Arkansas Statute of Limitations: Filing Deadlines by Case Type

Arkansas statutes of limitations give most civil plaintiffs three years to sue under Ark. Code Ann. 16-56-105, with written contracts extending to five years and medical malpractice capped at two years. Murder and certain sex offenses against minors carry no deadline, while Class Y and A felonies must be charged within six years.

Hurt in Arkansas? If you are still within the deadline above, you can estimate what your injury claim may be worth with our free Arkansas personal injury settlement calculator. It gives an instant range based on your medical costs and Arkansas's fault rule (general information, not legal advice).

What Is the Arkansas Statute of Limitations?

The Arkansas statute of limitations sets a strict deadline for filing lawsuits and criminal charges. Once the time limit expires, courts will almost certainly dismiss the case. These deadlines exist to promote fairness. They protect defendants from facing stale claims and encourage plaintiffs to act promptly.

Arkansas statutes of limitations vary depending on the type of case. Civil deadlines range from one year to ten years, while criminal time limits depend on the severity of the offense. Some serious crimes, including murder, have no deadline at all.

Understanding these filing windows is important for anyone involved in a legal dispute in Arkansas. Missing a deadline by even one day can permanently eliminate your right to seek justice through the courts.

Arkansas Civil Statute of Limitations

Arkansas civil statutes of limitations establish how long you have to file a lawsuit after the cause of action accrues. In most cases, the clock starts ticking on the date of the incident or injury. However, certain exceptions can extend or pause these deadlines.

If you miss the filing deadline, the defendant can raise the statute of limitations as a defense and ask the court to dismiss your case. Once dismissed on these grounds, your legal claim is gone permanently.

Civil Statute of Limitations Table

Personal Injury (3 Years)

Arkansas gives you three years from the date of injury to file a personal injury lawsuit. This covers car accidents, slip-and-fall incidents, and other situations where someone else's negligence caused you physical harm. Civil claims for assault and battery are different: Arkansas gives you only one year to sue for those under Ark. Code Ann. 16-56-104. The three-year period for negligence-based injury claims is established under Ark. Code Ann. 16-56-105.

This same three-year window applies to claims for property damage. If someone damages your vehicle, home, or personal belongings, you have three years from the date of the damage to file suit.

Contracts

Arkansas distinguishes between written and oral contracts when setting filing deadlines. Written contracts, promissory notes, and other instruments in writing carry a five-year statute of limitations under Ark. Code Ann. 16-56-111. Partial payment on a written obligation or a written acknowledgment of the debt will reset (toll) this five-year clock.

Oral contracts and contracts not in writing fall under the general three-year deadline in Ark. Code Ann. 16-56-105. This shorter deadline reflects the difficulty of proving the terms of unwritten agreements as more time passes.

Wrongful Death (3 Years from Date of Death)

Arkansas allows three years from the date of death to file a wrongful death action under Ark. Code Ann. 16-62-102. Note that this clock runs from the date of death, not the date of the accident or event that ultimately caused the death.

If a wrongful death claim is voluntarily dismissed (nonsuit), the plaintiff has one year from the date the nonsuit was entered to refile, regardless of how much time has passed since the death.

Defamation: Libel and Slander

Arkansas treats libel (written defamation) and slander (spoken defamation) differently. Libel claims have a three-year deadline under Ark. Code Ann. 16-56-105. Slander claims must be filed within just one year under Ark. Code Ann. 16-56-104.

The shorter deadline for slander reflects the fact that spoken words are harder to prove and tend to cause less lasting damage than written statements.

Judgments (10 Years)

If you hold a court judgment against someone, you have ten years to enforce it under Ark. Code Ann. 16-56-114. This applies to judgments from Arkansas courts as well as judgments from courts of record in other states or federal courts.

Catch-All Provision (5 Years)

For civil actions not specifically covered by another statute, Arkansas applies a five-year catch-all deadline under Ark. Code Ann. 16-56-115. If your type of case does not fall neatly into one of the categories listed above, this five-year window likely applies.

Arkansas Criminal Statute of Limitations

Arkansas criminal statutes of limitations set deadlines for prosecutors to file charges. These time limits are governed primarily by Ark. Code Ann. 5-1-109. The clock starts the day after the crime occurs and stops when a person is arrested, an arrest warrant is issued, or the prosecutor files charges or an indictment.

If the accused leaves the state, the clock pauses. The limitation period does not run during any time the accused is continuously absent from the state.

Criminal Statute of Limitations Table

Crimes with No Statute of Limitations

Arkansas permanently removes the filing deadline for the most serious offenses. Murder in any degree (capital, first, or second) can be prosecuted at any time, no matter how many years have passed.

Several sex offenses against minors also carry no time limit. These include rape when the victim was a minor, sexual indecency with a child, first- and second-degree sexual assault when the victim was a minor, incest involving a minor victim, engaging children in sexually explicit conduct for visual or print media, transportation of minors for prohibited sexual conduct, employing or consenting to the use of a child in a sexual performance, and first-degree computer exploitation of a child.

DNA Evidence Exception

Arkansas law provides an important exception for cases involving DNA evidence. When DNA testing identifies a suspect through the State DNA Data Base or National DNA Index System, the statute of limitations does not prevent prosecution. This means a case that would otherwise be time-barred can still move forward if DNA evidence links a suspect to the crime.

Similarly, for rape cases, the period of limitation is eliminated entirely when biological evidence exists that is capable of producing a DNA profile of the alleged perpetrator.

Felony Time Limits

Class Y felonies (the most serious non-capital offenses, such as kidnapping) and Class A felonies carry a six-year statute of limitations. Prosecutors must bring charges within six years of the offense.

Class B, C, and D felonies, along with unclassified felonies, have a three-year deadline. Common Class D felonies include theft of property and forgery. Class B felonies include offenses like aggravated robbery.

Special Rules for Crimes Against Minors

Arkansas extends the filing window for certain violent crimes committed against children. For offenses including first- and second-degree battery, aggravated assault, kidnapping, terroristic threatening, false imprisonment, and permanent detention or restraint, the statute of limitations does not begin running until the victim turns 18.

This tolling provision gives young victims the opportunity to seek justice as adults, even if years have passed since the offense.

Insurance Fraud

Insurance fraud generally carries a three-year statute of limitations in Arkansas. However, this extends to five years when the fraud involves a motor vehicle. If the fraud could not reasonably have been discovered within those initial periods, the deadlines extend by an additional three years and ten years, respectively.

Fraud or Breach of Fiduciary Duty

Fraud and breach of fiduciary duty carry a one-year criminal statute of limitations. If the offense was not discovered during that initial period, the deadline extends by up to three additional years from the date of discovery.

Misconduct by a Public Official

Felonious conduct by a public servant has a statute of limitations of five years after the official leaves office or five years after the crime is discovered, whichever occurs sooner. However, this extension cannot exceed ten years total from the date of the offense.

Medical Malpractice Statute of Limitations in Arkansas

Medical malpractice claims in Arkansas are governed by Ark. Code Ann. 16-114-203, which sets a two-year filing deadline. This area of law has several important nuances that patients should understand.

The General Two-Year Deadline

All medical malpractice lawsuits must be filed within two years after the cause of action accrues. The accrual date is the date of the wrongful act itself, not the date you discovered the injury. This is a stricter standard than many other states use.

If you are planning to file a medical malpractice suit, sending a written notice of intent to sue can extend the deadline by up to 90 days. This provides a short window for potential settlement negotiations before litigation begins.

The Foreign Object Discovery Rule

Arkansas applies a very limited discovery rule that only covers foreign objects left inside the body. If a surgical instrument, sponge, or other foreign object is left inside a patient and could not reasonably have been discovered within the two-year window, the patient has one year from the date of discovery (or when it should have been discovered) to file suit.

This exception does not extend to other forms of medical negligence. Misdiagnosis, medication errors, and surgical mistakes that do not involve foreign objects must still be filed within the standard two-year period.

Medical Malpractice Involving Minors

Minors receive extended deadlines for medical malpractice claims. For children under the age of nine at the time of the incident, the lawsuit must be filed by the child's eleventh birthday.

If the malpractice could not reasonably have been discovered during that time, the deadline extends to two years from the date of discovery or until the child's nineteenth birthday, whichever comes first.

Medical Records Retention

If you need to gather evidence for a potential claim, knowing Arkansas medical records retention rules is helpful. Medical doctors in Arkansas follow standard HIPAA regulations, retaining sensitive or confidential records for at least six years. Hospitals must keep adult patient records for ten years after the last discharge. Records for minors must be retained for two years after the patient turns 20.

Tolling: When the Clock Pauses

Arkansas recognizes several situations where the statute of limitations clock is paused (tolled). Understanding these exceptions is important because they can extend your filing deadline.

Minors and Persons with Disabilities

Under Ark. Code Ann. 16-56-116, if a person is under 21 years of age or is legally insane at the time a cause of action accrues, the statute of limitations does not begin running. Instead, the person has three years after turning 21 or three years after the disability is removed to file suit.

When two or more disabilities exist at the time the cause of action accrues, the limitations period does not start until all disabilities are removed. However, this protection only applies if the disability existed when the right of action first arose.

Absence from the State

In criminal cases, the statute of limitations is tolled while the accused is continuously absent from Arkansas. The clock pauses when the suspect leaves and resumes when they return.

For civil cases, if a defendant departs from the state after a cause of action accrues, the time of absence may not count toward the limitations period. This prevents defendants from avoiding lawsuits simply by moving out of state.

The Discovery Rule

Outside of the limited foreign object rule in medical malpractice, Arkansas courts may apply a discovery rule in certain fraud and concealment cases. If a defendant actively conceals the cause of action, the limitations period may not begin until the plaintiff knew or should have known about the claim.

Comparison: Arkansas vs. Neighboring States

Filing deadlines vary across state lines. If your case involves events in multiple states, the applicable statute of limitations could differ significantly.

Legal Resources:

• Ark. Code Ann. 16-56-105 - Actions with limitation of three years
• Ark. Code Ann. 5-1-109 - Criminal Statute of limitations
• Ark. Code Ann. 16-114-203 - Medical Malpractice Statute of limitations
• Ark. Code Ann. 16-62-102 - Wrongful Death Actions
• Ark. Code Ann. 16-56-116 - Persons Under Disabilities at Time of Accrual
• Medical Record Retention Laws by State

State laws are always subject to change. While our goal is to provide the most current information available, please consider consulting an Arkansas attorney or conducting your own legal research to verify the state law(s) you are researching.

Additional Reading: How long is a life sentence in Arkansas?

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