Truck Accident Statute of Limitations in Arizona (2026)

Your deadlines in Arizona, calculated

Enter the date of your crash and the tool below will work out both clocks — the legal filing deadline and the much shorter window before the proof can be destroyed. Arizona is already selected. Nothing you type is sent anywhere.

What makes Arizona different

Arizona pairs a short 180-day notice of claim with something most states do not: once a public entity is a defendant, the lawsuit itself must be filed within ONE year rather than two. A government-involved truck crash in Arizona effectively runs on half the ordinary clock, and Arizona courts have declined to toll the notice period for minors the way the general statute is tolled.

The four Arizona deadlines that matter

Claims against a government entity in Arizona

The shortest government notice window found for Arizona — 180 days (A.R.S. § 12-821.01). This is the deadline that quietly ends claims: it comes due long before the ordinary filing deadline, it is a precondition to suing rather than a suggestion, and missing it usually bars the claim entirely no matter how strong the case is.

Suit against a public entity must then be filed within one year of accrual under A.R.S. § 12-821 — half the ordinary period. The same 180-day notice of claim applies to cities, counties and school districts.

Public fleets you could realistically be hit by in Arizona: ADOT plow and maintenance trucks, Maricopa County equipment, City of Phoenix and City of Tucson fleets, Valley Metro, and tribal government vehicles. If you are not certain whether the vehicle that hit you was one of these, work to the shorter deadline until somebody confirms otherwise. The downside is not symmetrical.

If the injured person was a minor

Tolled to age 18 in Arizona under A.R.S. § 12-502 — the clock generally does not start until the injured person turns 18. Arizona courts have held the public-entity notice of claim is not tolled the same way. Treat a government claim as urgent regardless of age.

That pause applies to the court deadline. It does not apply to the evidence. A carrier is entitled to destroy a driver's logs six months after the crash whether the injured person is 8 or 38, and in many states a government notice deadline is not tolled for a child either. A tolled filing deadline and an untouched evidence deadline is the most dangerous combination on this page.

When the Arizona clock starts

Applies. Arizona's clock runs when the plaintiff knows or reasonably should know of the injury and its cause.

Why the evidence clock in Arizona is much shorter

Arizona's filing deadline is 2 years. The federal retention rules that govern the trucking company are measured in weeks and months:

• Dashcam and telematics video — often 30 days or less. No federal retention requirement — vendor and carrier policy only.
• ECM / black box data — overwritten as the tractor keeps running, and routinely lost when it is repaired or resold.
• Driver logs and records of duty status — six months (49 CFR § 395.8(k)(1)).
• Maintenance and repair records — one year while the vehicle is in the carrier's control (49 CFR § 396.3(c)).
• Annual inspection report — 14 months (49 CFR § 396.21(b)(1)).

The way to stop those clocks is a preservation letter to the carrier — a written demand that specific evidence be kept. Until it arrives, destroying records at the end of a retention period is routine and lawful. Our FMCSA regulations and evidence guide explains what each of these records contains.

Truck traffic in Arizona

Arizona is a border and through-traffic state. Produce and manufactured goods cross at Nogales and Douglas onto I-19 and I-10, while I-40 carries transcontinental freight that never stops in Arizona at all — which makes the responsible carrier hard to reach once it has left.

The corridors where these crashes concentrate: I-10 (Phoenix–Tucson–New Mexico), I-40 (Kingman–Flagstaff–Holbrook), I-17 between Phoenix and Flagstaff, I-8 toward Yuma and I-19 to the Nogales port of entry.

For Arizona's comparative fault rules, damages caps and a deeper look at these corridors, see our Arizona truck accident lawyer page.

Neighbouring states have different clocks

A crash a few miles across a state line can be governed by a completely different deadline. If you are not certain which state your crash happened in — near a border, on a bridge, or on an interstate you were travelling at speed — check both.

Or use the filing deadline calculator to compare any state, and the full state index for all 50 states and D.C.

What to do next in Arizona

1. Get a preservation letter to the carrier. This is the most time-critical step and the one almost nobody hears about.
2. Confirm whether a government entity was involved. That answer can replace your 2 years deadline with a far shorter notice window — 180 days.
3. Do not give a recorded statement to the trucking company's insurer.
4. Request the Arizona crash report, which identifies the carrier, the DOT number and the insurer.
5. Have a lawyer licensed in Arizona confirm the dates above against the current statute.