If any action is commenced within due time, and a judgment thereon for the plaintiff is reversed, or if the plaintiff fail in such action otherwise than upon the merits, the plaintiff, or, if he should die, and the cause of action survive, his representatives may commence a new action within one (1) year after the reversal or failure although the time limit for commencing the action shall have expired before the new action is filed.
§ 100.Limitation of New Action After Reversal Or Failure Otherwise Than On Merits
Chapter 3: Limitations of Actions · Last amended March 31, 1975 · Last verified August 3, 2026
In one sentenceSection 100, Oklahoma's savings statute, gives a plaintiff one year to refile after a timely-filed action is reversed on appeal or fails for a reason other than the merits, even if the normal limitations period has already run.
Full Text of § 100
Amendment History
R.L. 1910, § 4662; Amended by Laws 1975, SB 477, c. 44, §1, emerg. eff. 3/31/1975.
Plain-English Summary
An action commenced within the normal deadline can still unravel on appeal, or get thrown out on a procedural ground that never reaches the merits. Section 100 gives the plaintiff, or the plaintiff's representatives if the plaintiff dies and the claim survives, one year from that reversal or failure to file a new action, even after the original limitations period would otherwise have expired.
The extension only covers a reversal or a failure “otherwise than upon the merits” — a loss decided on the merits doesn't qualify for the extra year.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Oklahoma's “savings statute”?
Section 100: if a timely-filed lawsuit is reversed on appeal or fails for a reason other than the merits, the plaintiff gets one year to file a new action even after the original deadline passed.
Does this apply if my case was dismissed on the merits?
No, the text limits the extension to a reversal or a failure “otherwise than upon the merits”; a merits loss doesn't qualify.
What if the plaintiff dies before refiling?
If the cause of action survives, the plaintiff's representatives may bring the new action within the same one-year window.
How long do I have to refile?
One year after the reversal or failure, regardless of whether the original limitations period had already expired.
Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from
Title 12 of the Oklahoma Statutes, enacted by the Oklahoma Legislature.
Last verified August 3, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: Oklahoma savings statuterefile lawsuit after dismissal Oklahoma12 O.S. § 100one year to refile after reversal Oklahoma