Actions for the recovery of real property, or for the determination of any adverse right or interest therein, can only be brought within the periods hereinafter prescribed, after the cause of action shall have accrued, and at no other time thereafter:
§ 93.Limitation of Real Actions
Chapter 3: Limitations of Actions · Last amended July 26, 1961 · Last verified August 3, 2026
In one sentenceSection 93 sets the time limits for suits to recover real property, ranging from five years after an execution, partition, probate, or tax deed is recorded to fifteen years for recovery claims not otherwise covered and two years for forcible entry and detainer.
Full Text of § 93
(1) An action for the recovery of real property sold on execution, or for the recovery of real estate partitioned by judgment in kind, or sold, or conveyed pursuant to partition proceedings, or other judicial sale, or an action for the recovery of real estate distributed under decree of district court in administration or probate proceedings, when brought by or on behalf of the execution debtor or former owner, or his or their heirs, or any person claiming under him or them by title acquired after the date of the judgment or by any person claiming to be an heir or devisee of the decedent in whose estate such decree was rendered, or claiming under, as successor in interest, any such heir or devisee, within five (5) years after the date of the recording of the deed made in pursuance of the sale or proceeding, or within five (5) years after the date of the entry of the final judgment of partition in kind where no sale is had in the partition proceedings; or within five (5) years after the recording of the decree of distribution rendered by the district court in an administration or probate proceeding; provided, however, that where any such action pertains to real estate distributed under decree of district court in administration or probate proceedings and would at the passage of this act be barred by the terms hereof, such action may be brought within one (1) year after the passage of this act; this proviso shall not be construed to revive any action barred by paragraph 4 of this section.
(2) An action for the recovery of real property sold by executors, administrators, or guardians, upon an order or judgment of a court directing such sale, brought by the heirs or devisees of the deceased person, or the ward of his guardian, or any person claiming under any or either of them, by the title acquired after the date of judgment or order, within five (5) years after the date of recording of the deed made in pursuance of the sale.
(3) An action for the recovery of real property sold for taxes, within five (5) years after the date of the recording of the tax deed, except where lands exempt from taxation by reason of any Act of the Congress of the United States of America have been sold for taxes, in which case there shall be no limitation; provided, nothing herein shall be construed as reviving any cause of action for recovery of real property heretofore barred nor as divesting any interest acquired by adverse possession prior to the effective date hereof.
(4) An action for the recovery of real property not hereinbefore provided for, within fifteen (15) years.
(5) An action for the forcible entry and detention or forcible detention only of real property, within two (2) years.
(6) Numbered paragraphs 1, 2, and 3 shall be fully operative regardless of whether the deed or judgment or the precedent action or proceeding upon which such deed or judgment is based is void or voidable in whole or in part, for any reason, jurisdictional or otherwise; provided that this paragraph shall not be applied so as to bar causes of action which have heretofore accrued, until the expiration of one (1) year from and after its effective date.
Amendment History
R.L. 1910, § 4655; Amended by Laws 1945, HB 213, p. 37, § 1; Amended by Laws 1949, HB 221, p. 95, § 1; Amended by Laws 1961, SB 386, p. 59, §1, emerg. eff. 7/26/1961.
Plain-English Summary
The section runs through a list of real-property recovery scenarios, each with its own clock: five years after recording the deed (or, for a partition without a sale, five years after the final judgment) for property sold on execution, partitioned, or distributed through probate; five years after recording the deed for property an executor, administrator, or guardian sold under court order; five years after recording the tax deed for property sold for unpaid taxes, except that land exempt from taxation under federal law and later sold for taxes carries no limitation at all. Anything not covered by those categories gets a fifteen-year catch-all, and forcible entry and detainer actions get two years.
Paragraph 6 toughens the finality of titles coming out of judicial sales: the five-year periods for execution sales, guardian or executor sales, and tax sales apply even when the underlying deed, judgment, or proceeding turns out to be void or voidable for any reason, jurisdictional or otherwise. Claims that had already accrued when this rule took effect got a one-year grace period.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long do I have to sue to recover real estate sold at an execution or partition sale?
Five years from recording of the deed, or, where a partition was made in kind without a sale, five years from entry of the final judgment of partition.
What about real property sold for unpaid taxes?
Five years from recording of the tax deed, except that land exempt from taxation under federal law that was sold for taxes carries no limitation at all.
What if my real property claim doesn't fit any of the listed categories?
Section 93(4) gives a fifteen-year catch-all period for real property recovery claims not otherwise covered.
How long do I have to sue for forcible entry and detainer?
Two years.
Does it matter if the deed or judgment behind a sale was invalid?
Not for the execution-sale, guardian-sale, and tax-sale periods; paragraph 6 says those five-year periods run even if the underlying deed or judgment is void or voidable, though claims that had already accrued got a one-year grace period.
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 real property recovery statute of limitationstax deed limitation Oklahoma12 O.S. § 93forcible entry and detainer time limit Oklahoma