Statute of Limitations Calculator

Disclaimer: Limitations periods vary by claim type and jurisdiction. This tool applies whatever period you enter and does not look up state-specific law. Not legal advice.

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A Deadline That Doesn't Round to a Calendar Year

A statute of limitations sounds like simple arithmetic — add a fixed number of years to the incident date — but calendar-aware date math has edge cases that matter when a filing deadline is on the line: leap years, a limitations period with a fractional-year component, and tolling periods (such as a discovery-rule extension, where the clock doesn't start until the harm was or should have been discovered). This calculator adds the limitations period to an incident date precisely, handling those edge cases rather than approximating with a flat 365-day multiplication.

Note: Limitations periods vary by claim type and jurisdiction and must be entered by you — this tool does not look them up automatically. This is a date-math tool, not legal advice, and does not account for every tolling rule that might apply to a specific claim.

The Formula

Filing Deadline = Incident Date + Limitations Period (+ Additional Days)

Whole years are added using calendar-aware year addition (so the month and day stay aligned to the original date, with a Feb 29 exception handled explicitly), and any fractional-year portion or additional day offset for tolling is added on top as a precise day count.

Where This Matters

  • Personal injury and contract claims — most jurisdictions impose a hard filing deadline for these claim types, and missing it generally bars the claim entirely regardless of its merits.
  • Discovery-rule tolling — some injuries or frauds aren't discovered immediately; the "additional days" input lets you model a delayed-discovery start date if a tolling rule applies to your claim type.
  • Tracking multiple potential claims — a single incident can give rise to claims with different limitations periods (e.g., a personal injury claim and a related property damage claim), each worth calculating separately.

How to Use This Calculator

  1. Enter the incident date.
  2. Enter the limitations period in years, as it applies to your specific claim type and jurisdiction.
  3. Enter any additional days, such as a discovery-rule tolling adjustment (optional).
  4. Select Calculate for the exact filing deadline and days remaining.

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Estimating a potential recovery? See the Personal Injury Settlement Calculator, or check filing costs with the Court Filing Fee Calculator.