§PlainStatute

Written Contract · Statute of Limitations

How Long You Have to Sue Over a Broken Contract, by State

The written-contract statute of limitations, how many years you have to sue after an agreement is broken, for each state. Plus when the clock starts, the shorter deadline for oral contracts, and the four-year UCC rule for a sale of goods. Each cited to the statute.

6 of 50 states published. 3 verified against the official statute; the rest drafted from corroborating sources while the official portal is confirmed.Written and oral almost always differ, and a sale of goods runs on its own four-year UCC clock, so the deadline is rarely a single number.

Read this first: written and oral are different clocks

The statute of limitations is the legal deadline to file suit. Miss it and the court can throw the case out no matter how strong it is. For a broken written contract the period ranges widely: four years in California, Texas, and Pennsylvania, five years in Florida, six years in New York, and ten years in Illinois. The written figure is the headline, but it is rarely the whole story.

Two things move the real deadline. First, whether the contract is written. California cuts an oral contract to two years and Illinois to five, while Texas, New York, and Pennsylvania give oral the same period as written. Second, what was sold: a contract for the sale of goods runs on the UCC four-year rule in every state, which in New York and Illinois is shorter than the general contract clock. Every figure here links to the official statute, and pages still pending verification say so.

Pick your state

The years to sue on a written contract, the discovery rule, and the shorter oral-contract clock on each card.

C

CA
California
4 years
To sue
Discovery ruleYes
Oral contract2 years
Statute§337(a)

F

FL
Florida
5 years
To sue
Discovery ruleNo
Oral contract4 years
Statute§95.11(2)(b)

I

IL
IllinoisDraft
10 years
To sue
Discovery ruleYes
Oral contract5 years
Statute735 ILCS 5/13-206

N

NY
New York
6 years
To sue
Discovery ruleNo
Oral contract6 years
Statute§213(2)

P

PA
PennsylvaniaDraft
4 years
To sue
Discovery ruleYes
Oral contract4 years
Statute§5525

T

TX
TexasDraft
4 years
To sue
Discovery ruleYes
Oral contract4 years
Statute§16.004; §16.051

What these pages are, and what they aren't

Each state page is a reference for the written-contract limitations period and the neutral steps you can take after a breach. They are deliberately not advice for your specific case: the form of the contract, the accrual date, the UCC, and exceptions like sealed instruments can all change the answer, so each page links to the statute and a way to reach a licensed attorney. This is legal information, not legal advice.