Statute of limitations in Texas

The periods in Texas

In Texas, the time limit to sue is 4 years for a written contract, 4 years for an oral contract, 2 years for damage to property and 2 years for personal injury. 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: Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.004(a)(3) reads “A person must bring suit on the following actions not later than four years after the day the cause of action accrues: … (3) debt.”

An oral contract: Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.051 reads “Every action for which there is no express limitations period … must be brought not later than four years after the day the cause of action accrues.”

Damage to property and personal injury: Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.003(a) reads “a person must bring suit for trespass for injury to the estate or to the property of another, conversion of personal property, taking or detaining the personal property of another, personal injury … not later than two years after the day the cause of action accrues.”

Texas gives written and oral contracts the same 4 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 4 years on March 15, 2030, an oral contract reaches its 4 years on March 15, 2030, damage to property reaches its 2 years on March 15, 2028 and personal injury 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 36 jurisdictions verified here, 28 allow longer than 4 years on a written contract and 6 allow less (median 6 years). For property damage, 0 of 34 give less than Texas's 2 years (median 3 years). No other verified state has the same combination of periods.

Texas has no land neighbours; the closest written-contract periods in the ranking (written / oral / property): California 4 / 2 / 3, Delaware 3 / 3 / 2 and District of Columbia 3 / 3 / 3. Which state's period applies to a dispute that crosses a border is itself a legal question.

Chapter 16 does not name contracts as such: a claim on a written contract is a suit on a "debt" under § 16.004(a)(3), and any other contract claim falls under the four-year residual period in § 16.051, so written and oral agreements end up with the same four years. § 16.003 was last amended by Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch. 97 (S.B. 15), effective 1 September 2005; § 16.004 by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 950.

The time limit is the same whichever court hears the case. A claim of $20,000 or less can be filed in Texas small claims (small claims limit), and it must still be filed inside the period above.

Sources: Texas Legislature, Civil Practice and Remedies Code chapter 16 (Texas Legislative Council statutes site) · last checked October 23, 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.