When the at-fault party is a state or local government entity, the general statute of limitations is not the operative deadline. State Tort Claims Acts require a written notice of claim within a much shorter window , ranging from 60 days (Washington) to 730 days (Hawaii). Missing this notice bars the lawsuit completely.
When the at-fault party is a state or local government entity, you must file a written notice of claim before suing. Find your deadline.
| Statute | Cal. Gov. Code § 911.2 |
| Notice recipient | Public entity (varies) |
| Days from incident | 180 |
Notice requirements vary by entity type (state vs. county vs. city vs. school district). Consult an attorney for the specific filing officer in your case.
At common law, sovereign immunity protects government entities from tort lawsuits. Every U.S. state has waived sovereign immunity for some categories of personal-injury claims through a Tort Claims Act, but the waiver comes with strict procedural prerequisites. The most important is the written notice of claim, which must be served within a short statutory window (typically 60 to 180 days) and contain specific factual information.
Missing the notice deadline bars the lawsuit , not just because of procedural defect, but because the underlying statutory waiver does not apply without timely notice. Courts have repeatedly dismissed cases where the plaintiff missed the notice by even a single day. The harshness of this rule is offset only by the underlying availability of the cause of action against the government, which would not exist at all without the statutory waiver.
The notice deadline runs in parallel with the general personal-injury statute of limitations. Both must be complied with. In practice, the notice deadline is almost always the binding date in cases involving a potential government defendant, because it is far shorter than the general SOL.
| State | Notice deadline | Statute | Recipient | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 180 days | Ala. Code § 11-47-23 | City clerk or county commission | View |
| Alaska | 180 days | Alaska Stat. § 09.50.250 | State or municipal clerk | View |
| Arizona | 180 days | Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 12-821.01 | State or local public entity | View |
| Arkansas | 120 days | Ark. Code § 21-9-301 | Arkansas State Claims Commission | View |
| California | 180 days | Cal. Gov. Code § 911.2 | Public entity (city, county, state agency) | View |
| Colorado | 182 days | Colo. Rev. Stat. § 24-10-109 | Colorado Attorney General + public entity | View |
| Connecticut | 90 days | Conn. Gen. Stat. § 7-465 | Town clerk | View |
| Delaware | 365 days | Del. Code tit. 10 § 4013 | State or municipal entity | View |
| Florida | 180 days | Fla. Stat. § 768.28(6) | Department of Financial Services + agency | View |
| Georgia | 180 days | O.C.G.A. § 36-33-5 | Municipal clerk in writing | View |
| Hawaii | 730 days | Haw. Rev. Stat. § 662-15 | Hawaii Attorney General | View |
| Idaho | 180 days | Idaho Code § 6-906 | Secretary of State or political subdivision | View |
| Illinois | 365 days | 745 ILCS 10/8-102 | Municipal corporation attorney + clerk | View |
| Indiana | 180 days | Ind. Code § 34-13-3-6 | Political subdivision clerk + Attorney General | View |
| Iowa | 180 days | Iowa Code § 670.5 | Municipal clerk | View |
| Kansas | 120 days | Kan. Stat. § 12-105b | Municipal clerk | View |
| Kentucky | 365 days | Ky. Rev. Stat. § 65.2002 | Local government or Board of Claims | View |
| Louisiana | 730 days | La. R.S. § 13:5106 | State or political subdivision (no formal notice required since 2024 amendment) | View |
| Maine | 180 days | Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 14 § 8107 | Political subdivision | View |
| Maryland | 180 days | Md. Code | County, municipal corporation, or State Treasurer | View |
| Massachusetts | 730 days | Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 258 § 4 | Executive officer of the public employer | View |
| Michigan | 120 days | Mich. Comp. Laws § 691.1404 | Governmental agency | View |
| Minnesota | 180 days | Minn. Stat. § 466.05 | Municipality | View |
| Mississippi | 90 days | Miss. Code § 11-46-11 | State or political subdivision | View |
| Missouri | 90 days | Mo. Rev. Stat. § 537.600 | Public entity | View |
| Montana | 120 days | Mont. Code § 2-9-301 | Department of Administration | View |
| Nebraska | 365 days | Neb. Rev. Stat. § 13-905 | Political subdivision clerk | View |
| Nevada | 730 days | Nev. Rev. Stat. § 41.036 | Nevada State Board of Examiners or political subdivision | View |
| New Hampshire | 180 days | N.H. Rev. Stat. § 507-B:7 | Governmental unit | View |
| New Jersey | 90 days | N.J. Stat. § 59:8-8 | Public entity within 90 days | View |
| New Mexico | 90 days | N.M. Stat. § 41-4-16 | Risk Management Division | View |
| New York | 90 days | N.Y. Gen. Mun. Law § 50-e | Public corporation (city, county, or other municipal corporation) | View |
| North Carolina | 180 days | N.C. Gen. Stat. § 1-539.21 | State or local government | View |
| North Dakota | 180 days | N.D. Cent. Code § 32-12.2-04 | OMB Risk Management Division | View |
| Ohio | 730 days | Ohio Rev. Code § 2744.04 | Political subdivision | View |
| Oklahoma | 365 days | Okla. Stat. tit. 51 § 156 | Oklahoma State Risk Management or political subdivision | View |
| Oregon | 180 days | Or. Rev. Stat. § 30.275 | Public body | View |
| Pennsylvania | 180 days | 42 Pa. C.S. § 5522 | Commonwealth or political subdivision | View |
| Rhode Island | 180 days | R.I. Gen. Laws § 9-1-25 | State or municipality | View |
| South Carolina | 365 days | S.C. Code § 15-78-80 | Governmental entity | View |
| South Dakota | 180 days | S.D. Codified Laws § 3-21-2 | Public entity | View |
| Tennessee | 365 days | Tenn. Code § 29-20-302 | Governmental entity | View |
| Texas | 180 days | Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 101.101 | Governmental unit | View |
| Utah | 365 days | Utah Code § 63G-7-402 | Governmental entity + Utah Attorney General | View |
| Vermont | 180 days | Vt. Stat. tit. 12 § 5601 | State or political subdivision | View |
| Virginia | 180 days | Va. Code § 8.01-222 | Commonwealth or political subdivision | View |
| Washington | 60 days | Wash. Rev. Code § 4.96.020 | Local government claim agent | View |
| Washington DC | 180 days | D.C. Code § 12-309 | D.C. Mayor | View |
| West Virginia | 730 days | W. Va. Code § 29-12A-4 | Political subdivision | View |
| Wisconsin | 120 days | Wis. Stat. § 893.80 | Governmental subdivision | View |
| Wyoming | 730 days | Wyo. Stat. § 1-39-113 | Wyoming State or governmental entity | View |
State-specific requirements vary, but a typical notice of claim must include: (1) the claimant's name and address, (2) attorney information (if represented), (3) the date, time, and place of the incident, (4) a description of the injury, (5) a statement of damages claimed, and (6) in some states, a sworn verification. Some states require notice on an official form; others accept any written communication that contains the required information.
Substantial compliance arguments , that the notice was technically defective but the government received actual notice of the claim , succeed in some states (Kansas, Iowa) and fail in others (Florida, Mississippi, DC). The conservative approach is to comply strictly with every statutory requirement and use the official form where one exists.
(1) Missing the notice deadline by even one day. (2) Serving notice on the wrong official (the city clerk instead of the state Attorney General, for example). (3) Omitting required information from the notice (date, place, damages amount). Each of these failures is independently fatal. Consult an attorney immediately if you suspect a government defendant.