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 and Tennessee's to criminal charges against the driver — but neither should be assumed to apply.

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 does not mean a long evidence window: federal rules let a motor carrier destroy the driver's logs after six months regardless of 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 requires permission that suing a private company does not. Nearly every state conditions that permission on formal written notice within a short window — commonly 90 to 180 days — and treats the notice as a precondition rather than a formality. Missing it usually bars the claim entirely.

Truck Accident Statute of Limitations by State (2026)

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. Below is each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia, grouped by how long you get, with a page for each one covering the statute citation, the wrongful death period, the government notice window, the tolling rule for children and the freight corridors where these crashes happen.

Pending attorney review

The statutory figures across these 51 pages have not yet been verified against current statute text by a licensed attorney (51 of 51 jurisdictions outstanding). Every figure is published with its citation so it can be checked. Treat them as a starting point, not a legal conclusion — statutes change, and two of them changed recently enough to catch people out.

The one thing this list does not show you

A filing deadline is the outer limit for a court. It is not the limit for the evidence. Federal rules require a motor carrier to keep a driver's records of duty status for only six months, and most fleet dashcam footage is overwritten within 30 days. Someone in a six-year state can be five and a half years from their legal deadline and already years past the point where the proof was lawfully destroyed.

The truck accident filing deadline calculator shows 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. In a state with that much freight traffic, a year is very little time to identify the right carrier, locate the driver, serve a preservation demand and assess 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 length is exactly what makes the evidence clock dangerous there: a claimant can be years from their 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 move them. Use the filing deadline calculator for a dated estimate, then have it confirmed — a free case review takes about a minute and will tell you which clock is actually running.