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All 50 states and DC

Truck accident statute of limitations, state by state

There is no national truck accident deadline. The personal injury period runs from one year in Tennessee and Kentucky to six years in Maine, Minnesota and North Dakota, with a median of 2 years. Wrongful death frequently runs shorter than injury in the same state. And when a government vehicle is involved, a notice period with a median of about 180 days overrides everything else.

Pick your state below for its specific rules and citations, or use the calculator to work out which of these deadlines actually applies to your crash.

Open the deadline calculator →

Shortest filing windows

Where waiting is most dangerous. In these states the legal deadline can arrive before an injury has finished being diagnosed.

  1. Kentucky1 yr
  2. Tennessee1 yr
  3. Alabama2 yrs
  4. Alaska2 yrs
  5. Arizona2 yrs
  6. California2 yrs

Tightest government notice

If a municipal, transit or state vehicle was involved, this is the real deadline — and courts rarely excuse a late notice.

  1. Rhode Island60 days
  2. Washington60 days
  3. Connecticut90 days
  4. Mississippi90 days
  5. Missouri90 days
  6. New Jersey90 days

Biggest injury-to-death gap

States where a grieving family relying on the widely-quoted injury figure is working from a deadline that expired years earlier.

  1. North Dakota6 yrs → 2 yrs−4 yrs
  2. Maine6 yrs → 3 yrs−3 yrs
  3. Minnesota6 yrs → 3 yrs−3 yrs
  4. Missouri5 yrs → 3 yrs−2 yrs
  5. Nebraska4 yrs → 2 yrs−2 yrs
  6. Utah4 yrs → 2 yrs−2 yrs

Truck accident filing deadlines by state

Personal injury, wrongful death, and the government notice period that overrides both. This table works without JavaScript.

  • AlabamaAL
    Personal injury
    2 years
    Wrongful death
    2 years
    Government notice
    180 days
  • AlaskaAK
    Personal injury
    2 years
    Wrongful death
    2 years
    Government notice
    120 days
  • ArizonaAZ
    Personal injury
    2 years
    Wrongful death
    2 years
    Government notice
    180 days
  • ArkansasAR
    Personal injury
    3 years
    Wrongful death
    3 years
    Government notice
    120 days
  • CaliforniaCA
    Personal injury
    2 years
    Wrongful death
    2 years
    Government notice
    180 days
  • ColoradoCO
    Personal injury
    3 years
    Wrongful death
    2 years
    Government notice
    182 days
  • ConnecticutCT
    Personal injury
    2 years
    Wrongful death
    2 years
    Government notice
    90 days
  • DelawareDE
    Personal injury
    2 years
    Wrongful death
    2 years
    Government notice
    365 days
  • District of ColumbiaDC
    Personal injury
    3 years
    Wrongful death
    2 years
    Government notice
    180 days
  • FloridaFL
    Personal injury
    2 years
    Wrongful death
    2 years
    Government notice
    180 days
  • GeorgiaGA
    Personal injury
    2 years
    Wrongful death
    2 years
    Government notice
    180 days
  • HawaiiHI
    Personal injury
    2 years
    Wrongful death
    2 years
    Government notice
    180 days
  • IdahoID
    Personal injury
    2 years
    Wrongful death
    2 years
    Government notice
    180 days
  • IllinoisIL
    Personal injury
    2 years
    Wrongful death
    2 years
    Government notice
    365 days
  • IndianaIN
    Personal injury
    2 years
    Wrongful death
    2 years
    Government notice
    180 days
  • IowaIA
    Personal injury
    2 years
    Wrongful death
    2 years
    Government notice
    180 days
  • KansasKS
    Personal injury
    2 years
    Wrongful death
    2 years
    Government notice
    120 days
  • KentuckyKY
    Personal injury
    1 year
    Wrongful death
    1 year
    Government notice
    365 days
  • LouisianaLA
    Personal injury
    2 years
    Wrongful death
    2 years
    Government notice
    365 days
  • MaineME
    Personal injury
    6 years
    Wrongful death
    3 years
    Government notice
    180 days
  • MarylandMD
    Personal injury
    3 years
    Wrongful death
    3 years
    Government notice
    365 days
  • MassachusettsMA
    Personal injury
    3 years
    Wrongful death
    3 years
    Government notice
    730 days
  • MichiganMI
    Personal injury
    3 years
    Wrongful death
    3 years
    Government notice
    120 days
  • MinnesotaMN
    Personal injury
    6 years
    Wrongful death
    3 years
    Government notice
    180 days
  • MississippiMS
    Personal injury
    3 years
    Wrongful death
    3 years
    Government notice
    90 days
  • MissouriMO
    Personal injury
    5 years
    Wrongful death
    3 years
    Government notice
    90 days
  • MontanaMT
    Personal injury
    3 years
    Wrongful death
    3 years
    Government notice
    120 days
  • NebraskaNE
    Personal injury
    4 years
    Wrongful death
    2 years
    Government notice
    365 days
  • NevadaNV
    Personal injury
    2 years
    Wrongful death
    2 years
    Government notice
    730 days
  • New HampshireNH
    Personal injury
    3 years
    Wrongful death
    3 years
    Government notice
    180 days
  • New JerseyNJ
    Personal injury
    2 years
    Wrongful death
    2 years
    Government notice
    90 days
  • New MexicoNM
    Personal injury
    3 years
    Wrongful death
    3 years
    Government notice
    90 days
  • New YorkNY
    Personal injury
    3 years
    Wrongful death
    2 years
    Government notice
    90 days
  • North CarolinaNC
    Personal injury
    3 years
    Wrongful death
    2 years
    Government notice
    1095 days
  • North DakotaND
    Personal injury
    6 years
    Wrongful death
    2 years
    Government notice
    180 days
  • OhioOH
    Personal injury
    2 years
    Wrongful death
    2 years
    Government notice
    730 days
  • OklahomaOK
    Personal injury
    2 years
    Wrongful death
    2 years
    Government notice
    365 days
  • OregonOR
    Personal injury
    2 years
    Wrongful death
    3 years
    Government notice
    180 days
  • PennsylvaniaPA
    Personal injury
    2 years
    Wrongful death
    2 years
    Government notice
    180 days
  • Rhode IslandRI
    Personal injury
    3 years
    Wrongful death
    3 years
    Government notice
    60 days
  • South CarolinaSC
    Personal injury
    3 years
    Wrongful death
    3 years
    Government notice
    730 days
  • South DakotaSD
    Personal injury
    3 years
    Wrongful death
    3 years
    Government notice
    180 days
  • TennesseeTN
    Personal injury
    1 year
    Wrongful death
    1 year
    Government notice
    365 days
  • TexasTX
    Personal injury
    2 years
    Wrongful death
    2 years
    Government notice
    180 days
  • UtahUT
    Personal injury
    4 years
    Wrongful death
    2 years
    Government notice
    365 days
  • VermontVT
    Personal injury
    3 years
    Wrongful death
    2 years
    Government notice
    1095 days
  • VirginiaVA
    Personal injury
    2 years
    Wrongful death
    2 years
    Government notice
    180 days
  • WashingtonWA
    Personal injury
    3 years
    Wrongful death
    3 years
    Government notice
    60 days
  • West VirginiaWV
    Personal injury
    2 years
    Wrongful death
    2 years
    Government notice
    730 days
  • WisconsinWI
    Personal injury
    3 years
    Wrongful death
    3 years
    Government notice
    120 days
  • WyomingWY
    Personal injury
    4 years
    Wrongful death
    2 years
    Government notice
    730 days

The government notice column shows the shortest window that could plausibly apply in that jurisdiction. State, county and municipal deadlines frequently differ from one another; the individual state pages break each one out. All figures are pending attorney verification.

Important. This calculator gives a general estimate based on published statutory periods. It is not legal advice, it does not create an attorney-client relationship, and it cannot account for the facts of your specific situation. Filing deadlines are affected by tolling doctrines, discovery rules, the identity of the defendant, and exceptions that vary by jurisdiction and by case. Only a licensed attorney reviewing your actual circumstances can tell you what deadline applies to you. If a date shown here matters to a decision you are making, confirm it with an attorney before you rely on it.