Arizona statute of limitations

This table is the fast answer. Each period is followed by the statute it comes from, and every one was verified against the primary Arizona source on July 21, 2026. Where two periods could apply, the shorter usually controls — and if a government entity is involved, the 180-day notice-of-claim deadline (see § 6) is far shorter than any of these.

Arizona gives injury claims two years from the date the cause of action accrues, under A.R.S. § 12-542 — the deadline for most car accidents, slip-and-falls, medical malpractice, and general negligence. Arizona follows the discovery rule: a claim accrues when you know, or reasonably should know, of the injury and its cause, which can push the start date later in a latent-injury case. Defamation is the outlier that trips people up — libel and slander must be filed within just one year (§ 12-541).

Two years, under the general personal-injury statute. Arizona has no separate medical-malpractice limitations period — a medical negligence claim runs two years under A.R.S. § 12-542, measured from when you discover, or reasonably should discover, both the injury and that it was caused by malpractice (the discovery rule). Two cautions change the math: for a minor, the clock is tolled until age 18 (§ 12-502); and if the provider is a public hospital or public employee, the 180-day government notice-of-claim rule in § 6 applies on top of the two-year deadline.

Six years on a written contract, three on an oral one or an open account. A written contract runs six years under A.R.S. § 12-548; an oral contract, and an open account such as a credit card, run three years under § 12-543. Arizona courts generally treat revolving credit-card debt as an open account, so the shorter three-year period often applies — measured from your last payment or the date of default. A partial payment or written acknowledgment can restart the clock, so check the dates before paying on an old debt. Fraud is also three years, running from when it is discovered (§ 12-543(3)). Time-barred debt can still be reported and pursued informally — the statute bars the lawsuit, not the debt.

You have just 180 days to put an Arizona public body on written notice — and one year to sue. Before suing any public entity or public employee — the State, a county, a city, a school district, or their workers — you must serve a written notice of claim within 180 days of when the claim accrues, and it must state a specific settlement amount and the facts supporting it (A.R.S. § 12-821.01). Miss that 180-day window and the claim is barred, however strong. Even after a timely notice, the lawsuit itself must be filed within one year (§ 12-821) — half the two years you would have against a private defendant.

A statute of limitations is an affirmative defense. If you file even one day late, the defendant raises the expired deadline and the court must dismiss the case — no matter how clear the liability or how serious the harm. Narrow exceptions can pause the clock — the plaintiff was a minor or of unsound mind (A.R.S. § 12-502), the defendant was absent from Arizona (§ 12-501), or the discovery rule delayed accrual — but none are safe to rely on without legal advice, and none extend the separate 180-day government notice-of-claim deadline, which is the shortest and least forgiving of them all.

Each period above is cited to the controlling statute and was verified against the Arizona Revised Statutes (azleg.gov) on July 21, 2026. Personal-injury periods are additionally cross-checked and stamped Exact in the calculator.