Limitation period: how long you have to bring a claim
A limitation period is the deadline by which a claim must be issued at court. Once that deadline passes, the claim is statute-barred — meaning the defendant has an absolute defence regardless of how strong the underlying claim is. The court will strike the claim out if the defendant raises limitation in their defence. There is no general discretion to extend.
Limitation period: how long you have to bring a claim
Why limitation matters
The relevant statute is the Limitation Act 1980. Different claim types have different periods, ranging from one year (defamation) to twelve years (recovery of land or claims on a deed). The most common period — applicable to most contract and tort claims — is six years.
Limitation is a defence the defendant must raise; the court will not refuse to issue an out-of-time claim. So a careless defendant can lose a winnable defence by failing to plead limitation. But you cannot rely on this — most defendants and certainly all defendant solicitors will plead limitation as their first line of defence.
The main limitation periods
| Claim type | Period | Source | Starts running |
|---|---|---|---|
| Simple contract | 6 years | s. 5 Limitation Act 1980 | Date the cause of action accrued — usually the date of breach. |
| Tort (negligence, nuisance) | 6 years | s. 2 Limitation Act 1980 | Date damage was suffered. For latent damage, see s. 14A. |
| Personal injury | 3 years | s. 11 Limitation Act 1980 | Date of injury, or date of knowledge if later. |
| Speciality (deed) | 12 years | s. 8 Limitation Act 1980 | Date the cause of action accrued. |
| Defamation / malicious falsehood | 1 year | s. 4A Limitation Act 1980 | Date of publication. Court can extend under s. 32A. |
| Recovery of land | 12 years | s. 15 Limitation Act 1980 | Date the right of action accrued. |
| Action on a judgment | 6 years | s. 24 Limitation Act 1980 | Date judgment became enforceable. |
| Fraud / mistake | 6 years from discovery | s. 32 Limitation Act 1980 | Date the claimant discovered (or could reasonably have discovered) the fraud or mistake. |
When does time start running?
For a contract claim, the cause of action accrues on the date of the breach — not the date you discovered it, and not the date you suffered loss. For an unpaid invoice, this is usually the day after payment was due. For a defective product or service, it is the date the goods were delivered or the service performed.
For a tort claim, the cause of action accrues on the date the damage was suffered — which may be later than the date of the negligent act. For latent damage in negligence cases, section 14A of the Limitation Act adds a separate three-year period from the date of knowledge, capped at 15 years from the negligent act.
In practice, identify the relevant trigger event, add the period, and write the date in your diary. If you are within six months of expiry, do not wait — issue the claim now and use the four-month service window in CPR 7.5 to negotiate.
Three things stop or reset the limitation clock for contract debts. First, issuing court proceedings — limitation runs to the date the claim is filed, not the date of any later step. Second, a written acknowledgement of the debt signed by the debtor or their agent — under section 29(5), this resets the six-year period from the date of acknowledgement. Third, part-payment of the debt — under section 29(7), this also restarts the clock.
For longstanding debts, look hard for written acknowledgements. An email saying "I will pay when I can" or "I owe you the money but cannot pay this month" can reset the limitation clock and revive a debt that appeared to have died.
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