Texas Fraud Statute of Limitations: Four Years Under CPRC § 16.004
Reviewed and current as of August 31, 2026. California law can change; verify against the current statute before relying on any date.
A person must bring suit on the following actions not later than four years after the day the cause of action accrues: specific performance of a contract for the conveyance of real property; penalty or damages on the penal clause of a bond to convey real property; debt; fraud; or breach of fiduciary duty.
Source: Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code section 16.004(a) (as of August 31, 2026).
What the statute says
Section 16.004(a) groups five causes of action into a single four-year period. Fraud and breach of fiduciary duty sit in the same subsection as debt and the real-property conveyance actions, which means Texas resolves in one provision what California splits across section 338(d) for fraud and the section 343 catch-all for fiduciary duty.
Subsection (b) addresses suits on the bond of an executor, administrator, or guardian, requiring filing not later than four years after the day of the death, resignation, removal, or discharge of that person. Subsection (c) covers partnership account settlements and open, stated, or mutual and current accounts between merchants, with accrual on the day the dealings in which the parties were interested together cease.
When the clock starts
The statute measures from accrual. Unlike California's section 338(d), which writes discovery accrual into the text of the fraud provision, section 16.004 does not state a discovery rule on its face — delayed accrual for fraud in Texas rests on the judicially developed discovery rule and the fraudulent-concealment doctrine rather than on the statute itself.
That is a meaningful drafting difference. A California practitioner accustomed to reading discovery accrual out of the fraud statute should not assume the same is available from the Texas text.
Key exceptions and tolling
- No discovery rule on the face of the statute.Section 16.004 measures from accrual and does not write in discovery accrual the way California's section 338(d) does; delayed accrual rests on judicial doctrine.
- Fiduciary duty shares the period.Breach of fiduciary duty sits in the same four-year subsection as fraud, so Texas does not require the fraud-versus-non-fraud characterisation that drives the California analysis.
- Fiduciary bonds.Subsection (b) measures four years from the death, resignation, removal, or discharge of the executor, administrator, or guardian rather than from the underlying wrong.
- Merchant accounts.Subsection (c) provides that the cause of action accrues on the day the dealings in which the parties were interested together cease.
- Fraudulent concealment.Texas recognises fraudulent concealment as an estoppel preventing a defendant from relying on limitations, which is distinct from a change in accrual.
Frequently asked
How long do you have to sue for fraud in Texas?
Four years after the day the cause of action accrues, under Civil Practice and Remedies Code section 16.004(a), which also covers debt and breach of fiduciary duty. This is general information, not legal advice.
Does the Texas fraud clock run from discovery?
The statute measures from accrual and does not state a discovery rule on its face, unlike California's section 338(d). Delayed accrual in Texas rests on the judicially developed discovery rule and fraudulent-concealment doctrine, and should be argued rather than assumed.
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Not legal advice. This page is general information for licensed attorneys and is not a substitute for independent legal research or professional judgment. It does not address the facts of any specific matter. Statutes, case law, and court rules change; tolling, the discovery rule, equitable estoppel, and claims involving minors, government entities, or out-of-state defendants can all change the applicable deadline. Confirm every date against the current text of Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code section 16.004 and controlling case law. Using this page does not create an attorney-client relationship.
Statutory citations current as of August 31, 2026.