Statute of Limitations Texas: Deadlines You Can’t Ignore

A statute of limitations is the law’s hard stop on filing a legal action or pursuing criminal charges. It forces timely action. Miss it, and courts can bar your claim.

Texas, like every other US state, tailors the time period to the claim. Personal injury? Contract breaches? Criminal offenses? Each follows different statutes. Knowing them is crucial to keeping your legal options open and protecting clients’ rights.

Civil and criminal cases have two very different clocks

Texas splits its deadlines between civil and criminal matters. Chapter 16 of the Civil Practice & Remedies Code covers civil statutes. There, you’ll find everything from defamation to personal injury, and typical time limits range from one year to four. Criminal timeframes are in the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, Chapter 12.

How long do you have to file civil lawsuits?

When the clock starts ticking depends on the situation. Sometimes it’s the date of the incident, in other cases it’s when the harm is discovered, or should have been.

Some of the deadlines practitioners are faced with regularly include:

Say you’re rear-ended, and your tailgate is crumpled, that is damage to personal property, and you have two years from the day of the accident to file a civil lawsuit to recover damages. Or, if a medical professional gives you the wrong dose of medicine and it causes additional harm, that is medical malpractice. Upon discovery, you have two years to make a civil claim.

But what happens if your case doesn’t fit? Texas has a default time limit for claims without a specific statute. It’s called the residual limitations period. This gives you four years to bring suit. Use a Statute of Limitations calculator to see variation across different statutes, and see where your case fits.

Civil tolling: When the clock freezes

Statutes of limitations don’t always follow a straight line. Sometimes, it is necessary to stop the clock and delay the process. Tolling happens if a young child is hurt in an accident. The clock freezes until they’re 18. The same happens if the defendant is out of state and otherwise can’t be served; the limitations period is paused until they can be properly notified.

If wrongdoing is concealed, say by destroying evidence or hiding facts, the countdown stops until discovery occurs. If someone involved, plaintiff or defendant, dies, the clock pauses for 12 months from their death date.

Criminal statute of limitations Texas: When the State can still file charges

• Texas imposes no statute of limitations on its most serious offenses. Prosecutors may bring charges for murder, manslaughter, continuous sexual abuse of a child, aggravated sexual assault, and continuous sexual abuse of persons at any time.
• Among the crimes with a 10-year statute of limitations are theft by public servant of government property, compelling prostitution, real property fraud, injury to an elderly or disabled person (punishable as a felony of the first degree under Section 22.04, Penal Code) and aggravated kidnapping.
• If the alleged offense is fraud involving financial institutions, money laundering, criminal solicitation, abandoning or endangering an elderly or disabled individual, or insurance fraud, the State has seven years to file criminal charges.
• A five-year statute applies to theft, robbery and burglary.
• All other felonies follow a three-year default.

Misdemeanors are separated by class:

• Class A (e.g., assault): Two-year statute.
• Class B (e.g., theft under $2.5k): Two years.
• Class C (e.g,. minor traffic): One-year limitations period.

Criminal charges and tolling

Tolling can happen if:

• The defendant flees or hides.
• The defendant’s location can’t be pinpointed.
• DNA discoveries are made at a later date.
• The alleged victim was under the age of 18 at the time of the crime.

Why everything comes down to the accrual date

Your first challenge is calculating when the clock actually starts, known as the accrual date or the day your legal action accrues. This is typically the day the harm or wrong occurs, or when you discover (or reasonably should have discovered) it with due diligence.

Errors can cause entire cases to fall apart. You might lose your right to file entirely if you count from the wrong date or overlook tolling. And filing even one day late can lead to instant rejection or dismissal.

But why do these deadlines exist?

These rules protect your right to sue or defend. They determine:

• If someone can bring a personal injury lawsuit after an accident.
• Whether a grieving family can move ahead with a wrongful death claim.
• If the State still has room to file charges years after an alleged offense.
• Whether an old business dispute can still be litigated.

Understanding the timelines makes them manageable.

How to make sure you don’t miss a deadline

1. Identify the exact type of civil or criminal case.
2. Find the statute that matches it (Chapter 16 of the Civil Practice & Remedies Code for civil lawsuits; Chapter 12 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure for criminal cases).
3. Pin down the earliest possible accrual date and then double-check it.
4. Check for potential tolling. Was a minor involved? Was wrongful conduct concealed?
5. Once you understand the full picture, plan to file well before the deadline, not right up against it. And keep records of every step you take.

Once that window shuts, there’s rarely a second chance

Statutes of limitations don’t care about good intentions. They’re strict by design, and every jurisdiction handles them differently. The safest approach? Take action early and get legal advice before the time period runs out.