Often yes — many states set a separate statute of limitations for property damage (like vehicle repair) than for bodily injury, and the property-damage deadline is sometimes longer. After a crash that hurts you and damages your car, one date may not cover both claims, so don't assume the injury deadline is the only one that matters.
In many states the deadline to sue over property damage — your vehicle, its contents, or other property — is separate from, and sometimes longer than, the deadline to sue over bodily injury. For example, California allows 3 years for property damage but 2 years for personal injury. That means after a single car accident you can have two different clocks running at once: one for your injuries and one for your car. The gap matters most when the injury deadline is shorter — people who focus only on the property claim can let the injury deadline slip. The safest approach is to treat the shorter of the two as your working deadline for the whole matter and confirm both with an attorney, because the split and the exact periods vary by state.
Is property damage on a different clock? Frequently yes. Many states set a separate statute of limitations for property damage than for bodily injury, and it is sometimes longer.
Can one accident have two deadlines? Yes. A crash that injures you and damages your car can create two separate clocks — one for the injury claim, one for the property claim.
Which deadline should I rely on? Treat the shorter of the two as your working deadline for the whole matter so you don't accidentally let the injury claim expire.
Why does the gap matter? Because the injury deadline is often the shorter one — focusing on the car repair can cause someone to miss the more valuable injury claim.
Pick your state. Add the injury date and we'll estimate your filing deadline too.
Your state's standard deadline for a negligence-based personal injury claim. The exceptions below and the special rules on this page can change it.
| State | Deadline to file | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 2 years | — |
| Alaska | 2 years | — |
| Arizona | 2 years | — |
| Arkansas | 3 years | — |
| California | 2 years | — |
| Colorado | 2 years | 3 yrs for motor-vehicle accidents |
| Connecticut | 2 years | — |
| Delaware | 2 years | — |
| District of Columbia | 3 years | — |
| Florida | 2 years | changed from 4 yrs in March 2023 |
| Georgia | 2 years | — |
| Hawaii | 2 years | — |
| Idaho | 2 years | — |
| Illinois | 2 years | — |
| Indiana | 2 years | — |
| Iowa | 2 years | — |
| Kansas | 2 years | — |
| Kentucky | 1 year | 2 yrs for motor-vehicle accidents |
| Louisiana | 2 years | extended from 1 yr, effective July 2024 |
| Maine | 6 years | — |
| Maryland | 3 years | — |
| Massachusetts | 3 years | — |
| Michigan | 3 years | — |
| Minnesota | 2 years | — |
| Mississippi | 3 years | — |
| Missouri | 5 years | — |
| Montana | 3 years | — |
| Nebraska | 4 years | — |
| Nevada | 2 years | — |
| New Hampshire | 3 years | — |
| New Jersey | 2 years | — |
| New Mexico | 3 years | — |
| New York | 3 years | — |
| North Carolina | 3 years | — |
| North Dakota | 6 years | — |
| Ohio | 2 years | — |
| Oklahoma | 2 years | — |
| Oregon | 2 years | — |
| Pennsylvania | 2 years | — |
| Rhode Island | 3 years | — |
| South Carolina | 3 years | — |
| South Dakota | 3 years | — |
| Tennessee | 1 year | — |
| Texas | 2 years | — |
| Utah | 4 years | — |
| Vermont | 3 years | — |
| Virginia | 2 years | — |
| Washington | 3 years | — |
| West Virginia | 2 years | — |
| Wisconsin | 3 years | — |
| Wyoming | 4 years | — |
A single accident can create two legally distinct claims: one for bodily injury (your medical bills, pain, lost wages) and one for property damage (repairing or replacing your vehicle and its contents). Many states assign these different statutes of limitations. Where they differ, property damage is often the longer of the two — California, for instance, gives 3 years for property damage versus 2 years for personal injury.
The practical risk is the mismatch. It's common to settle the car-repair piece quickly with an insurer and assume the whole matter is handled — while the shorter injury clock keeps running in the background. By the time some people return to the injury claim, its deadline has passed, and that's usually the far more valuable claim.
Because the split and the exact periods vary by state, the safe rule is to identify both deadlines early and work to the shorter one. Check your state's personal injury deadline below, and confirm the property-damage period separately with an attorney or your state's code.
The deadline to sue for property damage (like your vehicle) is often different from — and in many states longer than — the personal-injury deadline. Below is the standard property-damage statute of limitations for each state, with its statute. For a car accident, your vehicle is personal property, so where a state splits real vs. personal property we show the personal-property (vehicle) deadline and note the difference.
| State | Property-damage deadline | Statute | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 2 years | Ala. Code §6-2-38 | sources differ (2–6 yrs) — verify |
| Alaska | 2 years | Alaska Stat. §09.10.070 | 2 yrs personal property (vehicle); 6 yrs real property |
| Arizona | 2 years | A.R.S. §12-542 | — |
| Arkansas | 3 years | A.C.A. §16-56-105 | — |
| California | 3 years | Cal. Civ. Proc. §338(c) | vs 2 yrs for injury |
| Colorado | 2 years | C.R.S. §13-80-102 | 3 yrs for motor-vehicle accidents |
| Connecticut | 2 years | C.G.S. §52-584 | — |
| Delaware | 2 years | 10 Del. C. §8107 | — |
| District of Columbia | 3 years | D.C. Code §12-301 | — |
| Florida | 4 years | Fla. Stat. §95.11(3) | 4 yrs property; injury cut to 2 yrs in 2023 |
| Georgia | 4 years | O.C.G.A. §9-3-31 | 4 yrs property vs 2 yrs injury |
| Hawaii | 2 years | Haw. Rev. Stat. §657-7 | — |
| Idaho | 3 years | Idaho Code §5-218 | — |
| Illinois | 5 years | 735 ILCS 5/13-205 | 5 yrs property vs 2 yrs injury |
| Indiana | 2 years | Ind. Code §34-11-2-4 | 2 yrs personal property (vehicle); 6 yrs real property |
| Iowa | 5 years | Iowa Code §614.1(4) | — |
| Kansas | 2 years | K.S.A. §60-513 | — |
| Kentucky | 2 years | Ky. Rev. Stat. §413.125 | 2 yrs personal property (vehicle); sources differ on real property — verify |
| Louisiana | 2 years | La. Civ. Code Art. 3493.1 | extended from 1 yr, eff. July 2024 |
| Maine | 6 years | 14 M.R.S. §752 | — |
| Maryland | 3 years | Md. Cts. & Jud. Proc. §5-101 | — |
| Massachusetts | 3 years | Mass. Gen. Laws ch.260 §2A | — |
| Michigan | 3 years | Mich. Comp. Laws §600.5805 | — |
| Minnesota | 6 years | Minn. Stat. §541.05 | 6 yrs property vs 2 yrs injury |
| Mississippi | 3 years | Miss. Code §15-1-49 | — |
| Missouri | 5 years | Mo. Rev. Stat. §516.120(4) | — |
| Montana | 2 years | Mont. Code §27-2-207 | — |
| Nebraska | 4 years | Neb. Rev. Stat. §25-207 | — |
| Nevada | 3 years | Nev. Rev. Stat. §11.190 | — |
| New Hampshire | 3 years | N.H. Rev. Stat. §508:4 | — |
| New Jersey | 6 years | N.J. Stat. §2A:14-1 | 6 yrs property vs 2 yrs injury |
| New Mexico | 4 years | N.M. Stat. §37-1-4 | — |
| New York | 3 years | N.Y. C.P.L.R. §214 | — |
| North Carolina | 3 years | N.C. Gen. Stat. §1-52 | same 3 yrs for property and injury |
| North Dakota | 6 years | N.D. Cent. Code §28-01-16 | — |
| Ohio | 2 years | Ohio Rev. Code §2305.10 | 2 yrs personal property (vehicle); 4 yrs real property |
| Oklahoma | 2 years | Okla. Stat. tit.12 §95 | — |
| Oregon | 6 years | Or. Rev. Stat. §12.080 | 6 yrs property vs 2 yrs injury |
| Pennsylvania | 2 years | 42 Pa. Cons. Stat. §5524 | — |
| Rhode Island | 10 years | R.I. Gen. Laws §9-1-13 | 10 yrs property vs 3 yrs injury |
| South Carolina | 3 years | S.C. Code §15-3-530 | — |
| South Dakota | 6 years | S.D. Codified Laws §15-2-13 | — |
| Tennessee | 3 years | Tenn. Code §28-3-105 | 3 yrs property vs 1 yr injury |
| Texas | 2 years | Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. §16.003 | — |
| Utah | 3 years | Utah Code §78B-2-305 | — |
| Vermont | 3 years | Vt. Stat. tit.12 §512 | 3 yrs personal property (vehicle); 6 yrs real property |
| Virginia | 5 years | Va. Code §8.01-243 | 5 yrs property vs 2 yrs injury |
| Washington | 3 years | Wash. Rev. Code §4.16.080 | — |
| West Virginia | 2 years | W. Va. Code §55-2-12 | — |
| Wisconsin | 6 years | Wis. Stat. §893.52 | 6 yrs property vs 3 yrs injury |
| Wyoming | 4 years | Wyo. Stat. §1-3-105 | — |
Property-damage deadlines are compiled from the Nolo 50-state civil statute-of-limitations chart and Super Lawyers' property-damage table, then reconciled to the personal-property (vehicle) period; where the two disagreed we show the shorter, safe-direction figure and flag it for confirmation against the primary statute. This is general information, not legal advice — confirm your state's current deadline before relying on it.
Any of these can move your real deadline away from the standard number.
Suing a city, county, state, or public hospital usually requires a formal written notice of claim first — often within 60 days to 1 year, far shorter than the standard deadline. Miss the notice and the claim can be barred even if years remain on the normal clock.
For injuries you couldn't reasonably have discovered at the time (some medical or toxic-exposure cases), the clock may start when you knew or should have known — not the date of the incident. It can extend your window, but don't count on it without legal advice.
When the injured person is under 18, the deadline is often paused (tolled) until they reach adulthood, so a child's claim can be filed years later. The rules vary by state and don't always apply to every claim type.
Wrongful-death claims typically run from the date of death, not the injury, and medical-malpractice claims often have their own deadline plus a hard outer limit (a statute of repose). Both can differ from the general number above.
A free, no-obligation review confirms your real deadline and whether your claim is worth pursuing — most attorneys will tell you in one short call, and it costs nothing to ask. Don't let the clock decide for you.
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→ How long do I have to file a personal injury claim? (deadline by state)
→ What is the discovery rule?
→ Does an insurance claim pause the statute of limitations?
→ What is the statute of limitations for personal injury?
→ Settlement statistics by injury type — compare an offer against real, cited cases.
→ Do I have a personal injury case? — a 60-second check.
Often yes. Many states set a separate statute of limitations for property damage than for bodily injury, and the property-damage deadline is sometimes longer. A single accident can therefore involve two different deadlines.
Yes. The claim for your injuries and the claim for your vehicle or property damage can run on separate clocks, so one settlement or one date may not cover both.
Treat the shorter of the two as your working deadline for the entire matter. Since the injury deadline is frequently the shorter one, relying only on the property clock can cause you to miss the injury claim.
In many states, yes — for example California allows 3 years for property damage versus 2 for personal injury — but it varies, so confirm both periods for your state.
Because the injury claim is usually the more valuable one and often has the shorter deadline. People who settle the car repair first sometimes let the injury deadline lapse without realizing it.
The state deadlines above are the general statute of limitations for a negligence-based personal injury claim, cross-referenced across multiple legal references and — because widely circulated charts are often out of date — checked against the primary statute where a state deviates or changed recently. Where sources disagreed we show the shorter deadline (the "safe-direction" rule).
Ky. Rev. Stat. § 413.140(1)(a) · Tennessee Tenn. Code § 28-3-104(a)Mo. Rev. Stat. § 516.120 (5) · Maine Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 14, § 752 (6) · North Dakota N.D. Cent. Code § 28-01-16 (6)Neb. Rev. Stat. § 25-207 · Utah Utah Code § 78B-2-307 · Wyoming Wyo. Stat. § 1-3-105Fla. Stat. § 95.11 (2023 HB 837) · Louisiana extended 1→2 years, effective July 1, 2024 La. Civ. Code art. 3493.1Colo. Rev. Stat. §§ 13-80-102, 13-80-101 · California Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 335.1
Primary & authoritative references: Cornell Legal Information Institute — statute of limitations · Justia US state codes · California Legislative Information — Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 335.1 · Nolo 50-state chart. For any specific claim, confirm the current deadline against your state's official code or a licensed attorney — statutes change and special claim types run on separate clocks.