral contracts at all — Michigan and New York both give either type the same 6 years. Confirm which category your claim actually falls into before assuming a deadline that belongs to a different claim type.

3. Deadlines can change — Florida's did

Florida cut its general negligence period from 4 years down to 2 years in 2023, for anything that happened on or after that law's effective date. Something that happened just before the cutoff can still carry the older, longer period. Statutes of limitations aren't permanent fixtures — they get amended, so confirm you're working from the current law for the date your claim actually arose.

4. What this doesn't cover

Some situations move the real deadline earlier or later than the standard period: the discovery rule delays the clock until harm was or should have been discovered, rather than when it happened (common in fraud or latent-defect cases); tolling can pause the clock for a minor plaintiff or an absent defendant; and a claim against a government entity — a city, county, or school district — runs on a much shorter separate notice deadline, often just 30 to 180 days, that isn't a statute of limitations at all. None of these are modeled here — if any of them might apply to your claim, that's worth confirming with your court or an attorney rather than relying on the standard period alone.

Check how much time is left on your specific claim with the Statute of Limitations Checker. Confirming your deadline is step one, alongside confirming your claim fits the dollar limit — see Small Claims Court Dollar Limits: How Much You Can Sue For — before you move on to How to File a Small Claims Case.