New Jersey Filing Deadline Checker
New Jersey gives most injury claims two years. If a public body was involved — a municipality, a school district, a state agency, NJ Transit — you have 90 days to serve a notice of claim. That is the shortest government deadline of any state covered here, and it starts on the day of the accident.
Enter the date of injury below to see where you stand. Nothing is submitted or stored.
- Most injury claims2 yearsFrom the date of injury
- Public entities90 daysNotice of claim
- Late notice1 yearOnly at the court’s discretion
- Threshold certification60 daysAfter the defendant’s answer
Every deadline that can apply in New Jersey
| Most personal injury claims | Two years from the date of injury. N.J.S.A. § 2A:14-2 |
|---|---|
| Wrongful death | Two years from the date of death. N.J.S.A. § 2A:31-3 |
| Medical malpractice | Two years from the discovery of the injury. An affidavit of merit from a qualified expert must be filed within 60 days of the defendant's answer. N.J.S.A. § 2A:14-2 |
| Claim against a city, county or state agency Much shorter than the ordinary deadline | Ninety days from the date the claim accrues. Only 90 days to file a notice of tort claim — one of the shortest windows in the country. Miss it and the two-year lawsuit deadline becomes irrelevant. N.J.S.A. § 59:8-8 |
If the injured person is under 18: Tolled until the injured person turns 18, then two years run. The 90-day public-entity notice is not tolled the same way. N.J.S.A. § 2A:14-21
This is general information, not legal advice. Deadlines can start earlier or later than the date of injury, and exceptions apply. If any deadline here looks close, speak to a lawyer straight away rather than relying on this page.
Two years, and a 90-day trapdoor
Most New Jersey personal injury claims must be filed within two years under N.J.S.A. 2A:14-2. Wrongful death runs two years from the date of death under § 2A:31-3.
That is the deadline people know about. The one that ends claims is the Tort Claims Act notice, and it expires while most claimants are still in treatment.
Ninety days to notify a public entity
Under N.J.S.A. 59:8-8, written notice of claim must be presented within 90 days of the accident before suing any public body. That covers municipalities, counties, school districts, state agencies, public hospitals, county colleges and NJ Transit.
Three months is short enough that many claimants have not yet finished diagnosis, let alone identified that a public entity was involved. A collision with a bus is obvious; a fall caused by a defective municipal sidewalk, or a crash at an intersection where the signal was mistimed, is not.
Late notice can be permitted within one year of the accident, but only on a court application showing extraordinary circumstances and no substantial prejudice to the entity. It is a discretionary remedy, granted sparingly, and never something to plan around.
After notice, the entity has six months to respond before suit can be filed — and the two-year deadline keeps running throughout.
The 60-day certification
A separate deadline applies to anyone with the limited right to sue option. To pursue pain and suffering, a physician’s certification must be served within 60 days of the defendant’s answer, sworn under penalty of perjury and supported by objective clinical evidence.
This is not a limitation period in the ordinary sense — it arrives after the case has already been filed — but it ends non-economic claims just as effectively. An injury that plainly meets the verbal threshold can still lose that part of the claim on a late certification.
Medical malpractice
Medical negligence claims run two years from discovery of the injury under § 2A:14-2. An affidavit of merit from a qualified expert must be filed within 60 days of the defendant’s answer, extendable to 120 days for good cause. Failure to file it is generally fatal to the claim.
When the clock starts later
Injured children. The two-year period is tolled until the child turns 18 under § 2A:14-21, so ordinary claims usually survive to age 20. The 90-day public entity notice has its own exception for minors, which allows notice after the child turns 18 — but evidence against a public body disappears quickly, so the notice should still be served immediately.
Discovery. New Jersey applies the discovery rule where an injury or its cause could not reasonably have been known. Courts resolve it at a preliminary hearing rather than leaving it to trial.
What actually stops the clock
Filing suit, or serving a Tort Claims Act notice where one is required. A PIP claim does not, and neither does correspondence with a municipal risk manager — a route that has consumed many New Jersey claims while the claimant waited for a response.
Common questions
How long do I have to sue NJ Transit or a city?
Notice of claim within 90 days of the accident, then suit within two years. Late notice may be allowed within one year on a showing of extraordinary circumstances, at the court’s discretion.
What if I did not know a public entity was involved?
The 90 days still run from the accident. That is the usual basis for a late-notice application, but it must be brought within one year and is granted sparingly.
What is the 60-day physician certification?
A sworn certification confirming your injury meets the verbal threshold, served within 60 days of the defendant’s answer. Missing it can end the pain and suffering claim even where the injury qualifies.
My child was injured. How long do we have?
Ordinary claims are generally tolled until age 18, leaving until about 20. The Tort Claims Act also lets a minor give notice after turning 18, but waiting is risky — serve the 90-day notice straight away.
Related
- New Jersey settlement calculator — estimate what a claim may be worth
- New Jersey injury claims overview
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