Statute of limitations in Hawaii

The periods in Hawaii

In Hawaii, the time limit to sue is 6 years for a written contract, 6 years for an oral contract and 2 years for damage to property. Each period runs from the date the claim arises, which statutes usually call the date the cause of action accrues; in the ordinary case that is the day of the breach or the damage.

A written contract and an oral contract: HRS § 657-1(1) reads “Actions for the recovery of any debt founded upon any contract, obligation, or liability, excepting such as are brought upon the judgment or decree of a court.”

Damage to property: HRS § 657-7 reads “Actions for the recovery of compensation for damage or injury to persons or property shall be instituted within two years after the cause of action accrued, and not after, except as provided in section 657-13.”

Hawaii gives written and oral contracts the same 6 years, so whether the deal was put on paper does not change the deadline here.

Worked dates for a claim that arose on March 15, 2026: a written contract reaches its 6 years on March 15, 2032, an oral contract reaches its 6 years on March 15, 2032 and damage to property reaches its 2 years on March 15, 2028. Tolling rules (for example while a defendant is out of state, or for a minor) can extend a period, and some claims run from when the harm was discovered; the dates show the plain count only.

Among the 34 jurisdictions verified here, 6 allow longer than 6 years on a written contract and 12 allow less (median 6 years). For property damage, 0 of 33 give less than Hawaii's 2 years (median 3 years). No other verified state has the same combination of periods.

Hawaii has no land neighbours; the closest written-contract periods in the ranking (written / oral / property): Arizona 6 / 3 / 2, Maine 6 / 6 / 6 and Massachusetts 6 / 6 / 3. Which state's period applies to a dispute that crosses a border is itself a legal question.

Section 657-1 sets six years for the actions it lists, which include debts founded on any contract, written or not.

The time limit is the same whichever court hears the case. A claim of $5,000 or less can be filed in Hawaii small claims (small claims limit), and it must still be filed inside the period above.

Sources: Hawaii State Legislature, HRS § 657-1; Hawaii State Legislature, HRS § 657-7 · last checked October 21, 2026.

Before the deadline

A limitation period is a cut-off for filing, not a measure of whether a claim is good. The guide on how limitation periods work explains accrual, tolling and the difference between written and oral contracts, and the small claims filing guide covers the next step.