Ohio statute of limitations

This table is the fast answer. Each period is followed by the statute it comes from, and every one was verified against the primary Ohio source on July 21, 2026. Where two periods could apply, the shorter usually controls — and a medical-malpractice or government claim can be governed by a repose statute or a shorter notice rule (see § 6).

Ohio gives bodily-injury claims two years from the date the cause of action accrues, under ORC § 2305.10(A) — the deadline that covers most car accidents, slip-and-falls, and general negligence. The clock usually starts on the date of injury, but Ohio applies a discovery rule for latent harm: for injuries from exposure to a hazardous or toxic substance the period runs from when you knew or should have known of the injury and its cause (§ 2305.10(B)). Watch the shorter one-year deadlines that sit next to it — assault and battery and defamation are each only one year (§§ 2305.111, 2305.11).

One year from when the claim accrues, with a four-year outer limit. A medical, dental, optometric, or chiropractic claim must be brought within one year under ORC § 2305.113(A). That one year runs from the later of the doctor-patient relationship ending or the patient discovering the injury (the "cognizable event"). You can buy an extra 180 days by serving written notice of intent before the year runs (§ 2305.113(B)). Overriding all of it is a four-year statute of repose (§ 2305.113(C)): with narrow exceptions, no claim survives more than four years after the act or omission, even if the injury was undiscoverable.

Six years on a written contract, four on an oral one — and both were shortened in 2021. A written contract or account runs six years under ORC § 2305.06; an oral contract runs four years under § 2305.07. Senate Bill 13, effective June 16, 2021, cut these from eight and six years — so older debts may still fall under the longer former periods, and the accrual date matters. Fraud is four years from when it is discovered (§ 2305.09(C)). Note that a partial payment or written acknowledgment can restart the clock, and time-barred debt can still be reported and pursued informally — the statute bars the lawsuit, not the debt.

Two years — but which court and which immunity rules apply depends on who you are suing. A claim against the State of Ohio is filed in the Court of Claims and must be brought within two years under ORC § 2743.16(A). A claim against a political subdivision — a city, county, township, or school district — also runs two years under § 2744.04(A). Ohio does not impose the short pre-suit notice-of-claim period some states use for general torts, but Chapter 2744 immunity is a serious hurdle, and specific bodies or claims can carry their own shorter deadlines.

A statute of limitations is an affirmative defense. If you file even one day late, the defendant raises the expired deadline and the court must dismiss the case — no matter how clear the liability or how serious the harm. Insurers and their lawyers track these dates precisely. Narrow exceptions can pause the clock — the plaintiff was a minor or of unsound mind (ORC 2305.16), the defendant was absent from Ohio (ORC 2305.15), or a statutory discovery rule applies — but none are safe to rely on without legal advice, and a statute of repose (as in medical malpractice) can bar a claim even where a tolling rule would otherwise help.

Each period above is cited to the controlling statute and was verified against the Ohio Revised Code (codes.ohio.gov) on July 21, 2026. Personal-injury periods are additionally cross-checked and stamped Exact in the calculator.