A civil action shall be commenced only within the time prescribed in this chapter, after the cause of action has accrued. Notwithstanding any other provision in this chapter, when an action has been stayed by any court of competent jurisdiction or by statute, such action shall be commenced within the longer of (1) the time prescribed in this chapter, after the cause of action has accrued, or (2) one year after the date the stay is no longer in effect.
§ 25-201.Civil actions; when commenced.
Article 2: Limitation of Actions · Last amended 2001 · Last verified July 22, 2026
In one sentenceThis section sets the umbrella rule that a civil action under Chapter 25 must be filed within whatever time limit the rest of the chapter prescribes, and adds that a stayed action gets the longer of the normal deadline or one year after the stay lifts.
Full Text of § 25-201
Source
R.S.1867, Code § 5, p. 395; R.S.1913, § 7563; C.S.1922, § 8506; C.S.1929, § 20-201; R.S.1943, § 25-201; Laws 2001, LB 48, § 1.
Plain-English Summary
Every specific deadline in this article — five years for a written contract, two years for malpractice, four years for a tort — hangs off this section. Section 25-201 states the general command: a civil action can only be commenced within the time Chapter 25 sets, counted from the date the cause of action accrued. It doesn’t supply a number itself; it tells you that a number exists elsewhere in the chapter and that you’re bound by it.
The section also handles a problem the individual deadlines don’t address on their own: what happens when a court or a statute puts an action on hold before it’s filed. If a stay is in place, the person suing gets whichever period is longer — the ordinary limitations period, or one year after the stay ends. That protects someone whose filing window would otherwise close while a court order or statutory freeze keeps them from proceeding.
Nebraska added the stay language in 2001. Before that, the section did only the first job: pointing to the rest of the chapter for the actual clock. Read alongside section 25-213’s tolling rules and section 25-217’s definition of when an action counts as “commenced,” this section is the doorway into the rest of Article 2.
Frequently Asked Questions
What deadline does section 25-201 set for filing a lawsuit?
None on its own. It tells you that a civil action must be filed within the time Chapter 25 prescribes for that type of claim, and the specific number of years comes from the section covering that claim — contract, tort, malpractice, and so on.
What if my case was stayed by a court before I could file?
You get the longer of two periods: the ordinary statute of limitations for your claim, or one year after the date the stay is no longer in effect.
Does a statutory stay work the same way as a court-ordered stay?
Yes. The section covers an action stayed “by any court of competent jurisdiction or by statute,” treating both the same way for purposes of the extra time.
Does this section apply to every claim in Chapter 25?
It states the general rule that governs the chapter, but many specific sections that follow — real property actions, contract actions, malpractice, product liability, and others — set their own periods that control over the general rule for that type of claim.
When did the one-year stay extension become law?
The Legislature added it in 2001. Before that amendment, the section stated only the general rule that actions must be brought within the time Chapter 25 prescribes.
Source & verification. Section text and the amendment-history citation are
reproduced verbatim from the Nebraska Legislature, Revisor of Statutes, enacted by the
Nebraska Legislature. Last verified July 22, 2026. ·
Official source
Also known as: nebraska general statute of limitations rulewhen does a civil action commence nebraskastayed lawsuit extra time to suechapter 25 limitations umbrella sectionone year after stay ends nebraska