Texas Personal Injury Statute of Limitations: Two Years Under CPRC § 16.003
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 for personal injury — and also for trespass for injury to the estate or property of another, conversion of personal property, taking or detaining the personal property of another, forcible entry and detainer, and forcible detainer — not later than two years after the day the cause of action accrues.
Source: Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code section 16.003(a) (as of August 31, 2026).
What the statute says
Section 16.003(a) bundles a set of causes of action into one two-year period: trespass for injury to the estate or to the property of another, conversion of personal property, taking or detaining the personal property of another, personal injury, forcible entry and detainer, and forcible detainer. It applies except as provided by sections 16.010, 16.0031, and 16.0045.
This is a structural difference from California, which splits these across statutes — two years for bodily injury under Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1, but three years for conversion and property damage under section 338. In Texas, the property claims carry the same two years as the injury claim, so a single incident produces one deadline rather than two.
When the clock starts
The period runs from the day the cause of action accrues, generally when the wrongful act causes injury. Texas applies the discovery rule considerably more narrowly than California does, generally limiting it to injuries that are both inherently undiscoverable and objectively verifiable — so a practitioner should not assume delayed accrual is available merely because the plaintiff was unaware.
Texas also recognises the fraudulent-concealment doctrine, which estops a defendant who concealed the wrong from relying on limitations, but that is an estoppel rather than a change to accrual.
Key exceptions and tolling
- Disability tolling.Section 16.001 addresses the effect of legal disability — minority or unsound mind — on the running of limitations periods.
- Health care liability is separate.A health care liability claim runs under section 74.251, which has its own two-year measuring points and a ten-year statute of repose.
- Sexual offences are carved out.Section 16.003 applies except as provided by section 16.0045, which sets 30-year and 5-year periods for claims arising from specified sexual offences.
- Trade secrets.Misappropriation of trade secrets is governed by section 16.010 rather than the general two-year period.
- Narrow discovery rule.Texas applies the discovery rule more restrictively than California, generally requiring the injury to be inherently undiscoverable and objectively verifiable.
Frequently asked
How long do you have to file a personal injury lawsuit in Texas?
Generally two years from the day the cause of action accrues, under Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code section 16.003. This is general information, not legal advice.
Does Texas give three years for property damage like California?
No. Section 16.003 places conversion, taking or detaining personal property, and trespass for injury to property in the same two-year period as personal injury. California splits these, giving three years for property under Code of Civil Procedure section 338.
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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 16.003 and controlling case law. Using this page does not create an attorney-client relationship.
Statutory citations current as of August 31, 2026.