Statute of limitations
checker.
Pick the type of case below. We will tell you how long Missouri law gives you to file, with the citation to the actual RSMo statute. If the deadline is close, call us before it passes.
Find your Missouri filing deadline
Select the case type that fits your situation. The Missouri deadline and the controlling RSMo citation will appear below.
Not sure which fits? Pick the closest one. We can confirm in a free phone call.
The deadline is not
always what it looks like.
Missouri gives you a generous window — for most cases. The general personal-injury statute is five years (RSMo §516.120), one of the longer windows in the country. But other case types have much shorter clocks: wrongful death is three years, defamation is two, medical malpractice is two with a discovery-rule extension. Pick the right category and don't assume.
The discovery rule. For some claims (notably medical malpractice and fraud), the clock does not start at the date of injury — it starts at the date you knew or should have known you were injured. A surgical sponge left in your body in 2020 that produces symptoms in 2026 may give you a 2028 deadline, not a 2022 one.
Tolling. Missouri pauses the clock in certain circumstances: minority (typically under 18 or 21 depending on context), incarceration, fraudulent concealment, mental disability, and absence from the state. Tolling can extend a deadline by years.
Different cases, different clocks. A car accident claim has a different deadline than the criminal charge from the same wreck. Both may apply to your situation. Both have their own clocks.
Notice rules. Some claims require notice to a government entity within a much shorter window than the underlying statute of limitations. Missouri Tort Claims Act notice is 90 days. Missing the notice deadline ends the claim before the statute does.
The bottom line. The numbers in this tool are the standard Missouri starting point. Whether they apply to your specific case depends on the facts. Call us if you are anywhere close to a deadline.