Which state has the shortest truck accident filing deadline?

Kentucky and Tennessee are the shortest at one year from the date of the crash. Both have conditional extensions (Kentucky's tied to no-fault benefit payments, Tennessee's to criminal charges against the driver), but don't assume either one applies to you.

Which state has the longest truck accident filing deadline?

Maine, Minnesota and North Dakota all allow six years for personal injury, and Missouri allows five. A long filing deadline doesn't mean a long evidence window, though. Federal rules let a motor carrier destroy the driver's logs after six months no matter which state the crash happened in.

Does the filing deadline depend on where I live or where the crash happened?

Where the crash happened. The limitations period is set by the state whose law governs the claim, which is normally the state where the collision occurred. Not the state where you live, and not the state where the trucking company is based.

Why is there a separate deadline for government vehicles?

Because suing a public entity takes permission that suing a private company doesn't. Nearly every state ties that permission to formal written notice within a short window, commonly 90 to 180 days, and treats the notice as a precondition, not a formality. Missing it usually bars the claim entirely.

Truck Accident Statute of Limitations by State (2026)

Find your state below, then read the part about evidence, because that's the clock that usually runs out first. The truck accident statute of limitations is one year in Kentucky and Tennessee, two years in most states, and up to six years in Maine, Minnesota and North Dakota. Wrongful death runs on a separate clock. Claims involving a government vehicle require written notice far sooner, often within 90 to 180 days of the crash.

Every state sets its own deadline to file a truck accident lawsuit. Here are all 50 states and the District of Columbia, grouped by how much time you get. Each one has its own page with the statute citation, the wrongful death period, the government notice window, the tolling rule for kids, and the freight corridors where these wrecks happen.

The one thing this list does not show you

A filing deadline is the court's outer limit. It isn't the evidence's limit. Federal rules require a motor carrier to keep a driver's records of duty status for only six months, and most fleet dash cam footage is overwritten within 30 days.

So someone in a six-year state can be five and a half years from the legal deadline and already years past the point where the proof was lawfully destroyed. The truck accident filing deadline calculator puts both clocks side by side for any state and any crash date.

Filing deadlines by state

1 year (2 jurisdictions)

State	Injury	Wrongful death	Statute
Kentucky	1 year	1 year	KRS § 413.140(1)(a)
Tennessee	1 year	1 year	T.C.A. § 28-3-104(a)(1)

2 years (24 jurisdictions)

State	Injury	Wrongful death	Statute
Alabama	2 years	2 years	Ala. Code § 6-2-38(l)
Alaska	2 years	2 years	AS § 09.10.070
Arizona	2 years	2 years	A.R.S. § 12-542
California	2 years	2 years	Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 335.1
Connecticut	2 years	2 years	Conn. Gen. Stat. § 52-584
Delaware	2 years	2 years	10 Del. C. § 8119
Florida	2 years	2 years	Fla. Stat. § 95.11(4)(a)
Georgia	2 years	2 years	O.C.G.A. § 9-3-33
Hawaii	2 years	2 years	HRS § 657-7
Idaho	2 years	2 years	Idaho Code § 5-219(4)
Illinois	2 years	2 years	735 ILCS 5/13-202
Indiana	2 years	2 years	Ind. Code § 34-11-2-4
Iowa	2 years	2 years	Iowa Code § 614.1(2)
Kansas	2 years	2 years	K.S.A. § 60-513(a)(4)
Louisiana	2 years	2 years	La. Civ. Code art. 3493.1
Nevada	2 years	2 years	NRS § 11.190(4)(e)
New Jersey	2 years	2 years	N.J.S.A. § 2A:14-2
Ohio	2 years	2 years	O.R.C. § 2305.10
Oklahoma	2 years	2 years	12 O.S. § 95(A)(3)
Oregon	2 years	3 years	ORS § 12.110
Pennsylvania	2 years	2 years	42 Pa.C.S. § 5524
Texas	2 years	2 years	Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.003(a)
Virginia	2 years	2 years	Va. Code § 8.01-243(A)
West Virginia	2 years	2 years	W. Va. Code § 55-2-12

3 years (18 jurisdictions)

State	Injury	Wrongful death	Statute
Arkansas	3 years	3 years	Ark. Code § 16-56-105
Colorado	3 years (motor vehicle)	2 years	C.R.S. § 13-80-101(1)(n)
Maryland	3 years	3 years	Md. Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 5-101
Massachusetts	3 years	3 years	M.G.L. c. 260 § 2A
Michigan	3 years	3 years	MCL § 600.5805(2)
Mississippi	3 years	3 years	Miss. Code § 15-1-49
Montana	3 years	3 years	Mont. Code § 27-2-204
New Hampshire	3 years	3 years	RSA § 508:4
New Mexico	3 years	3 years	NMSA § 37-1-8
New York	3 years	2 years	N.Y. CPLR § 214(5)
North Carolina	3 years	2 years	N.C.G.S. § 1-52(16)
Rhode Island	3 years	3 years	R.I.G.L. § 9-1-14(b)
South Carolina	3 years	3 years	S.C. Code § 15-3-530
South Dakota	3 years	3 years	SDCL § 15-2-14(3)
Vermont	3 years	2 years	12 V.S.A. § 512(4)
Washington	3 years	3 years	RCW § 4.16.080(2)
Washington, D.C.	3 years	2 years	D.C. Code § 12-301(8)
Wisconsin	3 years	3 years	Wis. Stat. § 893.54(1m)(a)

4–5 years (4 jurisdictions)

State	Injury	Wrongful death	Statute
Missouri	5 years	3 years	Mo. Rev. Stat. § 516.120
Nebraska	4 years	2 years	Neb. Rev. Stat. § 25-207
Utah	4 years	2 years	Utah Code § 78B-2-307
Wyoming	4 years	2 years	Wyo. Stat. § 1-3-105(a)(iv)(C)

6 years (3 jurisdictions)

State	Injury	Wrongful death	Statute
Maine	6 years	3 years	14 M.R.S. § 752
Minnesota	6 years	3 years	Minn. Stat. § 541.05 subd. 1(5)
North Dakota	6 years	2 years	N.D.C.C. § 28-01-16

The states where time runs out fastest

Kentucky and Tennessee give a truck accident claimant a single year. With that much freight moving through, a year goes fast when you have to identify the right carrier, find the driver, serve a preservation demand and get a handle on the medical picture.

Kentucky — 1 year (KRS § 413.140(1)(a))
Tennessee — 1 year (T.C.A. § 28-3-104(a)(1))

The states with the longest filing deadlines

Maine, Minnesota, North Dakota all allow six years. That long runway is exactly what makes the evidence clock dangerous there. You can be years from your filing deadline and years past the day the logs could lawfully be shredded.

Maine — 6 years for injury, but 3 years for wrongful death
Minnesota — 6 years for injury, but 3 years for wrongful death
North Dakota — 6 years for injury, but 2 years for wrongful death

Confirm your date before you rely on it

These are general periods. Exceptions, tolling doctrines, discovery rules, city charter provisions and recent amendments can all shift them. Use the filing deadline calculator for a dated estimate, then get it confirmed. A free case review takes about a minute and tells you which clock is actually running.