Deadlines
Statute of limitations for vehicle property damage
Every state sets a deadline for suing over damage to your vehicle, usually two to six years from the accident. Settlement talks do not pause it. Claims against your own insurer are governed by your policy and contract deadlines, which can be shorter.
| State | Deadline | Statute | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | — | Ala. Code § 6-2-38(l) (2 years) or § 6-2-34 (6 years, trespass to personal property) | Unsettled in sources found. Secondary sources say vehicle damage falls under the 6-year trespass statute, but negligence and wantonness claims use the 2-year statute (Ex parte Capstone, Ala. 2011). The safe assumption is 2 years. Contract claims against your own insurer have a different period. |
| Alaska | 2 years | AS 09.10.070(a)(3) | Property damage (tort). Contract claims against your own insurer are generally 3 years (AS 09.10.053), subject to policy terms. |
| Arizona | 2 years | A.R.S. § 12-542 | Property damage (tort) claim against the at-fault party. A contract claim against your own insurer has a different period and may be limited by the policy. |
| Arkansas | 3 years | Ark. Code Ann. § 16-56-105(6) | Property damage (tort). A claim on a written insurance policy may have 5 years (§ 16-56-111), unless the policy sets a shorter valid period. |
| California | 3 years | Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 338(c)(1) | Property damage (tort) suit against the at-fault party. Contract claims against your own insurer have different periods and may be shortened by the policy. |
| Colorado | 3 years | C.R.S. § 13-80-101(1)(n) | Motor vehicle property damage (tort). Contract claims against your own insurer are also generally 3 years (§ 13-80-101(1)(a)), subject to policy terms. |
| Connecticut | 2 years | Conn. Gen. Stat. § 52-584 | Negligence property damage: 2 years from injury/discovery, 3-year outer limit. First-party contract claims may differ and policies often contain their own suit deadlines. |
| Delaware | 2 years | 10 Del. C. § 8107 | Injury to personal property. First-party claims are contract-based; 10 Del. C. § 8106 sets 3 years for actions based on a promise, and policies may set their own terms. |
| District of Columbia | 3 years | D.C. Code § 12-301(a)(3) | Injury to personal property. Simple-contract claims are also 3 years (§ 12-301(a)(7)); policies may set their own suit deadlines. |
| Florida | 2 years | Fla. Stat. § 95.11(5)(a) | Negligence period shortened from 4 to 2 years by HB 837 (2023) for causes of action accruing after 24 March 2023. § 95.11(3)(g) separately lists 4 years for injuring personal property; which applies to a negligent crash is for counsel. Use 2 years to be safe. Written-contract (first-party) claims: 5 years. |
| Georgia | 4 years | O.C.G.A. § 9-3-31 | Lawsuit deadline for property damage against the at-fault party. A first-party claim is a contract claim; the policy itself may impose a shorter suit deadline and claim-notice requirements. |
| Hawaii | 2 years | Haw. Rev. Stat. § 657-7 | Damage to property. First-party contract claims may have a different period (not researched) and policies may set their own deadlines. |
| Idaho | 3 years | Idaho Code § 5-218(3) | Covers injury to personal property (the vehicle). Personal-injury claims have a different period. A claim against your own insurer is a contract claim (Idaho Code § 5-216, five years for written contracts), but many policies set a shorter time to sue. |
| Illinois | 5 years | 735 ILCS 5/13-205 | Injury to personal property. A claim against your own insurer is a contract claim; written contracts have a different statutory period (not verified here), and policies often contain a shorter suit-limitation clause. |
| Indiana | 2 years | Ind. Code § 34-11-2-4 | The official code site would not load. This URL is Robertson v. State (Ind. 2020), in which the Indiana Supreme Court describes § 34-11-2-4 as a two-year limit for injury to personal property. Claims against your own insurer follow contract rules and any suit-limitation clause in the policy. |
| Iowa | 5 years | Iowa Code § 614.1(4) | Injury to property. A claim against your own insurer on a written policy falls under § 614.1(5) (ten years), but policies commonly shorten the time to sue. |
| Kansas | 2 years | K.S.A. 60-513(a)(2) | Injury to personal property. Claims on a written insurance contract fall under K.S.A. 60-511 (five years), subject to any suit-limitation clause in the policy. |
| Kentucky | 2 years | KRS 413.125 | Injury to personal property. KRS 304.39-230(6) may extend the time in some motor-vehicle cases where PIP benefits were paid. Its effect on property-only claims was not confirmed. Claims on your own policy follow contract rules (KRS 413.090/413.160) and the policy's suit-limitation clause. |
| Louisiana | 2 years | La. Civ. Code art. 3493.1 | Two years for tort claims where the damage was sustained on or after July 1, 2024. Earlier damage falls under the former one-year period. First-party claims against your own insurer are contract claims and may have a different period, subject to policy terms; not researched. |
| Maine | 6 years | 14 M.R.S. § 752 | General six-year period for civil actions, including property damage. Claims under your own policy may be subject to policy terms such as appraisal or suit-limitation clauses. |
| Maryland | 3 years | Md. Code, Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 5-101 | The general three-year period covers property damage. Contract claims against your own insurer also generally fall under § 5-101. Policy terms and accrual rules can matter. |
| Massachusetts | 3 years | M.G.L. c. 260, § 2A | Three years for tort claims against the at-fault driver. Contract claims against your own insurer generally have six years (c. 260, § 2), subject to policy terms. |
| Michigan | 3 years | MCL 600.5805(2) | This applies to mini-tort and other property-damage tort claims. Claims under your own policy follow the policy's terms and contract-law periods, which were not researched. |
| Minnesota | 6 years | Minn. Stat. § 541.05, subd. 1(4) | Six years for injury to personal property. Contract claims against your own insurer are also generally six years (subd. 1(1)), but policy terms such as appraisal clauses may apply. |
| Mississippi | 3 years | Miss. Code Ann. § 15-1-49(1) | General three-year period used for property-damage suits. A claim against your own insurer is a contract claim; the policy may contain its own suit deadline, and the applicable period should be confirmed with counsel. |
| Missouri | 5 years | Mo. Rev. Stat. § 516.120(4) | Property damage. Contract claims are also generally five years under § 516.120(1), but written promises to pay money can fall under the ten-year § 516.110; policies may add their own conditions. Confirm with counsel. |
| Montana | 2 years | MCA 27-2-207 | Property damage (tort). A first-party claim on a written policy is generally subject to the six-year contract period (MCA 27-2-202(1)), subject to policy terms. |
| Nebraska | 4 years | Neb. Rev. Stat. § 25-207 | Property damage. Claims on a written insurance policy are generally five years (§ 25-205), subject to policy terms. |
| Nevada | 3 years | NRS 11.190(3)(c) | Property damage. Claims on a written insurance policy are generally six years (NRS 11.190(1)(b)), but policies often contain shorter suit-limitation clauses. |
| New Hampshire | 3 years | RSA 508:4, I | Applies to personal actions generally, including property damage and most contract claims; insurance policies may contain their own suit-limitation clauses. |
| New Jersey | 6 years | N.J.S.A. 2A:14-1 | Tort claims for property damage. Contract claims against your own insurer also have six years by statute, but many policies contain shorter suit-limitation clauses. |
| New Mexico | 4 years | NMSA 1978, § 37-1-4 | Property damage against the at-fault party. A claim on your own written policy falls under § 37-1-3 (six years) unless the policy sets a shorter period. |
| New York | 3 years | N.Y. CPLR 214(4) | Property damage against the at-fault party. Contract claims against your own insurer have a longer statutory period (not verified here), but policies often shorten it. |
| North Carolina | 3 years | N.C. Gen. Stat. § 1-52(4) | Property damage. Contract claims against your own insurer are also three years under § 1-52(1), subject to policy terms. |
| North Dakota | 6 years | N.D.C.C. § 28-01-16(4) | Injury to personal property. Contract claims against your own insurer are also six years under § 28-01-16(1), unless the policy validly shortens it. |
| Ohio | 2 years | Ohio Rev. Code § 2305.10(A) | Property damage against the at-fault party. Claims on your own written policy have six years under § 2305.06, but policies commonly shorten this (see Sarmiento). |
| Oklahoma | 2 years | 12 O.S. § 95(A)(3) | For claims against the at-fault driver. A first-party claim on a written policy is a contract claim (5 years under § 95(A)(1)), but the policy itself may set a shorter suit deadline. |
| Oregon | 6 years | ORS 12.080(4) | Six years for injury to personal property. First-party contract claims also get six years under ORS 12.080(1), but check the policy's own conditions on legal action. |
| Pennsylvania | 2 years | 42 Pa.C.S. § 5524(3), (7) | For claims against the at-fault driver. First-party claims on a written policy are contract claims (4 years, 42 Pa.C.S. § 5525(a)(8)), but policies often contain a shorter suit clause. |
| Rhode Island | 10 years | R.I. Gen. Laws § 9-1-13(a) | The general ten-year period applies to property damage. First-party policy claims may be subject to a shorter suit-limitation clause in the policy; counsel should confirm whether it is enforceable. |
| South Carolina | 3 years | S.C. Code § 15-3-530(4) | Property damage claims against the at-fault driver. Contract claims are also three years under § 15-3-530(1). |
| South Dakota | 6 years | SDCL 15-2-13(4) | Property damage claims against the at-fault driver. First-party contract claims are also six years under SDCL 15-2-13(1), subject to any policy conditions. |
| Tennessee | 3 years | Tenn. Code Ann. § 28-3-105(1) | Property damage (tort) claims. Official code text sits behind Lexis; wording taken from Tolliver v. Tellico Village (Tenn. Ct. App. 2019) quoting the statute. Claims against your own insurer are contract claims and policies often contain their own suit-filing deadlines; not researched. |
| Texas | 2 years | Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.003(a) | Property damage (tort) suits. A breach-of-contract suit against your own insurer generally falls under a four-year period (§ 16.051 residual, or policy terms); verify the specific policy. |
| Utah | 3 years | Utah Code § 78B-2-305(1)(a)(ii) | Property damage (tort). Contract claims against your own insurer: six years on a written contract (§ 78B-2-309) unless the policy validly sets a shorter period. |
| Vermont | 3 years | 12 V.S.A. § 512(5) | Property damage (tort). Contract claims against your own insurer generally fall under the six-year period in 12 V.S.A. § 511, subject to policy terms; not researched further. |
| Virginia | 5 years | Va. Code § 8.01-243(B) | Injury to property. Contract claims against your own insurer are governed by contract limitation rules and policy terms; not researched. |
| Washington | 3 years | RCW 4.16.080(2) | Property damage (tort). Contract claims against your own insurer: six years on a written contract (RCW 4.16.040(1)), subject to any valid policy limitation clause. |
| West Virginia | 2 years | W. Va. Code § 55-2-12(a) | Two years for damage to property (third-party claim). A first-party claim is contractual (W. Va. Code § 55-2-6), but the policy may set a shorter suit deadline; check the policy. |
| Wisconsin | 3 years | Wis. Stat. § 893.52(2) | Three years for vehicle-accident property damage (accidents on or after Feb. 6, 2016). First-party claims on a motor vehicle policy: also 3 years (Wis. Stat. § 893.43(2)). |
| Wyoming | 4 years | Wyo. Stat. § 1-3-105(a)(iv)(B) | Four years for injury to personal property. A first-party claim on a written policy is contractual (ten years under § 1-3-105(a)(i)), but the policy may set a shorter suit deadline. |
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