Statute of Limitations for Tolling for Minority in Maryland

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

Maryland’s general statute of limitations is 3 years, and the default rule is found in Md. Code, Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 5-106. For minority tolling, the key question is whether the claimant was a minor when the claim accrued. If so, Maryland law may pause the limitations clock until the disability ends.

Because no claim-type-specific rule was identified in this brief, this page uses Maryland’s general/default period as the baseline. That means 3 years is the starting point unless a more specific statute applies or another exception changes the deadline.

Note: This page is a reference guide, not legal advice. When a limitations deadline matters, the exact accrual date and any tolling facts control the result.

A practical way to think about minority tolling is:

the claim accrues,
the claimant is a minor at that time,
the clock may be paused during minority,
the clock starts running again when the legal disability ends.

That is the framework DocketMath uses in the statute of limitations calculator to help estimate deadlines from the facts you enter.

Limitation period

Maryland’s general limitations period is 3 years under Md. Code, Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 5-106. In other words, if no specific statute changes the deadline, a civil claim generally must be brought within 3 years of accrual.

For minority tolling, the calculation changes if the person entitled to sue was under 18 when the claim arose. In that situation, the limitations period may not begin to run in the same way it would for an adult. Instead of running immediately from accrual, the clock may be suspended while the claimant remains a minor.

Here is the practical effect:

Fact pattern	Effect on deadline
Claim accrues while claimant is an adult	3-year general period applies from accrual
Claim accrues while claimant is a minor	Minority tolling may delay the running of the 3-year period
Disability ends before the ordinary 3-year period expires	The clock resumes after minority ends
Separate statute supplies a different deadline	That specific rule controls instead of the general period

DocketMath’s calculator is designed to handle those moving parts by asking for the date the claim arose, the claimant’s age or minority status, and any known end date for tolling. The output changes when any of those inputs change:

Earlier accrual date usually means an earlier deadline.
Later end of minority usually pushes the deadline out.
A statute-specific limitations rule can override the default 3-year baseline.

If you are evaluating a file, the first task is to identify the accrual date. Then determine whether the claimant was a minor at that time. Those two facts usually drive the result more than anything else.

Key exceptions

Maryland’s default rule is 3 years, but minority tolling is not the only factor that can change the deadline. Two practical exceptions matter most when you are checking a potential filing window.

1. A different statute may control the claim

Not every claim follows the general period in § 5-106. Some causes of action have their own limitations periods, and those claim-specific rules can override the default 3-year period. Since this brief identifies no claim-type-specific sub-rule, this page treats the general rule as the default and does not assume a shorter or longer deadline.

2. Tolling depends on the disability actually existing at accrual

Minority tolling only matters if the claimant was legally a minor when the claim accrued. If the person had already reached majority when the claim arose, then the ordinary 3-year period runs from accrual without minority tolling.

A quick checklist helps:

Warning: A missed deadline can end the case before it starts. In limitations analysis, the safest approach is to anchor the calculation to the exact accrual date and the exact end of any tolling period.

For practical workflow, DocketMath helps users compare possible deadlines by changing input dates and reviewing how the output shifts. That is useful when the record is incomplete or when the minority date is close to the accrual date.

Statute citation

The general Maryland limitations statute is Md. Code, Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 5-106. The cited source for this page is:

Md. Code, Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 5-106
Source: https://codes.findlaw.com/md/courts-and-judicial-proceedings/md-code-cts-and-jud-pro-sect-5-106/?utm_source=openai

Use that citation as the starting point for any Maryland limitations analysis unless a more specific statute applies to the claim you are evaluating.

For reference, the key legal takeaway from this page is:

Topic	Maryland rule
General limitations period	3 years
General statute	Md. Code, Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 5-106
Minority tolling	May pause the running of the period while the claimant is a minor
Claim-type-specific rule in this brief	None identified

When drafting a deadline note, cite both the general statute and the tolling fact pattern. That keeps the analysis clear and makes it easier to explain why the deadline falls where it does.

Use the calculator

DocketMath’s statute of limitations calculator helps estimate the filing deadline by applying the Maryland 3-year default period and then adjusting for minority tolling if the facts support it.

Use these inputs:

Accrual date: the date the claim arose
Minority status: whether the claimant was under 18 at accrual
End of minority: the date the claimant reached majority, if known
Claim category: to check whether a different statute may apply
Other tolling facts: if any separate rule is relevant

The output changes in predictable ways:

Input change	Likely effect on result
Accrual date moves earlier	Deadline moves earlier
Accrual date moves later	Deadline moves later
End of minority moves later	Deadline may extend further
Claim is subject to a specific statute	General 3-year baseline may not control

A good workflow is:

Enter the accrual date.
Mark whether the claimant was a minor.
Add the date minority ended, if available.
Review the calculated deadline.
Compare the output against any claim-specific statute that may govern.

Because minority tolling turns on dates, small factual changes can produce very different results. That is exactly why a calculator is useful: it lets you test the timeline quickly without losing track of the statutory baseline.