Ohio Statute of Limitations: Filing Deadlines by Case Type

Ohio sets strict filing deadlines for civil and criminal cases. Personal injury claims must be filed within two years under ORC 2305.10, written contracts within six years under ORC 2305.06, and oral contracts within four years under ORC 2305.07. Murder carries no statute of limitations.

Ohio law places strict time limits on when you can file a lawsuit or when prosecutors can bring criminal charges. These time limits are called statutes of limitations. If you miss the deadline, a court will almost certainly dismiss your case, and you will lose your right to legal action.

This guide covers every major civil and criminal statute of limitations in Ohio, with direct references to the Ohio Revised Code (ORC). All deadlines listed here reflect current Ohio law, including changes that took effect in 2021 and 2025.

Hurt in Ohio? If you are still within the deadline above, you can estimate what your injury claim may be worth with our free Ohio personal injury settlement calculator. It gives an instant range based on your medical costs and Ohio's fault rule (general information, not legal advice).

Ohio Civil Statute of Limitations

Ohio's civil statutes of limitations set deadlines for filing lawsuits. The clock typically starts on the date the injury, breach, or wrongful act occurs. In some cases, such as fraud, the clock starts when the plaintiff discovers or should have discovered the harm.

If you do not file within the allowed time, the defendant can ask the court to dismiss the case. Once dismissed on statute of limitations grounds, you cannot refile the claim.

Personal Injury and Property Damage

Under ORC 2305.10, actions for bodily injury or damage to personal property must be filed within two years after the cause of action accrues. This applies to car accident injuries, slip and fall claims, and similar tort actions.

The cause of action accrues on the date the injury or property loss occurs. For injuries caused by asbestos exposure, the clock starts when a medical professional informs the plaintiff of the asbestos-related injury, or when the plaintiff should have reasonably discovered it.

Wrongful Death

Under ORC 2125.02, a wrongful death lawsuit must be filed within two years after the date of the decedent's death. This deadline applies regardless of when the wrongful act that caused the death occurred, except for wrongful-death claims involving a product liability claim, which are also barred more than 10 years after the product was delivered to its first purchaser or lessee, per ORC 2125.02(F)(2)(a).

Medical Malpractice

Ohio handles medical malpractice claims under ORC 2305.113. The filing deadline is one year after the cause of action accrues. However, no medical malpractice action can be brought more than four years after the act or omission that forms the basis of the claim. This four-year window serves as a statute of repose, though it does not apply to minors or persons of unsound mind, per ORC 2305.16.

The one-year period begins when the patient discovers or should have discovered the injury. Ohio law places the burden on the plaintiff to prove, by clear and convincing evidence, that they could not have discovered the injury within that timeframe.

Legal Malpractice

Under ORC 2305.11(A), a legal malpractice action against an attorney, law firm, or legal professional association must be filed within one year after the cause of action accrues.

Libel, Slander, and Defamation

Actions for libel or slander must be filed within one year under ORC 2305.11(A).

Assault and Battery

Civil claims for assault or battery must be filed within one year after the cause of action accrues, per ORC 2305.111(B). A major exception exists for childhood sexual abuse cases (see below).

Childhood Sexual Abuse

ORC 2305.111 provides a much longer deadline for civil claims based on childhood sexual abuse. Victims have twelve years after reaching the age of majority (age 18) to file suit. That means the effective deadline extends to age 30.

If the defendant fraudulently concealed facts forming the basis of the claim, the limitations period is tolled until the plaintiff discovers or should have discovered those facts.

Malicious Prosecution and False Imprisonment

Both malicious prosecution and false imprisonment claims carry a one-year statute of limitations under ORC 2305.11(A).

Fraud

Fraud claims must be filed within four years under ORC 2305.09(C). The clock does not start until the fraud is discovered or should have been discovered.

Trespass

Actions for trespass on real property must be filed within four years under ORC 2305.09(A). For trespassing underground or injury to mines, the clock starts when the wrongdoer is discovered.

Written Contracts

Under ORC 2305.06, breach of a written contract must be filed within six years after the cause of action accrues. This deadline was shortened from eight years by Senate Bill 13, which took effect on June 14, 2021.

For claims that accrued before June 14, 2021, the filing deadline is the earlier of June 14, 2027, or the remaining time under the previous eight-year limit.

Oral Contracts

Actions on a contract not in writing (oral contracts) must be filed within four years under ORC 2305.07. This deadline was also shortened by Senate Bill 13 in 2021, reduced from six years to four.

The four-year period does not apply to most everyday consumer debt. ORC 2305.07(C), also added by Senate Bill 13, sets a separate six-year deadline for a "consumer transaction" incurred primarily for personal, family, or household purposes, whether or not the agreement was ever put in writing. Credit-card balances, medical bills, retail installment debt, and most personal loans qualify as consumer transactions, so they get six years, not four, regardless of whether the underlying agreement was written or oral. The six-year clock on a consumer transaction starts 30 calendar days after the date of the last charge or payment on the account, whichever is later.

Sale of Goods (UCC)

For contracts involving the sale of goods, ORC 1302.98 (Ohio's version of UCC 2-725) sets a four-year statute of limitations from the date the cause of action accrues.

Product Liability

Product liability claims must be filed within two years after the cause of action accrues under ORC 2305.10. Ohio also imposes a ten-year statute of repose, meaning no product liability claim can be brought more than ten years after the product was delivered to its first purchaser or lessee who was not using it as a component in another product.

Recovery of Real Property

An action to recover title or possession of real property must be filed within twenty-one years under ORC 2305.04. If the person bringing the action was a minor or of unsound mind when the cause of action accrued, they may file within ten years after the disability is removed, even if the twenty-one-year period has passed.

Revival of Dormant Judgments

A dormant Ohio judgment can be revived within ten years from the date it became dormant under ORC 2325.18.

Statutory Liability

An action upon a liability created by statute (other than a forfeiture or penalty) must be filed within six years under ORC 2305.07.

Civil Statutes of Limitations Summary Table

Ohio Criminal Statute of Limitations

Ohio's criminal statutes of limitations, found in ORC 2901.13, set deadlines for prosecutors to file criminal charges. If the state does not bring charges within the allowed period, it loses the right to prosecute.

No Time Limit: Murder

There is no statute of limitations for murder (ORC 2903.02) or aggravated murder (ORC 2903.01). Prosecutors can file charges at any time, regardless of how many years have passed since the crime.

Twenty-Year Limitation

Ohio gives prosecutors twenty years to file charges for the following serious offenses under ORC 2901.13(A)(3):

• Voluntary manslaughter (ORC 2903.03)
• Involuntary manslaughter (ORC 2903.04)
• Kidnapping (ORC 2905.01)
• Trafficking in persons (ORC 2905.32)
• Unlawful sexual conduct with a minor (ORC 2907.04)
• Gross sexual imposition (ORC 2907.05)
• Compelling prostitution (ORC 2907.21)
• Aggravated arson (ORC 2909.02)
• Terrorism-related offenses (ORC 2909.22, 2909.23, 2909.24, and 2909.26 through 2909.29)
• Aggravated robbery (ORC 2911.01)
• Robbery (ORC 2911.02)
• Aggravated burglary (ORC 2911.11)
• Burglary (ORC 2911.12)
• Aggravated riot (ORC 2917.02)
• Felonious assault or aggravated assault where the victim is a peace officer (ORC 2903.11, 2903.12)
• Assault, when charged as a felony (ORC 2903.13)
• Conspiracy, attempt, or complicity in any of the above

Twenty-Five-Year Limitation: Rape and Sexual Battery

Rape (ORC 2907.02) and sexual battery (ORC 2907.03) carry a twenty-five-year statute of limitations. If a DNA match is made within twenty-five years of the offense, prosecutors may file charges within the longer of twenty-five years or five years from the DNA match determination. If the DNA match is made more than twenty-five years after the offense, prosecutors have five years from the date of the match.

ORC 2901.13(J) can also delay when that twenty-five-year clock starts. For a violation of any provision of Title XXIX of the Revised Code involving a physical or mental wound, injury, disability, or condition of a nature that reasonably indicates abuse or neglect of a child under eighteen, or of a child with a developmental disability or physical impairment under twenty-one, the period of limitation does not begin to run until the victim reaches the age of majority, or until a public children services agency or a municipal or county peace officer who is not the child's parent or guardian has been notified that abuse or neglect is known, suspected, or believed to have occurred. That delays the start of a finite period. It does not create an unlimited one.

Six-Year Limitation: Other Felonies

All other felonies not listed above carry a six-year statute of limitations under ORC 2901.13(A)(1)(a).

Two-Year Limitation: Misdemeanors

Misdemeanors (other than minor misdemeanors) must be prosecuted within two years under ORC 2901.13(A)(1)(b).

Six-Month Limitation: Minor Misdemeanors

Minor misdemeanors carry a six-month deadline under ORC 2901.13(A)(1)(c).

Fraud and Breach of Fiduciary Duty

If the standard statute of limitations has expired, prosecution for an offense of which an element is fraud or breach of a fiduciary duty may still begin within one year after discovery by the victim or the victim's legal representative who is not a party to the offense, under ORC 2901.13(B)(1).

Identity Fraud Discovery Window

If the ordinary limitations period under ORC 2901.13(A)(1) or (A)(3) has expired, a prosecution for identity fraud may still be commenced within five years after discovery of the offense by the victim or by the victim's legal representative who is not a party to the offense. That extended window sits in ORC 2901.13(B)(2), the criminal limitations statute, rather than in ORC 2913.49, which defines the identity fraud offense itself. The current version of ORC 2901.13 took effect April 9, 2025.

Criminal Statutes of Limitations Summary Table

Tolling the Statute of Limitations in Ohio

Ohio law recognizes several situations where the statute of limitations is paused, or "tolled." During tolling, the clock stops running, and the plaintiff or prosecutor gets additional time.

Defendant Absent from the State

Under ORC 2305.15, if the defendant leaves Ohio after a civil cause of action accrues, the time spent outside the state does not count toward the limitations period. The same applies if the defendant absconds or conceals their identity. This tolling rule does not apply to statutes of repose.

Minority or Mental Incapacity

Under ORC 2305.16, if the person entitled to bring a civil action is a minor (under 18) or of unsound mind when the cause of action accrues, the statute of limitations does not begin running until the disability is removed. If the person becomes of unsound mind after the cause of action accrues and is adjudicated as such by a court, the time during that condition is also tolled.

Criminal Tolling

For criminal cases under ORC 2901.13, the statute of limitations does not run during any period when the accused is absent from the state, concealing their identity, or already facing prosecution for the same conduct.

Discovery Rule

For certain claims, including fraud (ORC 2305.09) and medical malpractice (ORC 2305.113), the statute of limitations does not begin until the plaintiff discovers or reasonably should have discovered the injury or wrongful act.

Recent Changes to Ohio Statutes of Limitations

Ohio has made several notable changes to its filing deadlines in recent years:

• Senate Bill 13 (effective June 14, 2021): Shortened the written contract statute of limitations from eight years to six years and the oral contract statute of limitations from six years to four years.
• ORC 2901.13, current version effective April 9, 2025: Division (B)(2) lets a prosecution for identity fraud under ORC 2913.49 begin within five years after the victim discovers the offense, even if the ordinary limitations period has already run.

Ohio Recording Laws

More Ohio Laws

• Ohio Car Accident Laws
• Ohio Dog Bite Laws
• Ohio Expungement Laws
• Ohio Slip and Fall Laws
• Ohio Workers Compensation Laws