Justice Atlas

Civil statutes of limitations

How long do you have to sue in Maryland?

A statute of limitations is a hard filing deadline. File even one day after it and a court will almost always throw the case out permanently — no matter how strong it is. Among the nine claims on this page, the shortest in Maryland is 1 year.

Were you fired, treated unfairly at work, or harmed by a government agency? Those claims are not on this page and often have much shorter deadlines — sometimes only a few months (for example, many job-discrimination claims must be filed with the EEOC or a state agency within about 180 days; many claims against a government can require notice in 6 months or less). If that's you, your clock may be running out right now — contact an attorney or legal aid today.

If you think you might have a claim, treat the clock as already running. The deadline for your situation can be shorter than the table below — and missing it is usually fatal to the case.

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Filing deadlines by type of claim

statutory period · longer ≠ more time for you
Defamation (libel / slander)
1 year
Contract oral
3 years
Contract written
3 years (12 years if under seal)
Fraud
3 years
disc.
Personal injury
3 years
Product liability
3 years
Property damage
3 years
Wrongful death
3 years from death
Medical malpractice
5 years from injury or 3 years from discovery
disc. repose

Bar length is the number of years the statute allows; color flags how little time that is. disc. = a discovery rule may start the clock when you discover the harm, not when it happened. repose = an outer limit that can bar a claim even before you discover it.

What to do today

  1. Find the date you were harmed — the injury, the contract breach, the death, the day you discovered it.
  2. Compare it to the shortest deadline above that fits your situation. If you're anywhere close, treat today as your deadline, not the statutory date.
  3. Contact an attorney or free legal aid in Maryland now. Even if the deadline looks past, the discovery rule or tolling may still help — don't decide that yourself; ask someone licensed.

The statute for each claim

Defamation (libel / slander)

1 year

Md. Code, Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 5-105 RECORDED the statute as written — verify at the cited code

  • • Same 1-year limit applies to assault.

Contract oral

3 years

Md. Code, Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 5-101 RECORDED the statute as written — verify at the cited code

  • • UCC sales of goods governed by 4-year limit under § 2-725.

Contract written

3 years (12 years if under seal)

Md. Code, Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 5-101; § 5-102 RECORDED the statute as written — verify at the cited code

  • • Specialties (instruments under seal, bonds, judgments, contracts under seal) have 12-year limit under § 5-102.

Fraud

3 years

Md. Code, Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 5-101; § 5-203 RECORDED the statute as written — verify at the cited code

  • • Discovery rule may apply — the clock can start when you discover the injury, not when it occurred (can give you more time, or can already have started without your knowing).
  • • Fraudulent concealment tolls accrual under § 5-203.

Personal injury

3 years

Md. Code, Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 5-101 RECORDED the statute as written — verify at the cited code

  • • Tolling for minors and incapacitated persons under § 5-201.

Product liability

3 years

Md. Code, Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 5-101 RECORDED the statute as written — verify at the cited code

  • • Realty-improvement repose: 10 years (architect/engineer/contractor) and 20 years (general).

Property damage

3 years

Md. Code, Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 5-101 RECORDED the statute as written — verify at the cited code

  • • Standard tolling for minors and incapacity.

Wrongful death

3 years from death

Md. Code, Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 3-904 RECORDED the statute as written — verify at the cited code

  • • Occupational-disease deaths must be filed within 10 years of death or 3 years of discovery, whichever is shorter.

Medical malpractice

5 years from injury or 3 years from discovery

Md. Code, Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 5-109 RECORDED the statute as written — verify at the cited code

  • • Discovery rule may apply — the clock can start when you discover the injury, not when it occurred (can give you more time, or can already have started without your knowing).
  • • Statute of repose: 5 years — an outer cutoff that can bar the claim even if the discovery rule would otherwise extend it.
  • • Foreign-object and reproductive-injury exceptions; minors' tolling.

Why this table is not your actual deadline

These are the statutes Maryland has on the books. Your real deadline depends on facts only a lawyer can sort out:

  • When the clock started (accrual) — usually the date of harm, but the discovery rule can move it to when you reasonably should have known.
  • Whether it paused (tolling) — being a minor, incapacity, the defendant leaving the state, or fraud can stop or restart the clock.
  • A statute of repose — a separate outer limit that can bar a claim even before you discover it.
  • Which claim you actually have — the same facts can support several causes of action with different deadlines; the shortest one that applies controls.

The safe move is always to assume less time than you think and talk to an attorney immediately.

What this is — and is not

This page states the published statutory deadlines in Maryland for common civil claims — an informational reference, with each statute citation linked so you can verify it. It is not legal advice, not a calculation of your deadline, and not a substitute for a licensed attorney. Accrual, tolling, and the discovery rule are fact-specific. If you may have a claim, consult an attorney in Maryland immediately; for free help, see civil legal aid in Maryland.

Source: CaseFleet Civil Statute-of-Limitations Reference (2026) · statutes last verified 2026-04-29.

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