Indiana Statute of Limitations 2026: The 2-Year Rule and Exceptions

Every Indiana deadline, by type of claim

The period that applies depends on what the claim is, not on how the person was hurt. One crash can produce an injury claim, a claim for the damaged car and, if the other vehicle was a city bus, a claim against the government, and each of them can run on its own clock.

The Indiana General Assembly, the 2026 Indiana Code, Title 34, Article 11 (Limitation of Actions) and the other statutes cited in each row, read on October 12, 2026. Each citation links to the official text.

In Indiana, the notices come due long before the two years

Two years is already among the shorter injury deadlines in the country. Indiana adds notice rules that run out in months or weeks, and because they are notices rather than lawsuits, people miss them while they are still waiting to see how an injury heals.

180 days for a claim against a city, county, town or school. Under the Indiana Tort Claims Act, IC 34-13-3-8, a claim against a political subdivision is barred unless written notice is filed with its governing body within 180 days after the loss. A crash with a city truck, a fall on a broken sidewalk outside the courthouse, an injury on a school bus: all of them start on this clock. The government then has 90 days to approve or deny the claim, silence counts as a denial, and the lawsuit can only be filed after a denial.

270 days for a claim against the State of Indiana. A claim against the state or one of its agencies needs notice to the Attorney General or the agency involved within 270 days, under IC 34-13-3-6. Sending it to the wrong agency is forgiven if the person made a reasonable attempt to find the right one.

30 days to tell the employer about a work injury. Under IC 22-3-3-1, an injured worker gives written notice as soon as practicable. If neither the notice nor the employer's own knowledge comes within 30 days, compensation is not paid until notice is given. The claim itself goes to the Worker's Compensation Board within 2 years of the accident, under IC 22-3-3-3, and that clock restarts from the last day temporary disability benefits were paid.

One more Indiana rule changes the math against the government. Against a private party, an injured person who was partly at fault can still recover as long as their share is not greater than everyone else's combined, under IC 34-51-2-6. But IC 34-51-2-2 says that comparative fault statute does not apply at all to tort claims against government entities or public employees, so a claim against a city can fail on facts that would only reduce a claim against a driver.

Children, malpractice and products: where Indiana does not wait

In most states, the question of how long a child has comes with one answer. In Indiana the answer depends on what kind of claim it is, and for two kinds the usual pause does not apply.

Most injuries: until 20. Under IC 34-11-6-1, a person under a legal disability when a claim accrues has two years after the disability ends, and the Code counts anyone under 18. A child hurt in a crash at 12 can therefore file until the 20th birthday. The notice to a city or county is the trap. The 180 days are counted from the loss, and the only pause the statute offers, in IC 34-13-3-9, is for a person who is incapacitated and cannot give notice. It does not mention age, so the safe course is to give the notice within 180 days whatever the child's age.

Medical malpractice: 2 years from the act, or until eight. Under IC 34-18-7-1, the malpractice deadline applies to minors and adults alike, counted from the date of the act rather than from when anyone noticed. The one exception is a child hurt before age six, who has until the eighth birthday. Before any lawsuit, the claim goes to a medical review panel, and filing the proposed complaint pauses the clock until 90 days after the panel's opinion, under IC 34-18-7-3.

Product liability: 2 years, 10 at the outside. Under IC 34-20-3-1, a claim over a defective product has two years from accrual and must come within ten years of the product's delivery to its first user, and the statute says it applies regardless of minority. A child hurt by a defective car seat does not get the extra years a child hurt by a careless driver would.

When the clock stops, and when it does not

A limitations period can be paused, which lawyers call tolling, or can start late. Both are exceptions, and a reader should assume neither applies until someone has checked.

A child's clock starts at 18

A person under a legal disability when the claim accrues has two years after the disability ends. The Code's general definitions count anyone under 18 as under a legal disability (IC 1-1-4-5), so most injury claims from childhood can be filed until the 20th birthday. Medical malpractice and product liability are the exceptions: both statutes say they apply regardless of minority. IC 34-11-6-1.

Medical malpractice on a young child

A child hurt before age six has until the eighth birthday to file. Every other minor runs on the ordinary two years from the act, with no pause until 18. IC 34-18-7-1.

Mental incompetence and absence from the country

The same definition counts a person who is mentally incompetent, or out of the United States, as under a legal disability, so the clock waits until that ends and then gives two years. For a claim against the government, an incapacitated person has 180 days after the incapacity ends to give the notice, under IC 34-13-3-9. IC 34-11-6-1.

A defendant who lives outside Indiana

Time when the defendant is a nonresident does not count, unless the defendant keeps an agent in Indiana who can be served with process. Most companies and insured drivers can be served through an agent, so this pause applies less often than it reads. IC 34-11-4-1.

Concealment that hid the claim

If the person responsible hid the claim from the person who could bring it, the full period starts over from discovery. IC 34-11-5-1.

The discovery rule, which the courts read into the statute

Indiana's Supreme Court held that a tort claim for injury to a person or property accrues when the injured person knew, or with ordinary diligence could have learned, that an injury was caused by someone else's act. Medical malpractice runs on its own occurrence rule instead, which the same court has said cannot be applied to bar a patient who had no reasonable way to discover the malpractice in time, in Martin v. Richey, 711 N.E.2d 1273 (Ind. 1999). Wehling v. Citizens National Bank, 586 N.E.2d 840 (Ind. 1992).

The medical review panel pauses the clock

Filing a proposed complaint with the Department of Insurance stops the two years until 90 days after the claimant receives the panel's opinion. The complaint counts as filed when it is delivered, or mailed by registered or certified mail, to the commissioner. IC 34-18-7-3.

Against the government, the deadline is a different one

Suing a public body runs on its own statute. In Indiana that means 180 days to give notice, under IC 34-13-3-8. Within 180 days after the loss, filed with the governing body of the political subdivision and, where it still exists, the political subdivision risk management commission.

Without the notice, the claim is barred. The government then has 90 days to answer, silence counts as a denial, and no lawsuit can be filed until the claim is denied in whole or in part, under IC 34-13-3-11 and 34-13-3-13.

It matters more often than people expect. A pothole, a city bus, a fall on public property, a crash with a police car or a sanitation truck all put the claim on this clock, and the first deadline in it is a notice, not a lawsuit, so it can pass before anyone thinks to call a lawyer.

Who handles these cases in Indiana

Most injury cases are taken on contingency, so the first conversation costs nothing, and it is the place to ask which deadline applies to the facts.

This directory holds 13 verified injury firms in Indiana, each scored on what it publishes and what can be checked about it. The highest-scoring today is Custy Law Firm in Northwest Indiana, at 76. That is a computed position, not an endorsement, and the method is published.

Ranked lists by market: Northwest Indiana injury firms.

Further reading from firms in this directory

We read these while writing this guide and checked what they say against the statute. Each is written by an Indiana firm about its own state's deadline, and each adds something the table above cannot, which is a practitioner's view of how the rule plays out in a real case.

• Car Accidents, from Sarkisian Sarkisian & Associates P.C. in Northwest Indiana. A Northwest Indiana injury firm answers how long a crash victim has, and gets the three numbers this page leads with right: two years for the injury claim, 180 days for a claim against a city, county or other municipality, and two years from the 18th birthday for a minor. It also explains the contingency fee, which is the practical answer to whether calling early costs anything.
• Workers' Compensation FAQ, from Sarkisian Sarkisian & Associates P.C. in Northwest Indiana. The same firm on the two clocks a work injury runs on in Indiana: two years to file with the Worker's Compensation Board, and 30 days to report the injury to the employer. It adds what the statute leaves out, such as how to report and the rule against firing someone for filing.

Questions people ask about the Indiana statute of limitations

What is the statute of limitations for personal injury in Indiana?

Two years from the day the claim accrues, under IC 34-11-2-4. For a crash or a fall that is the day it happened. The same two years cover damage to personal property such as a car, and injury to character.

How long do you have to file a wrongful death lawsuit in Indiana?

Two years, under IC 34-23-1-1, and the action has to be brought by the personal representative of the estate. If no one has been appointed yet, that step comes first.

What is the deadline for medical malpractice in Indiana?

Two years from the date of the act, omission or neglect, under IC 34-18-7-1, for adults and minors alike. A child hurt before age six has until the eighth birthday. The claim goes to a medical review panel first, and filing the proposed complaint pauses the clock until 90 days after the panel's opinion, under IC 34-18-7-3.

Does the statute of limitations stop for a minor in Indiana?

For most claims, yes. Under IC 34-11-6-1, a person under a legal disability has two years after it ends, and anyone under 18 counts, so most injury claims from childhood can be filed until 20. Medical malpractice and product liability claims do not wait for the 18th birthday.

How long do you have to sue a city, county or the State of Indiana?

The first deadline is a written notice, not a lawsuit: 180 days after the loss for a city, county, town or school under IC 34-13-3-8, and 270 days for the state under IC 34-13-3-6. Without it the claim is barred. The lawsuit can only be filed once the claim is denied, and a claim not approved within 90 days counts as denied.

Can I still recover in Indiana if I was partly at fault?

Against a private party, yes, as long as your share of the fault is not greater than everyone else's combined, under IC 34-51-2-6, and the award is cut by your percentage. That statute does not apply to claims against a government entity, under IC 34-51-2-2.

Where this comes from

Every period on this page was read from the official text published by The Indiana General Assembly on October 12, 2026, and each row links to the section it comes from. Where the rule is made by courts rather than written in a statute, the page says so and names the case. Nothing here is drawn from a secondary summary.

Statutes change. When a legislature amends one of these periods, this page changes with the research file it is built from, and the date at the top moves. Firm counts and scores are computed from this directory each time the page is built.

This is not legal advice and no lawyer-client relationship comes from reading it. Whether a particular claim is still inside its deadline depends on facts this page cannot see.