Florida Statute of Limitations: Civil and Criminal Deadlines

Florida's statutes of limitations establish the maximum time period within which a lawsuit must be filed or a criminal charge must be brought after the event giving rise to the claim. These deadlines are codified primarily in Chapter 95 of the Florida Statutes for civil matters and in Chapter 775 for certain criminal offenses. Missing a deadline generally bars the claim permanently, regardless of its underlying merit. This page covers the major civil and criminal limitation periods, the mechanisms that pause or extend them, common factual scenarios, and the boundaries that define when Florida law applies versus when another jurisdiction's rules govern.

Definition and scope

A statute of limitations is a legislative rule that extinguishes the right to sue or prosecute once a specified period has elapsed from the date the cause of action accrued. Florida's framework distinguishes between civil limitations (governing private disputes between parties) and criminal limitations (governing the state's power to charge a defendant). The two systems share structural features but operate under separate statutory chapters and are administered through different court tracks — a distinction explored further in Florida Civil vs. Criminal Law Distinctions.

Civil limitations are set by Florida Statutes § 95.11, which classifies actions by the longest permissible filing period:

1. 5 years — actions on a written contract, actions to recover real property, actions on a judgment or decree of a court of record
2. 4 years — actions founded on negligence, actions relating to fraud, professional malpractice (with exceptions), products liability, statutory violations
3. 3 years — specific personal injury actions when the 4-year negligence period does not apply under a more specific provision
4. 2 years — wrongful death claims under Florida Statutes § 95.11(4)(d); medical malpractice claims under § 95.11(4)(b) subject to a 4-year statute of repose
5. 1 year — libel, slander, and certain intentional torts under § 95.11(5)

Criminal limitations are addressed in Florida Statutes § 775.15. Felonies classified as capital or life felonies carry no statute of limitations — prosecution may commence at any time. First-degree felonies carry a 4-year period; second- and third-degree felonies carry 3 years. First-degree misdemeanors carry 2 years; second-degree misdemeanors carry 1 year.

Scope and coverage: This page addresses limitations periods arising under Florida state law and applied in Florida state courts. Federal claims filed in U.S. District Courts in Florida are governed by federal statutes and are not covered here. Claims involving Florida administrative agencies — such as complaints filed with the Florida Commission on Human Relations — operate under separate agency deadlines and fall outside the scope of Chapter 95. Matters governed by another state's law under conflict-of-laws principles are also not addressed. For a broader orientation to how Florida courts and jurisdiction are structured, see How the Florida Legal System Works.

How it works

The limitations clock begins to run on the date the cause of action accrues. For most tort claims, accrual occurs when the plaintiff suffers a legal injury. For contract breaches, accrual is the date of the breach. Florida also recognizes the discovery rule for latent injuries and fraud: under § 95.11(4)(b) for medical malpractice, the period begins either from the date the incident occurred or from the date the plaintiff discovered or reasonably should have discovered the injury — whichever is later — subject to an absolute 4-year repose period extended to 7 years in cases of fraud or concealment.

Tolling pauses or suspends the running of the period. Florida Statutes § 95.051 enumerates the exclusive grounds for tolling in civil cases:

1. Minority — the plaintiff is under 18 years of age at accrual; the period runs from the date the disability is removed (i.e., the plaintiff turns 18)
2. Mental incapacity — period tolled during adjudicated incapacity
3. Absconding — the defendant leaves Florida or conceals themselves to avoid service of process
4. Fraudulent concealment — the defendant actively conceals the cause of action
5. Voluntary payments — partial payment on a debt can restart the period in contract matters

In criminal matters, § 775.15(5) tolls the period when a prosecution is commenced by information, indictment, or capias and then abandoned, or when the defendant is continuously absent from Florida.

Statute of repose differs from a statute of limitations. A repose period runs from a fixed event (such as the date of construction or medical procedure) regardless of when the injury is discovered. Florida's construction defect repose is 10 years from the date of completion under Florida Statutes § 95.11(3)(c). This distinction is significant — tolling rules that apply to limitations periods generally do not apply to repose periods.

The Florida Rules of Civil Procedure, maintained by the Florida Supreme Court, govern how a limitations defense is raised procedurally — typically as an affirmative defense in the defendant's answer. For procedural context, the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure page provides structured detail on pleading requirements. Terminology used throughout this framework is defined in the Florida Legal System Terminology and Definitions reference.

Common scenarios

Personal injury (auto accident): A driver injured in a crash had 4 years to file suit under § 95.11(3)(a) as it stood before the 2023 legislative session. Effective for causes of action accruing on or after March 24, 2023, CS/HB 837 reduced the general negligence period from 4 years to 2 years. This change was codified by the Florida Legislature and applies prospectively.

Medical malpractice: The plaintiff has 2 years from the date the incident is discovered (or should have been discovered), but no more than 4 years from the incident date — extendable to 7 years if the provider fraudulently concealed the injury. Expert pre-suit screening requirements under Florida Statutes § 766.106 toll the period for 90 days during the mandatory pre-suit investigation period.

Wrongful death: Survivors have 2 years from the date of death under § 95.11(4)(d). Note that the decedent's discovery of the underlying injury before death does not independently start a new limitations period for wrongful death purposes.

Written contract breach: A party has 5 years from the breach date under § 95.11(2)(b). An oral contract reduces the period to 4 years under § 95.11(3)(k). This contrast — 5 years vs. 4 years — is one of the clearest incentives for memorializing agreements in writing under Florida contract law principles.

Property damage: Claims for damage to real or personal property sound in negligence and carry a 2-year period post-2023 reform (previously 4 years).

Sexual battery involving a minor: Florida Statutes § 775.15(13) provides that prosecution for sexual battery on a victim under age 18 may be commenced at any time — there is no limitations period. This is one of the broadest criminal exceptions in Florida law.

Fraud: Civil fraud claims carry a 4-year period under § 95.11(3)(j), tolled by fraudulent concealment. The period begins when the fraud was discovered or should have been discovered through reasonable diligence.

For claims involving real property rights and title disputes — where the 5-year and specialized adverse possession periods interact — see the Florida Property Law Legal Principles page. For the intersection with tort liability standards, Florida Tort Law Liability Standards provides the substantive legal framing.

Decision boundaries

Identifying the correct limitations period requires resolving at least 4 threshold questions:

1. Civil or criminal matter?
Civil limitations run from the plaintiff's accrual of a private right of action. Criminal limitations run from the commission of the offense. Misclassifying the track leads to application of the wrong statutory chapter entirely. The Regulatory Context for the Florida Legal System resource explains how state regulatory enforcement actions — which may parallel civil claims — follow a separate administrative timeline.

2. Which specific cause of action controls?
Florida courts apply the limitations period for the most specific matching cause of action, not a general catch-all period. A professional negligence claim against an attorney may be governed by § 95.11(4)(a)'s 2-year period rather than the general 4-year negligence period, depending on the facts alleged.

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