Statute of Limitations for Assault and Battery (intentional tort) in Wisconsin

7 min read

Published April 8, 2026 • By DocketMath Team

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Laws change frequently — verify all citations with current official sources.

Overview

Wisconsin’s default statute of limitations for assault and battery claims is 6 years. For intentional tort claims, Wisconsin does not provide a separate, claim-specific shorter period here; the general 6-year period in Wis. Stat. § 939.74(1) is the rule to use for assault and battery unless a different rule applies to a particular fact pattern.

Assault and battery are often pleaded as intentional torts arising from the same incident, but they are legally distinct claims. Battery typically covers harmful or offensive physical contact, while assault generally covers the apprehension of imminent harmful contact. In practice, the limitation analysis usually starts with the date of the incident that caused the injury.

If you are checking timing for a claim, the key question is simple: when did the alleged assault or battery occur? From there, count forward 6 years under Wisconsin’s general period. DocketMath’s statute-of-limitations tool helps you calculate that date quickly and see how the result changes if the incident date, tolling facts, or filing date shift.

Note: This page gives a reference point for Wisconsin’s general rule. It does not replace a case-specific filing analysis, especially if the facts involve a minor, a defendant concealment issue, or another tolling question.

Limitation period

The limitation period is 6 years in Wisconsin. Under the jurisdiction data provided for this page, the general/default period for assault and battery intentional tort claims is 6 years, and the cited statute is Wis. Stat. § 939.74(1).

A practical way to think about the deadline:

Start date: the date the assault or battery occurred
Limit period: 6 years
Deadline: the same calendar date 6 years later

For example:

Incident date	6-year deadline
March 10, 2020	March 10, 2026
July 1, 2021	July 1, 2027
December 31, 2022	December 31, 2028

That basic calculation is the first pass. If the incident happened on a date late in the year and the complaint is being prepared near the deadline, the difference of even one day can matter. Filing after the limitations period usually means the claim faces dismissal on timeliness grounds.

What to enter into DocketMath

When you use the calculator, the inputs that matter most are:

Incident date
Filing date
Jurisdiction: Wisconsin
Claim type: assault / battery
Any tolling facts, if the tool asks for them

The output changes based on those inputs:

A later incident date pushes the deadline forward.
A later filing date increases the risk the claim is untimely.
A tolling event can extend the deadline if the rule applies to the facts.

Practical filing checklist

Key exceptions

No claim-type-specific sub-rule was found for assault and battery in the provided Wisconsin data, so the general 6-year period is the default. That means the cleanest reference answer is the same for both claims unless another rule changes the analysis.

Still, several issues can affect the real deadline:

Issue	How it can affect timing
Tolling for legal disability	May pause or extend the running of time
Minor plaintiff	Can change when the clock begins or whether it is tolled
Delayed discovery arguments	Usually less important for direct-contact intentional torts, but facts matter
Amended pleadings	Adding a new claim after the deadline can create relation-back issues
Wrong defendant named first	Timing can become critical if substitution is needed

In a pure assault or battery case, the safer assumption is that the clock starts on the date of the alleged event. That is especially true where the injury is immediate and known right away, because there is usually no need to wait for later discovery of harm before the claim exists.

Warning: A calendar reminder is not the same as a legal deadline analysis. If the filing date is close to the 6-year mark, verify the exact start date, any tolling facts, and whether the claim was properly framed from the beginning.

One practical point: if both assault and battery are asserted from the same incident, the shorter or longer deadline does not split them here under the provided Wisconsin rule. The 6-year period controls the default calculation.

Statute citation

Wisconsin’s cited statute for this page is Wis. Stat. § 939.74(1). The jurisdiction data provided identifies that statute as the source for the 6-year general limitations period used here.

Here is the citation in reference form:

**Wis. Stat. § 939.74(1)
General SOL period: 6 years
Jurisdiction: Wisconsin

For reference, the source provided for this jurisdiction data is:

https://codes.findlaw.com/wi/crimes-ch-938-to-951/wi-st-939-74/

If you are building a deadline memo or a filing checklist, this is the citation to attach to the baseline calculation. From there, you can layer on case-specific facts such as tolling, accrual disputes, or procedural events that alter the final filing date.

A concise way to document the analysis:

Item	Entry
Claim	Assault and/or battery
State	Wisconsin
General limitations period	6 years
Statute	Wis. Stat. § 939.74(1)
Trigger date	Date of alleged incident
Deadline	Incident date + 6 years

When you need the date in a deadline-ready format, DocketMath can calculate it for you and display the result against the filing date you enter.

Use the calculator

DocketMath’s statute-of-limitations calculator shows the filing deadline in seconds once you enter the incident date and jurisdiction. For Wisconsin assault and battery claims, the default result is a 6-year window from the incident date.

Use it when you want to answer one of these common questions:

“Is this claim still timely?”
“What is the deadline if the incident happened on this date?”
“How does the deadline change if the filing date moves?”
“Do I still have time to draft and file?”

How to use it

Open the calculator: /tools/statute-of-limitations
Select Wisconsin
Enter the date of the assault or battery
Enter the expected filing date
Review the calculated deadline and any timing flag
Re-run the calculation if a fact changes

What the output tells you

The calculator is most helpful for three practical tasks:

Deadline check: confirms whether the claim falls inside the 6-year period
Date comparison: compares the incident date to the planned filing date
Scenario testing: shows how a different date affects timeliness

That makes it easier to spot a deadline problem early, before drafting or filing becomes urgent. If you are reviewing old incident records, the calculator also helps you test multiple possible dates when the exact event date is uncertain.

Good inputs lead to better results

Use the most precise date available:

police report date
incident date from medical or witness records
date stated in the complaint or demand letter

If the facts show more than one incident, run a separate calculation for each date. A single case file can contain multiple potential trigger dates, and each one may produce a different deadline.