Tennessee Statute of Limitations by Case Type

Tennessee's statutes of limitations establish the maximum time window within which a party must file a civil or criminal action before the right to pursue that claim is permanently extinguished. These deadlines are codified primarily in Tennessee Code Annotated (T.C.A.) Title 28 and scattered throughout subject-matter titles governing torts, contracts, family law, and criminal procedure. Understanding how each deadline operates — and which tolling exceptions can suspend or reset it — is foundational to evaluating any Tennessee civil or criminal matter.

• Definition and Scope
• Core Mechanics or Structure
• Causal Relationships or Drivers
• Classification Boundaries
• Tradeoffs and Tensions
• Common Misconceptions
• Checklist or Steps
• Reference Table or Matrix
• References

Definition and Scope

A statute of limitations is a legislatively enacted deadline that bars the filing of a legal claim after a fixed period measured from the date the cause of action accrues. In Tennessee, these periods are distinct from statutes of repose, which set an outer boundary regardless of when the plaintiff discovered the harm. Both types appear throughout the Tennessee Code Annotated, administered within the court system described in the Tennessee court structure and hierarchy framework.

Coverage of this page: This page addresses Tennessee state-law limitations periods for civil and criminal matters filed in Tennessee state courts. It draws on T.C.A. Title 28 (Limitations of Actions) and relevant subject-matter provisions. It does not address:

• Federal statutes of limitations governing claims filed in federal district courts in Tennessee (28 U.S.C. § 1658 and individual federal statutes govern those);
• Limitations periods of other states, even when Tennessee choice-of-law analysis might select foreign law;
• Administrative exhaustion deadlines before Tennessee agencies (covered under Tennessee administrative law and agency proceedings);
• Criminal statutes of limitations under federal law, which are governed by 18 U.S.C. § 3282.

The regulatory context for Tennessee's legal system provides background on how state and federal jurisdiction interact.

Core Mechanics or Structure

Accrual

A limitations period begins running at the moment a cause of action "accrues." Tennessee courts apply two principal accrual rules:

1. Standard accrual — the period begins when the injury or legal wrong occurs, regardless of plaintiff knowledge.
2. Discovery rule — the period begins when the plaintiff discovered, or with reasonable diligence should have discovered, the injury. Tennessee recognizes the discovery rule for fraud, latent disease, and legal malpractice claims, among others, as interpreted by the Tennessee Supreme Court in cases such as Shadrick v. Coker, 963 S.W.2d 726 (Tenn. 1998).

Tolling

Tolling suspends the running of the limitations clock. Tennessee statutory tolling grounds include:

• Minority — T.C.A. § 28-1-106 tolls the period for plaintiffs under age 18 until the minor reaches majority, subject to outer caps in medical malpractice.
• Mental incapacity — T.C.A. § 28-1-106 also tolls for persons of unsound mind.
• Fraudulent concealment — T.C.A. § 28-3-106 suspends the period when the defendant has fraudulently concealed the cause of action.
• Absence from the state — T.C.A. § 28-1-111 tolls for periods when the defendant was not a Tennessee resident and was absent from the state.
• Savings statute — T.C.A. § 28-1-105 gives a plaintiff whose original timely action was dismissed without prejudice on non-merit grounds one year to refile, even if the original period has expired.

Filing Requirement

Tolling suspends time, but it does not extend the period indefinitely. For medical malpractice (health care liability) actions, T.C.A. § 29-26-116 imposes a 3-year statute of repose that runs from the negligent act itself, and the tolling provisions of § 28-1-106 yield to this outer boundary for most adult plaintiffs.

The mechanics of civil filing are described in detail on Tennessee civil procedure rules overview.

Causal Relationships or Drivers

Several structural forces explain why Tennessee's limitations periods vary by case type rather than applying a single universal deadline:

Policy of repose — Longer periods apply where evidence is likely to remain intact (written contracts, recorded deeds) and shorter periods apply where testimonial evidence deteriorates rapidly (personal injury, defamation).

Federal floor requirements — In civil rights actions brought under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, federal courts apply the forum state's personal injury limitations period. The Sixth Circuit has consistently applied Tennessee's 1-year personal injury statute (T.C.A. § 28-3-104) to § 1983 claims filed in Tennessee federal courts. The relationship between state and federal law in this area is examined on Tennessee legal system interaction with federal law.

Specialized legislative policy — The Tennessee Health Care Liability Act (T.C.A. § 29-26-101 et seq.) reflects legislative judgment that medical providers need earlier finality than general tortfeasors. Similarly, the 10-year period for written contracts (T.C.A. § 28-3-109) reflects the reliability of documentary evidence.

Criminal policy distinctions — Most Tennessee felonies carry either no limitations period (Class A and Class B felonies) or a 4-year period (Class C, D, and E felonies under T.C.A. § 40-2-101). Misdemeanors carry a 12-month period under T.C.A. § 40-2-102. The rationale is that serious crimes warrant indefinite prosecutorial authority while minor offenses are presumed to lose evidentiary vitality quickly. See Tennessee criminal procedure and rights for broader procedural context.

Classification Boundaries

Tennessee limitations periods fall into five functional categories:

1. Personal Injury (Tort) Claims
Standard personal injury: 1 year from accrual (T.C.A. § 28-3-104). This applies to negligence, assault, battery, false imprisonment, and related intentional torts.

2. Property Damage Claims
Damage to personal or real property: 3 years (T.C.A. § 28-3-105).

3. Contract Claims
Written contracts: 6 years (T.C.A. § 28-3-109). Oral/unwritten contracts: 6 years as well under § 28-3-109(a)(3). Actions on a judgment: 10 years (T.C.A. § 28-3-110).

4. Specialized Civil Claims
- Health care liability (medical malpractice): 1 year with a 3-year repose (T.C.A. § 29-26-116).
- Legal malpractice: 1 year (T.C.A. § 28-3-104, discovery rule applicable).
- Fraud/misrepresentation: 3 years from discovery (T.C.A. § 28-3-106).
- Libel/slander (defamation): 6 months (T.C.A. § 28-3-103).
- Products liability: 1 year personal injury, 3 years property damage, with a 10-year statute of repose (T.C.A. § 29-28-103).

5. Criminal Prosecutions
Class A and B felonies: no limitation (T.C.A. § 40-2-101(a)). Class C, D, E felonies: 4 years. Misdemeanors: 12 months. Sexual offenses against minors carry extended periods under T.C.A. § 40-2-101(h).

The distinctions between claim types have terminology implications addressed on Tennessee legal system terminology and definitions.

Tradeoffs and Tensions

Discovery rule vs. certainty — Application of the discovery rule to toll limitations periods creates tension with the defendant's interest in finality. Tennessee courts have limited the rule's reach: it applies where the plaintiff had no reasonable means of discovering the injury, not merely where the plaintiff did not investigate.

Savings statute abuse concerns — T.C.A. § 28-1-105 has been criticized for allowing serial refiling. The Tennessee Supreme Court addressed limits in Cronin v. Howe, 906 S.W.2d 910 (Tenn. 1995), holding that the savings statute applies only once to a given claim.

Minors and outer repose caps — For medical malpractice claims involving minors, T.C.A. § 29-26-116(b) creates a special period: actions must be filed before the minor's eighth birthday or within the standard period, whichever is longer. This partially overrides the general minor-tolling rule of § 28-1-106, creating complex interaction analysis.

Notice requirements as preconditions — Under T.C.A. § 29-26-121, a plaintiff asserting health care liability must give 60 days' pre-suit notice to all defendants. This notice provision effectively extends the limitations period by 120 days (60 days' notice plus a matching extension) for compliant filings, but failure to provide notice can bar an otherwise timely suit. This procedural interaction — limitations plus notice — is a recurring contested issue in Tennessee health care liability litigation.

Contract vs. tort characterization — When an economic loss arises from a professional relationship, Tennessee courts must determine whether the gravamen sounds in contract (6-year period) or tort (1-year period). The characterization is fact-intensive and outcome-determinative. See Tennessee tort law fundamentals and Tennessee contract law principles and enforcement for substantive background.

Common Misconceptions

Misconception 1: Filing a complaint "stops the clock" immediately.
Correction: In Tennessee, the limitations period is tolled when the complaint is filed with the court clerk, not when the defendant is served. However, delayed service can affect related doctrines, and some specialized statutes tie accrual to service date. The standard rule is the filing date under Tennessee Rule of Civil Procedure 3.

Misconception 2: The savings statute gives an unlimited number of refiling opportunities.
Correction: As established in Cronin v. Howe (1995), the savings statute under T.C.A. § 28-1-105 applies only once per cause of action. A second voluntary dismissal and refiling is barred even if the one-year savings window has not closed.

Misconception 3: Personal injury claims in Tennessee have a 3-year limitations period.
Correction: Tennessee's general personal injury limitations period is 1 year under T.C.A. § 28-3-104 — shorter than the 2- or 3-year periods in most other states. Property damage claims carry a 3-year period, which is a common source of confusion.

Misconception 4: The statute of limitations and the statute of repose are interchangeable.
Correction: A limitations period is measured from accrual and is subject to tolling. A repose period is measured from a fixed event (such as the defendant's last act) and is generally not subject to tolling. Tennessee's 10-year products liability repose (T.C.A. § 29-28-103) and the 3-year health care liability repose (T.C.A. § 29-26-116) are hard outer limits independent of discovery.

Misconception 5: Class A felonies always had no limitations period in Tennessee.
Correction: T.C.A. § 40-2-101 has been amended over time. Certain Class A and B felonies including murder, rape, and arson carry no period, but the no-limitation rule was extended to Class B felonies by legislative amendment; it did not exist for all felony classes from the outset. Practitioners must verify the version of the statute in effect at the time of the offense.

Checklist or Steps

The following sequence describes the analytical steps applied when evaluating a Tennessee statute of limitations question. This is a descriptive framework, not legal advice.

Step 1 — Identify the cause of action.
Classify the claim type: personal injury, property damage, contract, health care liability, defamation, fraud, products liability, or criminal prosecution. Each category maps to a distinct T.C.A. provision.

Step 2 — Locate the governing T.C.A. provision.
Confirm which section of Title 28 or the relevant subject-matter title controls. Note whether both a limitations period and a repose period apply (e.g., health care liability under § 29-26-116).

Step 3 — Determine the accrual date.
Apply the standard accrual rule or, where applicable, the discovery rule. Document the first date on which the plaintiff knew or should have known of the injury and its connection to the defendant's conduct.

Step 4 — Check for applicable tolling provisions.
Evaluate T.C.A. §§ 28-1-106, 28-1-111, and 28-3-106 for minority, incapacity, defendant absence, and fraudulent concealment. Identify any specialized tolling (e.g., the 120-day health care liability extension under § 29-26-121).

Step 5 — Apply any repose period as an outer cap.
If a statute of repose applies, calculate whether the repose deadline falls before the extended limitations period. If so, the repose date controls, and tolling is generally unavailable.

Step 6 — Check for savings statute applicability.
If a prior action was dismissed without prejudice, determine whether the dismissal was on non-merit grounds and whether the savings statute's one-year window under T.C.A. § 28-1-105 is still open, keeping in mind the one-use limitation from Cronin v. Howe.

Step 7 — Verify pre-suit notice requirements.
For health care liability claims, confirm whether 60-day notice under T.C.A. § 29-26-121 was timely given, and whether the corresponding 120-day extension applies.

Step 8 — Confirm jurisdiction.
Verify whether the claim must be filed in a Tennessee state court or whether federal jurisdiction is also available, since the applicable limitations period may differ. The overview of how Tennessee's legal system works provides structural context for this determination.

For a full map of the Tennessee court system where these claims are filed, see Tennessee court filing fees and costs.

Reference Table or Matrix