§ 16.004.Four-Year Limitations Period

Title 2. Trial, Judgment, and Appeal · Subtitle B. Trial Matters · Chapter 16. Limitations · Subchapter A. Limitations of Personal Actions · Last amended 1999 · Last verified August 29, 2026

In one sentenceSection 16.004 sets a four-year deadline for debt, fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, specific performance of a real property contract, and actions on an open or stated account.

Full Text of § 16.004

Text sizeJump to: (a) (b) (c)

(a)A person must bring suit on the following actions not later than four years after the day the cause of action accrues:

(1)specific performance of a contract for the conveyance of real property;

(2)penalty or damages on the penal clause of a bond to convey real property;

(3)debt;

(4)fraud; or

(5)breach of fiduciary duty.

(b)A person must bring suit on the bond of an executor, administrator, or guardian not later than four years after the day of the death, resignation, removal, or discharge of the executor, administrator, or guardian.

(c)A person must bring suit against his partner for a settlement of partnership accounts, and must bring an action on an open or stated account, or on a mutual and current account concerning the trade of merchandise between merchants or their agents or factors, not later than four years after the day that the cause of action accrues. For purposes of this subsection, the cause of action accrues on the day that the dealings in which the parties were interested together cease.

End

Plain-English Summary

Four years is the long period in Texas civil practice, and subsection (a) lists what gets it: specific performance of a contract to convey real property, damages on the penal clause of a bond to convey real property, debt, fraud, and breach of fiduciary duty.

The three that matter most are the last three. "Debt" carries the enormous volume of Texas collection litigation. Fraud and breach of fiduciary duty carry most of the business disputes. A claim that would otherwise expire in two years is often worth pleading as one of these instead, and the difference is two extra years.

Subsection (b) governs suits on the bond of an executor, administrator, or guardian, and it uses an unusual trigger: four years from the day of the fiduciary's death, resignation, removal, or discharge, rather than from the breach.

Subsection (c) covers partnership account settlements and actions on an open, stated, or mutual and current account. For accounts, the period runs from the day of the last item — which means continued dealings keep the clock rolling forward, and a long-dormant account can expire while the parties are still nominally in business together.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long do I have to sue for fraud in Texas?

Four years from accrual, under Section 16.004(a)(4).

How long do I have to sue on a debt?

Four years. Debt is listed expressly in subsection (a), and it is the period that governs most Texas collection suits.

What is the deadline for breach of fiduciary duty?

Four years, under subsection (a)(5).

When does the clock start on an open account?

On the day of the last item in the account, under subsection (c). Continued dealings push the starting point forward.

Is breach of contract covered by this section?

Not by name. An ordinary breach of contract claim runs on the four-year residual period elsewhere in this chapter, which produces the same answer by a different route.

Does suing an executor's bond run from the breach?

No. Subsection (b) runs the four years from the executor's death, resignation, removal, or discharge.

Amendment History

Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 959, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1985. Amended by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 950, Sec. 1, eff. Aug. 30, 1999.

Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from Texas Legislature Online (statutes.capitol.texas.gov). Enacted by the Texas Legislature. Current through May 14, 2026. Last verified August 29, 2026. · Official source