New York 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 New York source on July 21, 2026. Where two periods could apply, the shorter usually controls — and the government-claim notice deadline (see § 6) is the shortest of all.

New York gives injury claims three years from the date of the accident, under CPLR § 214(5) — longer than the two years most states allow. But New York generally rejects a discovery rule: under CPLR § 203 the clock runs from when the claim accrues, not from when you find out, except where a statute specifically creates a discovery trigger (toxic exposure under § 214-c, fraud, cancer misdiagnosis). For an ordinary accident, the date of injury starts the clock.

Two and a half years — and it runs from the treatment, not from discovery. Medical, dental, and podiatric malpractice is 2½ years (two years and six months) under CPLR § 214-a, measured from the act or the end of continuous treatment for the same condition. A narrow exception — Lavern’s Law — starts the clock at discovery for negligent failure to diagnose cancer, capped at seven years. Wrongful death, by contrast, is only two years and runs from the date of death (EPTL § 5-4.1) — a common and costly mistake.

Contracts are six years; consumer debt is now just three. Written and oral contracts both run six years under CPLR § 213(2). But since the 2022 Consumer Credit Fairness Act, consumer debt is only three years (CPLR § 214-i) — and a later payment or acknowledgment can no longer revive an expired debt. Fraud is the greater of six years, or two years from discovery (§ 213(8)).

You have just 90 days to file a notice of claim against a New York city or municipality. Under General Municipal Law § 50-e, you must serve a notice of claim within 90 days of the event; the lawsuit itself must then be filed within one year and 90 days (§ 50-i). This 90-day notice is the single most-missed deadline in New York injury practice, and it applies to cities, counties, towns, villages, and school districts. Claims against the State go to the Court of Claims under its own 90-day rules.

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. Insurers and their lawyers track these dates precisely. Narrow exceptions can pause the clock — the plaintiff was a minor or legally incapacitated, the defendant left New York, or a statutory discovery rule applies — but none are safe to rely on without legal advice.

Each period above is cited to the controlling statute and was verified against the New York Consolidated Laws (nysenate.gov) on July 21, 2026. Personal-injury periods are additionally cross-checked and stamped Exact in the calculator.