Massachusetts Statutes of Limitations: Every Deadline, by Claim Type

Every legal claim in Massachusetts comes with a filing deadline, and missing it usually ends the case before it starts. This page collects every major deadline in one place: civil claims under G.L. c. 260, wrongful death under c. 229, employment deadlines, and the criminal limitations periods in G.L. c. 277, § 63. Each entry lists the claim type, the deadline, the statute, and the one nuance most likely to matter.

How Deadlines Work: Accrual, Discovery, and Tolling

Three concepts drive nearly every statute of limitations in Massachusetts. First, accrual: the clock starts when the cause of action “accrues,” which is usually the date of the injury or breach, not the date you decide to sue. Second, the discovery rule: for injuries a person could not reasonably have known about right away, such as a misread scan or a hidden construction defect, accrual is delayed until the plaintiff knew or reasonably should have known of the harm and its likely cause. Third, tolling: certain circumstances pause the clock entirely, including the plaintiff’s minority or mental incapacity (G.L. c. 260, § 7) and the defendant’s absence from the state (G.L. c. 260, § 9).

Because accrual and tolling turn on the specific facts of each case, the lists below are a starting point, not a substitute for legal advice. A claim that looks expired may still be alive, and a claim that looks alive may face a shorter deadline, such as a presentment requirement for suits against government entities.

Massachusetts Personal Injury Statute of Limitations

Personal injury / negligence: 3 years (G.L. c. 260, § 2A). Covers car crashes, slip and falls, and most other tort claims. The three years run from the date the cause of action accrues, ordinarily the date of injury.
Medical malpractice: 3 years, with a 7-year outer limit (G.L. c. 260, § 4). Three years from accrual, but “in no event” more than seven years after the negligent act or omission. That seven-year statute of repose applies even if the patient never discovered the error, with one exception: a foreign object left in the body.
Wrongful death: 3 years (G.L. c. 229, § 2). Runs from the date of death, or from the date the executor or administrator knew or reasonably should have known the factual basis for the claim.
Product liability: 3 years (G.L. c. 260, § 2A). Injury claims against manufacturers and sellers follow the general tort period, whether framed as negligence or breach of warranty causing personal injury.
Libel and slander: 3 years (G.L. c. 260, § 4). Defamation claims accrue on publication of the statement.
Legal malpractice: 3 years (G.L. c. 260, § 4). The discovery rule applies, and Massachusetts courts also apply a “continuing representation” doctrine that can delay accrual while the same lawyer keeps handling the matter.
Fraud and deceit: 3 years (G.L. c. 260, § 2A). The clock starts when the plaintiff discovers, or reasonably should have discovered, the fraud. If the defendant fraudulently concealed the claim, G.L. c. 260, § 12 keeps the period from running until discovery.
Childhood sexual abuse (civil): 35 years, or 7 years from discovery (G.L. c. 260, § 4C). Suit may be filed within 35 years of the abuse or within 7 years of the date the victim discovered the connection between an emotional or psychological injury and the abuse, whichever is later, and the period is tolled until the child turns 18.

Massachusetts Statute of Limitations on Debt

Breach of contract: 6 years (G.L. c. 260, § 2). Applies to express and implied contracts, written or oral. The period runs from the breach, not from when the loss is felt.
Credit card debt and consumer loans: 6 years (G.L. c. 260, § 2). Credit cards, personal loans, and most consumer debts are contract claims with a six-year limitations period. Watch the revival rule: a written acknowledgment of the debt or a partial payment can restart the six years (G.L. c. 260, §§ 13-14), so a small “good faith” payment on an old account can hand the creditor a brand new limitations period.
Contracts under seal: 20 years (G.L. c. 260, § 1). Sealed instruments, along with bank-issued notes and witnessed promissory notes sued on by the original payee, carry the long 20-year period.
Judgments: 20 years (G.L. c. 260, § 20). A Massachusetts judgment is presumed paid and satisfied after 20 years. Creditors can pursue collection for two decades, which is why old judgments still show up in real estate closings.

Massachusetts Property Damage Statute of Limitations

Property damage: 3 years (G.L. c. 260, § 2A). Damage to a vehicle, a house, or other property is a tort claim on the same three-year clock as personal injury.
Recovery of land / adverse possession: 20 years (G.L. c. 260, § 21). An owner has 20 years to sue to recover land after the right first accrues; open, continuous, adverse use for that same period is what ripens into title by adverse possession. Land held by nonprofit conservation organizations for conservation, parks, recreation, water protection, or wildlife purposes is exempt.
Trespass and nuisance: 3 years (G.L. c. 260, § 2A). Continuing trespasses and nuisances can generate new accrual dates as the harm continues, a frequent fight in boundary and water-runoff disputes.

Consumer and Business Claims

Consumer protection (Chapter 93A): 4 years (G.L. c. 260, § 5A). Claims for unfair or deceptive acts and practices, whether brought by a consumer under § 9 or a business under § 11, get four years from accrual. The 93A period often outlives the underlying tort deadline, which can matter when a three-year negligence claim has lapsed.
Breach of warranty (economic loss): 4 years (G.L. c. 106, § 2-725, the UCC). Sales-of-goods warranty claims for economic loss run four years from tender of delivery. Warranty claims for personal injury follow the three-year tort period instead.
Insurance bad faith (93A/176D): 4 years (G.L. c. 260, § 5A). Claims that an insurer failed to make a prompt, fair settlement offer travel under the same four-year consumer protection clock, typically accruing when the unfair claim handling occurs.

Employment

Discrimination (MCAD): 300 days (G.L. c. 151B, § 5). A charge of employment discrimination must be filed with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination within 300 days of the discriminatory act. This is the shortest major deadline on this page, and filing with the MCAD is a prerequisite to a later court action under Chapter 151B.
Wage Act claims: 3 years (G.L. c. 149, § 150). Unpaid wages, overtime, misclassification, and related claims must be brought within three years of the violation. Filing the required complaint with the Attorney General tolls the period.
Workers’ compensation: 4 years (G.L. c. 152, § 41). A claim must be filed within four years from the date the employee first became aware of the causal relationship between the disability and the employment. Death claims must be filed within four years of the death.

Criminal Charges: G.L. c. 277, § 63

The criminal statute of limitations prosecutors work under lives almost entirely in one section, G.L. c. 277, § 63, and it sorts offenses into tiers.

Murder: no time limit. An indictment for murder “may be found at any time after the death of the person alleged to have been murdered.”
Sex crimes against children: no time limit, with a corroboration rule. Indictments for the listed child sexual offenses, including indecent assault and battery on a child and rape of a child under c. 265, may be found at any time. But an indictment or complaint filed more than 27 years after the offense must be supported by independent evidence that corroborates the victim’s allegation; the victim’s testimony alone is not enough at that point.
Rape and related offenses (adult victims): 15 years. Offenses under c. 265, §§ 22 and 24 and c. 265, § 50(a) (trafficking) carry a 15-year period, as do conspiracy and accessory charges tied to them.
Certain assault and abuse offenses: 10 years. A cluster of c. 265 offenses, including reckless endangerment of a child (§ 13L is in the any-time list, while others such as §§ 13M and 17 through 21 fall here), carries a 10-year period.
Most felonies and misdemeanors: 6 years. “An indictment for any other crime shall be found and filed within 6 years after such crime has been committed.” Larceny, most assaults, OUI, and drug offenses all fall in this default tier.
Child victims: delayed start. For the listed sexual offenses against a victim under 16, the limitations period does not begin until the victim turns 16 or the crime is reported to law enforcement, whichever comes first. For an offense with a 15-year period, that can push the charging window to roughly 27 years after the victim’s sixteenth birthday has passed in the longest scenarios.
Tolling for absence. Any period during which the defendant “is not usually and publicly a resident within the commonwealth” is excluded from the calculation, so leaving the state does not run out the clock.

Tolling Exceptions That Extend Civil Deadlines

Minority and incapacity (G.L. c. 260, § 7). If the plaintiff is a minor or is incapacitated by mental illness when the claim accrues, the limitations period does not begin until the disability is removed. A child injured at age 10 generally has until age 21 to bring a three-year tort claim, though the medical malpractice statute has its own special rules for minors.
Defendant out of state (G.L. c. 260, § 9). Time the defendant spends residing outside Massachusetts after the claim accrues is excluded from the count.
Fraudulent concealment (G.L. c. 260, § 12). If the defendant fraudulently conceals the cause of action, the period does not run until the plaintiff discovers it.
The discovery rule. Court-made doctrine delays accrual for inherently unknowable injuries. It saves claims, but it also gets litigated hard, and it cannot defeat a statute of repose such as the seven-year malpractice limit.

Two cautions apply across the board. Claims against the Commonwealth, cities, and towns carry shorter presentment deadlines, including a two-year presentment letter under the Massachusetts Tort Claims Act and a 30-day notice for road defect claims. And nothing on this page tells you when your particular claim accrued. Whether a calculation starts at the crash, at diagnosis, or at some later discovery date is exactly the kind of question that turns on medical records and case law, so have a lawyer run the dates before assuming a claim is alive or dead.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the statute of limitations on debt in Massachusetts?

Six years from the date of default for most consumer debts, under G.L. c. 260, § 2. Be careful with old accounts: a written acknowledgment of the debt or even a partial payment can restart the six-year period. A time-barred debt still exists and can be reported or requested, but a collector cannot win a lawsuit on it if the limitations defense is raised.

How long does the statute of limitations for debt collection in Massachusetts last?

The massachusetts debt collection statute of limitations is six years for credit card debt, personal loans, and most contract-based debts. An expired debt is not erased; it is simply unenforceable in court. A collector who sues or threatens suit on a time-barred debt may be violating state and federal debt collection laws.

What is the statute of limitations for medical malpractice in Massachusetts?

Three years from the date the claim accrues, which may be delayed by the discovery rule, but never more than seven years after the negligent act itself under G.L. c. 260, § 4. The single exception to the seven-year cap is a foreign object left in the body. Minors have additional protections, so children’s cases need their own analysis.

What is the statute of limitations for personal injury in Massachusetts?

Three years from the date of injury under G.L. c. 260, § 2A. This covers car accidents, slip and falls, dog bites, and most other negligence claims. The clock may be delayed in cases where the injury was not immediately apparent, but that depends on whether the discovery rule applies to your specific facts.

What crimes have no statute of limitations in Massachusetts?

Murder can be prosecuted at any time. The listed child sexual offenses under c. 265 also have no time limit under G.L. c. 277, § 63, though charges filed more than 27 years after the offense require independent corroborating evidence. All other felonies and misdemeanors carry a defined limitations period, most commonly six years.

Can the deadline be extended?

Sometimes. Tolling for minority or mental incapacity (§ 7), the defendant’s absence from the state (§ 9), fraudulent concealment (§ 12), and the discovery rule can all extend the effective deadline. A statute of repose, by contrast, is a hard outer wall that tolling does not move. Whether any of these apply is fact-specific, which is why deadline questions belong with a lawyer, not a chart.

When does the clock actually start running?

When the cause of action “accrues.” For most claims that is the date of injury or breach. For injuries that were not reasonably discoverable, accrual waits until the plaintiff knew or should have known of the harm and its cause. Pinning down the accrual date is often the whole fight, and it is the first thing an attorney will analyze.

This page is general legal information, not legal advice. Statutes are amended, and courts refine accrual and tolling doctrine every year. Before relying on any deadline here, confirm the current statutory text and talk to a Massachusetts attorney about your specific facts.