New York Statute of Limitations 2026: 3 Years, or Just 90 Days
A New York injury claim has 3 years. That is true until the other side is the City, the MTA, a public hospital or a school district, and then the first deadline is 90 days. Between those two numbers sit most of the deadlines that matter in New York: 2 years and 6 months for malpractice, 2 years for a wrongful death, and a single year for assault. Here is every one, read from the Civil Practice Law and Rules and the statutes beside it.
Every New York 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.
| Claim | Deadline | When the clock starts | Statute |
|---|---|---|---|
| Injury and death | |||
| Personal injury from negligenceCar crashes, falls and construction injuries sit here, unless the defendant is a city or public authority. | 3 years | From the day the claim accrues, usually the day of the injury. | CPLR § 214(5) |
| Wrongful deathIf the defendant is prosecuted over the same death, the family gets at least one year from the end of the criminal case. The Grieving Families Act would have made this three years and has been vetoed; the statute still says two. | 2 years | From the date of death. | EPTL § 5-4.1 |
| Medical malpracticeA foreign object left in the body allows one year from discovery. A missed cancer diagnosis runs from when the patient knew or should have known, never more than seven years after the error. | 2 years and 6 months | From the act or omission, or from the last treatment if treatment for the same condition continued. | CPLR § 214-a |
| Toxic exposure with a latent injuryMold, lead, asbestos and chemical exposure claims usually run on this clock rather than the ordinary three years. | 3 years from discovery | From when the injury was discovered or should have been, whichever is earlier. | CPLR § 214-c |
| Assault, battery, false imprisonment, libel and slanderMalicious prosecution and privacy claims under Civil Rights Law § 51 have the same single year. | 1 year | From the day the claim accrues. | CPLR § 215(3) |
| Rape and certain sexual offenses against an adultNo criminal charge or conviction is needed. | 20 years | From the day the claim accrues. | CPLR § 213-c |
| Child sexual abuseThe Child Victims Act revival window ran from August 14, 2019 to August 14, 2021, and the Adult Survivors Act window from November 24, 2022 to November 24, 2023. Both are closed. | Until age 55 | Up to the survivor's 55th birthday. | CPLR § 208(b) |
| Professional malpractice (lawyers, architects, accountants)Three years whether the claim is framed as a contract or a tort. | 3 years | From the day the claim accrues. | CPLR § 214(6) |
| Property | |||
| Property damageDamage from the latent effects of a substance follows the discovery rule in § 214-c. | 3 years | From the day of the damage. | CPLR § 214(4) |
| Contracts and money | |||
| Contract, written or oralContracts for the sale of goods follow the four-year UCC rule instead. | 6 years | From the breach. | CPLR § 213(2) |
| Fraud | 6 years, or 2 from discovery | Whichever is later: six years from the fraud, or two years from when it was or could have been discovered. | CPLR § 213(8) |
| Sale of goods and warrantiesA contract can shorten this to one year but never lengthen it. | 4 years | From the breach, which for a warranty is usually delivery. | UCC § 2-725 |
| Claims against the government | |||
| Injury claim against a city, county or public authorityFor a death, the 90 days run from the appointment of the estate's representative and the lawsuit has two years. A court can allow a late notice, but it does not have to. | 90 days for notice, 1 year and 90 days to sue | A notice of claim within 90 days of the event, then the lawsuit within one year and 90 days. | Gen. Mun. Law §§ 50-e, 50-i |
The New York State Legislature, New York Civil Practice Law and Rules, Article 2 and the other statutes cited in each row, read on October 4, 2026. Each citation links to the official text.
New York filing deadlines, shortest first, in years
In New York City, the deadline that ends cases is 90 days
Three years is the figure on every New York injury page. For a large share of city cases it is not the one that decides anything.
A claim against New York City, a county, the MTA, NYCHA, a public hospital or a school district needs a notice of claim within 90 days of the incident, under General Municipal Law § 50-e. The lawsuit then has to begin within one year and 90 days, under § 50-i.
Think about how many ordinary injuries in New York City involve a public body. A trip on a broken sidewalk the City was responsible for, a fall on subway stairs, a crash with a sanitation truck, an injury in a public school. Each one starts a 90-day clock, and someone who spends the first three months recovering can find it has already run.
A judge can allow a late notice of claim but does not have to, and the request has to be made within the one year and 90 days. It is a remedy, not a plan.
Malpractice in New York: two and a half years, and three exceptions
A New York medical malpractice claim has 2 years and 6 months under CPLR § 214-a. That is shorter than an ordinary injury claim, and it bends in three ways.
Continuous treatment. If the same doctor kept treating the same condition, the clock starts at the last treatment, not the first mistake.
A foreign object. A sponge or an instrument left in the body gives one year from when it was found, or should have been.
A missed cancer. Since Lavern's Law in 2018, a failure to diagnose cancer or a malignant tumor runs from when the patient knew or should have known, but never more than seven years after the error.
Wrongful death is separate, and shorter than people assume: 2 years from the date of death under EPTL § 5-4.1. The legislature has passed a longer period more than once and it has been vetoed each time, so two years is still the law.
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.
Infancy and insanity
If the injured person is a minor or insane when the claim accrues and the normal period is three years or more, the deadline becomes three years after the disability ends. A shorter period is extended by the length of the disability. The extension is capped at ten years after accrual, though the cap does not apply to a child's claims other than medical, dental or podiatric malpractice. CPLR § 208(a).
Continuous treatment
In a malpractice case the 2 years and 6 months run from the last treatment when treatment for the same condition continued. Check-ups the patient asked for only to monitor the condition do not count. CPLR § 214-a.
A defendant who leaves the state
If the defendant is out of New York when the claim accrues, or later leaves for four months or more at a stretch, that time does not count. It does not apply when the defendant can be served some other way, which today is most of the time. CPLR § 207.
A deadline that lands on a weekend
If the last day is a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday, the filing can be made on the next business day. Gen. Constr. Law § 25-a.
Against the government, the deadline is a different one
Suing a public body runs on its own statute. In New York that means 90 days for notice, 1 year and 90 days to sue, under Gen. Mun. Law §§ 50-e, 50-i. A notice of claim within 90 days of the event, then the lawsuit within one year and 90 days.
For a death, the 90 days run from the appointment of the estate's representative and the lawsuit has two years. A court can allow a late notice, but it does not have to.
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 New York
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 76 verified injury firms in New York, each scored on what it publishes and what can be checked about it. The highest-scoring today is Law Office of Cohen & Jaffe in New York, at 87. That is a computed position, not an endorsement, and the method is published.
Ranked lists by market: Buffalo injury firms and New York 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 a New York 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.
- How Long Do I Have to File a Personal Injury Claim in New York City?, from Greenstein & Pittari, LLP in New York. A New York City injury firm on the three-year rule, the notice of claim against city agencies, and the malpractice and wrongful death periods, in the order a client usually meets them.
- Wrongful Death Claims Against New York City: Notice of Claim Deadlines, from Greenstein & Pittari, LLP in New York. The same firm on the narrowest corner of this table, where a death claim against the City runs on both the notice of claim and the two-year wrongful death rule.
Questions people ask about the New York statute of limitations
What is the statute of limitations for personal injury in New York?
Three years from the day of the injury, under CPLR § 214(5). The exception that catches people is a claim against New York City or another public body, where a notice of claim is due within 90 days.
How long do you have to sue New York City?
File a notice of claim within 90 days of the incident under General Municipal Law § 50-e, then start the lawsuit within one year and 90 days under § 50-i. A late notice needs a judge's permission.
What is the statute of limitations for medical malpractice in New York?
Two years and six months from the malpractice, or from the last treatment if treatment for the same condition continued, under CPLR § 214-a. A missed cancer diagnosis runs from discovery, capped at seven years.
How long do you have to file a wrongful death claim in New York?
Two years from the date of death, under EPTL § 5-4.1. Proposals to extend it to three years have been vetoed, so two years is still the law.
Is there a statute of limitations for child sexual abuse in New York?
Yes. Under CPLR § 208(b) a survivor can sue until their 55th birthday. The Child Victims Act and Adult Survivors Act revival windows have both closed.
Where this comes from
Every period on this page was read from the official text published by The New York State Legislature on October 4, 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.