§ 16.003.Two-Year Limitations Period
Title 2. Trial, Judgment, and Appeal · Subtitle B. Trial Matters · Chapter 16. Limitations · Subchapter A. Limitations of Personal Actions · Last amended 2005 · Last verified August 29, 2026
Full Text of § 16.003
Plain-English Summary
This is the deadline that governs more Texas lawsuits than any other. Two years, running from the day the cause of action accrues, for a specific list: trespass for injury to another's estate or property, conversion of personal property, taking or detaining another's personal property, personal injury, forcible entry and detainer, and forcible detainer.
"Personal injury" is where the volume is. Car collisions, premises liability, assault, medical negligence, and products claims all run on this two-year period unless another statute displaces it.
Subsection (b) handles death claims separately and settles a question that would otherwise be difficult: a wrongful death action accrues on the death of the injured person, not on the date of the injury that caused it. Someone hurt in 2024 who dies in 2026 gives their statutory beneficiaries until 2028, even though the decedent's own claim may have expired.
The section opens by carving out three others — trade secret misappropriation, asbestos and silica injuries, and claims arising from certain sexual offenses — each of which runs on its own clock. Check those before assuming two years.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long do I have to file a personal injury lawsuit in Texas?
Two years from the day the cause of action accrues, under Section 16.003. That covers car accidents, premises liability, assault, and most other injury claims.
When does the two years start for a wrongful death claim?
On the date of death, not the date of the injury. Subsection (b) says so expressly, which means a claim can be timely even when the injury happened years earlier.
Does the two-year rule cover property damage?
Yes, for trespass injuring another's estate or property, conversion, and the taking or detaining of personal property.
What claims are excluded from this section?
The section carves out trade secret misappropriation, asbestos-related and silica-related injuries, and claims arising from the sexual offenses listed elsewhere in the chapter. Each has its own period.
Can the two years be extended?
Sometimes. The chapter contains tolling provisions for legal disability, death of a party, absence from the state, and a suit filed in the wrong court, among others.
Is there a discovery rule for personal injury in Texas?
Only in narrow circumstances. Texas applies it where the injury is inherently undiscoverable and objectively verifiable, which is a demanding standard and not the general rule.
Amendment History
- Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 959, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1985. Amended by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 739, Sec. 2, eff. June 15, 1995; Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 26, Sec. 2, eff. May 1, 1997.
- Amended by:
- Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch. 97 (S.B. 15), Sec. 3, eff. September 1, 2005.