Statute of Limitations for Tolling for Mental Incapacity in Tennessee

6 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

Tennessee’s general limitations period for tolling for mental incapacity is 1 year under Tennessee Code Annotated § 40-35-111(e)(2). This page gives the default period used by DocketMath for Tennessee when no claim-type-specific rule is identified.

Tennessee does not appear to have a separate sub-rule in the provided jurisdiction data for this topic, so the 1-year general period is the baseline reflected here. That means the calculator will start with that default and then adjust based on the dates and facts you enter.

Use this page as a reference point for how the Tennessee timer works, what information affects the output, and where the statute itself fits into the calculation.

Note: This is a reference page, not legal advice. The result depends on the dates entered and any tolling facts that apply under Tennessee law.

Limitation period

The default Tennessee period here is 1 year. DocketMath uses that number as the starting point for the statute-of-limitations calculation when evaluating tolling for mental incapacity in Tennessee.

Here is how that works in practice:

Item	Tennessee default
General limitations period	1 year
Governing statute	Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-35-111(e)(2)
Claim-type-specific rule provided in the brief	None found
Calculator status	Uses the general/default period

What changes the output?

The calculator output is not just a single date. It can change based on:

Accrual date — when the claim or clock begins
Tolling period — any time the clock is paused
Incapacity dates — when the mental incapacity began and ended
Filing date — when the case or filing actually occurred

If the tolling window overlaps with the base 1-year period, the deadline moves later. If there is no qualifying tolling period, the deadline stays at the ordinary 1-year mark.

Why the default matters

Because the brief states that no claim-type-specific sub-rule was found, the 1-year period is the practical rule DocketMath applies unless a more specific statute or case-based rule is introduced elsewhere in the analysis. That makes the default especially useful for quick screening and deadline checks.

Key exceptions

The main exception is tolling itself: if mental incapacity qualifies under the applicable Tennessee rule, the limitations clock pauses during the tolling period. The effect is to extend the deadline by the amount of time the clock was suspended.

For a calculator workflow, the exception generally depends on whether the user can identify:

the date incapacity started,
the date incapacity ended, and
the underlying limitations start date.

A few practical scenarios show how the output changes:

No incapacity period entered
The deadline remains the standard 1-year deadline.
Incapacity entered after the clock starts
The deadline extends by the number of paused days or months.
Incapacity overlaps only part of the year
Only the overlapping portion affects the deadline.
Incapacity dates are incomplete
The calculator may return a narrower result or flag the calculation as uncertain.

Warning: A tolling input is only useful if the dates are specific. A vague statement like “the claimant was incapacitated for a while” will not produce a reliable deadline.

What users should have ready

To get the most accurate output from DocketMath, gather:

the date the claim accrued,
the date mental incapacity began,
the date incapacity ended,
the filing date or target filing date,
any court order or event that affects counting.

That information lets the calculator show how much the deadline moves and whether the filing is inside or outside the 1-year period.

Statute citation

The statute cited in the provided jurisdiction data is Tennessee Code Annotated § 40-35-111(e)(2). The source provided for that citation is: https://law.justia.com/codes/tennessee/title-40/chapter-35/part-1/section-40-35-111/

For reference purposes, here is the citation format commonly used in deadline notes:

**Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-35-111(e)(2)

Why citation format matters

A citation does two things in a deadline workflow:

identifies the authority behind the time period, and
gives the user a concrete statute to verify against the case record.

When a calculator is built around a citation-first approach, the output is easier to audit. That matters when a deadline turns on a 1-year period and a tolling argument may change the final date.

Quick reference table

Reference item	Details
State	Tennessee
Code	Tennessee Code Annotated
Section	§ 40-35-111(e)(2)
Default period	1 year
Provided source	Justia code page linked above

Use the calculator

Use DocketMath’s statute-of-limitations tool to turn the Tennessee 1-year period into a deadline based on your actual dates. The tool is here: /tools/statute-of-limitations

Here’s the simplest way to use it:

Enter the jurisdiction as Tennessee.
Select the relevant date type or accrual date.
Add any mental incapacity tolling dates.
Review the calculated deadline.
Compare the result to your filing date.

How the inputs affect the output

Input	Effect on result
Accrual date	Starts the 1-year countdown
Incapacity start date	Pauses the countdown if tolling applies
Incapacity end date	Restarts the countdown
Filing date	Shows whether the filing is timely
Missing tolling dates	Produces a simpler, baseline deadline

Example workflow

If the claim accrued on January 10, 2025, and no tolling applies, the base deadline is one year later. If mental incapacity paused the clock for 60 days, the deadline shifts forward by 60 days. That is the core value of the calculator: it converts a statutory period into a usable date.

For repeat checks, save the key dates and rerun the calculation when new facts come in. That is often the fastest way to see whether the deadline moved.