Key facts
- Personal injury deadline
- 2 years
- Jurisdictions in this group
- 25
- States
- Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Nevada, New Jersey, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia
- When the clock starts
- Generally the date of injury. Most states apply a discovery rule that delays the start when the injury was not, or could not reasonably have been, discovered at the time it occurred.
- Last verified
- 2026-05-22 (each state row cites the primary source)
Two years is the most common personal injury deadline in the United States. Florida cut its general negligence deadline from four years to two years effective March 24, 2023 under House Bill 837; Louisiana extended its prescriptive period from one year to two years effective July 1, 2024 under Act 423. Pre-cutover injuries in those states remain on the older rule.
The 25 2-year jurisdictions
Informational only and not legal advice. Notice deadlines for medical malpractice, claims against government entities, and intentional torts run on separate tracks and can be much shorter. Confirm the controlling rule with a licensed attorney.