Missouri and Illinois statutes of limitations.
Miss the deadline, lose the case. Below is the side-by-side chart of the deadlines that come up most often in our practice. Use it as a reference. Talk to an attorney to confirm what applies to you.
Personal injury and wrongful death
Personal injury (negligence)
The single largest difference between the two states. A car accident on the wrong side of the river can be filed three years after the deadline runs on the other side.
Mo. Rev. Stat. § 516.120 · 735 ILCS 5/13-202
Missouri
5 years
Illinois
2 years
Wrongful death
Measured from the date of death, not the underlying injury. Illinois adds two longer branches: 5 years where the death resulted from violent intentional conduct, and 1 year after final disposition of the criminal case where the defendant was charged with an enumerated homicide offense. Both longer branches run only against the person who committed the act or was criminally charged, not against any other defendant.
Mo. Rev. Stat. § 537.100 · 740 ILCS 180/2
Missouri
3 years
Illinois
2 years, or 5 if the death was caused by violent intentional conduct
Medical malpractice
A real trap. Missouri is not a discovery state here: the two years runs from the date of the negligent act, even if you had no way to know. The only discovery exceptions are a foreign object left in the body and a negligent failure to tell you your test results. Illinois does use discovery accrual. Minors get extended deadlines under both.
Mo. Rev. Stat. § 516.105 · 735 ILCS 5/13-212
Missouri
2 years from the act itself (10-year repose)
Illinois
2 years from discovery (4-year repose)
Product liability
Mo. Rev. Stat. § 516.120 · 735 ILCS 5/13-213
Missouri
5 years
Illinois
2 years (10-year repose)
Premises liability (slip and fall)
Mo. Rev. Stat. § 516.120 · 735 ILCS 5/13-202
Missouri
5 years
Illinois
2 years
Workers' compensation
Both clocks can run from the last benefit payment, not just the injury date, so a claim that looks long expired may still be open if benefits were paid recently. Notice to the employer comes far sooner: Missouri within 30 days, Illinois within 45.
Mo. Rev. Stat. § 287.430 · 820 ILCS 305/6(d)
Missouri
2 years from injury or last payment (3 if no report filed)
Illinois
3 years from accident, or 2 years from last payment, whichever is later
Dog bite / animal injury
Illinois has a strict-liability dog-bite statute that runs on the same 2-year clock.
Mo. Rev. Stat. § 516.120 · 735 ILCS 5/13-202; 510 ILCS 5/16
Missouri
5 years
Illinois
2 years
Claims against government
Notice deadlines for government defendants are often shorter than the statute of limitations and are easy to miss. Both states require formal pre-suit notice with strict timing.
Notice of claim against a large Missouri city
Narrower than most people assume. The 90-day notice applies only to cities of 100,000 or more inhabitants, and only to injuries from a defect in a bridge, boulevard, street, sidewalk, or thoroughfare. Missouri's sovereign-immunity statute (§ 537.600) contains no notice requirement, so a claim against a county, a smaller city, or the state is not subject to this 90-day rule.
Mo. Rev. Stat. § 82.210
Missouri
Within 90 days of the occurrence
Illinois
N/A
Suit against an Illinois local government
This is a filing deadline, not a notice deadline, and it replaces the ordinary 2-year period rather than adding to it. The Tort Immunity Act's old notice sections were repealed in 1986. Patient-care claims run on their own schedule under § 8-101(b). Suits against the state itself go to the Illinois Court of Claims with its own rules.
N/A · 745 ILCS 10/8-101
Missouri
N/A
Illinois
Within 1 year of the injury
Criminal charges
The state has to file charges within these windows or it loses the right to prosecute. Some offenses (sex crimes against minors, murder, public corruption) have no limitations period in either state.
Most felonies
Mo. Rev. Stat. § 556.036 · 720 ILCS 5/3-5
Missouri
3 years
Illinois
3 years
Most misdemeanors
Mo. Rev. Stat. § 556.036 · 720 ILCS 5/3-5
Missouri
1 year
Illinois
18 months
Murder, certain sex offenses, public corruption
Mo. Rev. Stat. § 556.036 · 720 ILCS 5/3-5
Missouri
No limit
Illinois
No limit
Contract claims
Breach of written contract
Mo. Rev. Stat. § 516.110 · 735 ILCS 5/13-206
Missouri
10 years
Illinois
10 years
Breach of oral contract
Mo. Rev. Stat. § 516.120 · 735 ILCS 5/13-205
Missouri
5 years
Illinois
5 years
Things that change the clock
The deadline isn't always when you think.
- Discovery rule. Some claims start running when you knew or should have known about the harm rather than when it happened. But this varies more than people expect, and Missouri medical malpractice is the important exception: RSMo § 516.105 runs from the date of the negligent act, with discovery accrual only for a foreign object left in the body or a negligent failure to inform you of test results.
- Minor tolling. Missouri uses 21, not 18. RSMo § 516.170 tolls the limitations period for anyone who was "within the age of twenty-one years" when the claim accrued, so a person hurt as a child often has far longer than they assume. Illinois handles minors through separate provisions that vary by claim type. Do not count from an 18th birthday without checking.
- Mental incapacity. Both states pause limitations periods for people who are legally incompetent at the time of the injury. The pause ends when capacity is restored.
- Defendant out of state. Missouri has tolling provisions when the defendant is absent from the state. Illinois rules differ.
- Government claims. These do not work the way most summaries describe. In Illinois, 745 ILCS 10/8-101 gives you one year to file suit against a local public entity, and that period replaces the usual two years rather than adding a notice step to it. In Missouri, the 90-day notice under RSMo § 82.210 is narrow: cities of 100,000 or more, and only defects in a bridge, boulevard, street, sidewalk, or thoroughfare. A claim against a county or a smaller Missouri city is not subject to it.
This page is a general reference and not legal advice. Statutes of limitations interact with discovery rules, repose statutes, tolling provisions, and procedural rules in ways that turn on the specific facts of your case. Talk to an attorney.
Your free case review
starts with one call.
Tell us what happened. We'll tell you whether you have a case, what it's worth, and what happens next. No pressure, no obligation, no sales pitch.
Available 24/7 for emergencies · Missouri Bar #70709 · Illinois admission pending