Deadline date calculator: when your filing deadline falls

How to use the calculator#

1. Choose your state. Use the state where the crash happened. If more than one state could be involved, for example a crash on a trip, a lawyer can tell you which state's law applies.
2. Choose the type of claim. Injury, vehicle or property damage, and wrongful deathWrongful death. A claim brought by family members or the estate when someone dies because of another person's wrongful act. Glossary claims can have different deadlines, even in the same state.
3. Enter the date. For injury and property claims, that is the date of the crash. For a wrongful death claim, the field changes to the starting point your state uses, such as the date of death.
4. Read the result. You see the date the general deadline would fall on, the days left from today, the statute and its official source, and the exceptions that most often apply.

The address in your browser updates as you go, so you can copy a link to the result. Without JavaScript, the form still works: fill it in and press the button. Nothing you enter is stored.

How the date is counted#

The calculator adds whole years to the date you enter and lands on the same calendar date. A crash on March 15, 2025 in a two-year state gives March 15, 2027. If that date does not exist, as with February 29 in a year that is not a leap year, it uses the last day of the month instead, the earlier of the two possible readings.

Courts have their own counting rules, and the tool cannot apply every one. Two examples show the kind of detail involved:

• Texas: under the Code Construction Act, the first day is excluded and the last day is included when counting days; a period of months ends on the same numbered day of the last month, or on that month's last day if it is shorter; and if the last day is a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, the period is extended to the next day that is not.
• Federal court: under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the day of the event that starts the period is not counted, and if the last day falls on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, the period runs until the end of the next day that is not one.

When the real deadline is different#

The date you see is the general rule. Several situations change it, and they come up often:

• Injured children. Many states pause the clock while the injured person is under 18. Texas law, for example, puts it this way: A person younger than 18 is under a legal disability; if the disability exists when the claim accrues, the time until the child turns 18 is not counted in the limitations period. New York works differently: there, the deadline is generally extended to three years after the child turns 18. This pause is called tollingTolling. Pausing the limitations clock, for example while the injured person is a child. Glossary.
• Injuries found later. Some states start the clock when an injury was, or reasonably should have been, discovered, rather than on the day of the crash.
• Wrongful death. The starting point differs by state. In most states the clock runs from the date of death, but in Iowa it runs from the date of the injury and in Vermont from the discovery of the death. Our wrongful death guide explains who can bring these claims.
• Government defendants. If a city bus, a police car or a badly kept road was involved, a written notice of claimNotice of claim. A written notice that must be sent to a city, county or state agency before you can sue it, often within a few months. Glossary is often due long before the lawsuit deadline. In Texas, the notice to a government body is due within 6 months of the crash. Claims against a federal agency, such as a mail truck, must be presented in writing to the agency within 2 years.
• Your own policy. Claims under your own insurance, such as uninsured motorist claims, also depend on the notice and claim rules written into the policy.

Talks with an insurer do not stop the clock#

Negotiating with an adjuster does not pause the deadline to sue. Neither do medical treatment that is still going on or a claim number from the insurer. If the claim has not settled when the deadline arrives, the case usually has to be filed in court to stay alive.

A model regulation from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners asks insurers to warn claimants who have no lawyer at least 60 days before the deadline for a claim against another driver's insurer runs out. Each state adopts its own version, so do not count on that warning. Our guide to filing a lawsuit explains what happens once a case is filed, and the claim file checklist lists the records worth keeping in the meantime.

What the calculator does not do#

It does not tell you whether you have a claim, which state's law applies or whether an exception covers your case. It shows "Not confirmed" for the few state and claim combinations where we could not confirm one clear deadline from the official text. For an overview of every state, use the deadline lookup or the state guides. For a deadline that matters to you, talk to a licensed attorney in your state.