> This page provides general legal information and calculation tools, not legal advice. DocketMath is not a law firm and does not provide legal representation, and using this site does not create an attorney-client relationship. Laws change and exceptions apply, so deadlines and amounts specific to your situation should be confirmed with a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction.

# Wrongful Death Statute Of Limitations in Ohio

Ohio’s wrongful death statute of limitations is set by Ohio Revised Code § 2305.10, which governs the time frame to bring such a claim. The statute establishes a fixed period of 2 years from the date the cause of action accrues. This means that a wrongful death lawsuit in Ohio must be filed within that two-year window. The official source for this rule is available at the Ohio Code website. The statute also sets out factors and provides exceptions that may affect the calculation, all of which are detailed in the original text. A worked example below demonstrates how the two-year period applies. Use the DocketMath calculator to estimate your own specific deadline based on your circumstances.

## Governing authority

In Ohio, the statute of limitations rule is set by **Ohio Rev. Code § 2305.10**. The verified packet cites Ohio Rev. Code § 2305.10 (https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-2305.10).

## Deadline example

For a Ohio wrongful death limitations check, use the verified limitations period from the current rule packet: **2 years**. The authority packet cites Ohio Rev. Code § 2305.10 (https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-2305.10).

Example inputs:
- Accrual date: 2024-04-25
- Filing date checked: 2026-04-25

Calculation:
- Start with the accrual date.
- Add 2 years.
- The example deadline is **2026-04-25**.

This example is generated from the verified facts packet rather than freeform prose. Confirm tolling, discovery rules, and claim-specific exceptions before relying on the date.

**Estimate your own result:** every situation has exceptions that can change the outcome. Use the wrongful death statute of limitations calculator to estimate your specific figure.

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_This page provides general legal information and calculation tools, not legal advice. DocketMath is not a law firm and does not provide legal representation, and using this site does not create an attorney-client relationship. Laws change and exceptions apply, so deadlines and amounts specific to your situation should be confirmed with a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction._


Ohio’s wrongful death statute of limitations is set by Ohio Revised Code § 2305.10, which governs the time frame to bring such a claim. The statute establishe

Wrongful Death Statute Of Limitations in Ohio

a civil action for wrongful death shall be commenced within two years after the decedent's death

Except as provided in sections 1303.16 , 1345.10 , and 2305.04 of the Revised Code, and notwithstanding divisions (A) and (B) of this section, section 1302.98 , and division (B) of section 2305.03 of the Revised Code, an action arising out of a consumer transaction incurred primarily for personal, family, or household purposes, based upon any contract, agreement, obligation, liability, or promise, express or implied, including an account stated, whether or not reduced to writing or signed by the party to be charged by that transaction, shall be commenced within six years after the cause of action accrued. For purposes of this division, a cause of action accrues thirty calendar days after the date of the last charge or payment by, or on behalf of, the consumer, whichever is later.

(A) Except as provided in sections 126.301 and 1302.98 of the Revised Code, an action upon a contract not in writing, express or implied, shall be brought within four years after the cause of action accrued.

Except as provided in sections 126.301 , 1302.98 , 1303.16 , 1345.10 , and 2305.04 of the Revised Code, an action upon a specialty or an agreement, contract, or promise in writing shall be brought within six years after the cause of action accrued.

(C)(1) Except as provided in division (C)(2) of this section, an action for assault or battery brought by a victim of childhood sexual abuse based on childhood sexual abuse, or an action brought by a victim of childhood sexual abuse asserting any claim resulting from childhood sexual abuse, shall be brought within twelve years after the cause of action accrues. If the defendant in an action brought by a victim of childhood sexual abuse asserting a claim resulting from childhood sexual abuse that occurs on or after August 3, 2006, has fraudulently concealed from the plaintiff facts that form the basis of the claim, the running of the limitations period with regard to that claim is tolled until the time when the plaintiff discovers or in the exercise of due diligence should have discovered those facts.

Except as provided for in division (C) of this section, an action for any of the following causes shall be brought within four years after the cause thereof accrued: (C) For relief on the ground of fraud, except when the cause of action is a violation of section 2913.49 of the Revised Code, in which case the action shall be brought within five years after the cause thereof accrued; If the action is for trespassing under ground or injury to mines, or for the wrongful taking of personal property, the causes thereof shall not accrue until the wrongdoer is discovered; nor, if it is for fraud, until the fraud is discovered.

The 180 calendar day filing deadline is extended to 300 calendar days if a state or local agency enforces a law that prohibits employment discrimination on the same basis. The rules are slightly different for age discrimination charges. For age discrimination, the filing deadline is only extended to 300 days if there is a state law prohibiting age discrimination in employment and a state agency or authority enforcing that law.

(A) An action to revive a judgment can only be brought within ten years from the time it became dormant, unless the party entitled to bring that action, at the time the judgment became dormant, was within the age of minority, of unsound mind, or imprisoned, in which cases the action may be brought within ten years after the disability is removed.

(A) An action for libel, slander, malicious prosecution, or false imprisonment, an action for malpractice other than an action upon a medical, dental, optometric, or chiropractic claim, an action for legal malpractice against an attorney or a law firm or legal professional association, or an action upon a statute for a penalty or forfeiture shall be commenced within one year after the cause of action accrued, provided that an action by an employee for the payment of unpaid minimum wages, unpaid overtime compensation, or liquidated damages by reason of the nonpayment of minimum wages or overtime compensation shall be commenced within two years after the cause of action accrued.

An action against a political subdivision to recover damages for injury, death, or loss to person or property allegedly caused by any act or omission in connection with a governmental or proprietary function, whether brought as an original action, cross-claim, counterclaim, third-party claim, or claim for subrogation, shall be brought within two years after the cause of action accrues, or within any applicable shorter period of time for bringing the action provided by the Revised Code.

Except as provided for in division (C) of this section, an action for any of the following causes shall be brought within four years after the cause thereof accrued: (A) For trespassing upon real property; (B) For the recovery of personal property, or for taking or detaining it; (C) For relief on the ground of fraud, except when the cause of action is a violation of section 2913.49 of the Revised Code, in which case the action shall be brought within five years after the cause thereof accrued; (D) For an injury to the rights of the plaintiff not arising on contract nor enumerated in sections 1304.35 , 2305.10 to 2305.12 , and 2305.14 of the Revised Code; (E) For relief on the grounds of a physical or regulatory taking of real property.

shall be brought within four years after the cause thereof accrued: (A) For trespassing upon real property; (B) For the recovery of personal property, or for taking or detaining it; (C) For relief on the ground of fraud, except when the cause of action is a violation of section 2913.49 of the Revised Code, in which case the action shall be brought within five years after the cause thereof accrued; (D) For an injury to the rights of the plaintiff not arising on contract nor enumerated in sections 1304.35 , 2305.10 to 2305.12 , and 2305.14 of the Revised Code

(A) Except as otherwise provided in this section, an action upon a medical, dental, optometric, or chiropractic claim shall be commenced within one year after the cause of action accrued.

(A) Except as provided in division (C) or (E) of this section, an action based on a product liability claim and an action for bodily injury or injuring personal property shall be brought within two years after the cause of action accrues. Except as provided in divisions (B)(1), (2), (3), (4), and (5) of this section, a cause of action accrues under this division when the injury or loss to person or property occurs.

(A)(1) Except as provided in division (A)(2) of this section, when a cause of action accrues against a person, if the person is out of the state, has absconded, or conceals self, the period of limitation for the commencement of the action as provided in sections 2305.04 to 2305.14 , 1302.98 , and 1304.35 of the Revised Code does not begin to run until the person comes into the state or while the person is so absconded or concealed. After the cause of action accrues if the person departs from the state, absconds, or conceals self, the time of the person's absence or concealment shall not be computed as any part of a period within which the action must be brought.

an action for any of the following causes shall be brought within four years after the cause thereof accrued: (A) For trespassing upon real property

(A) An action for breach of any contract for sale must be commenced within four years after the cause of action has accrued. By the original agreement the parties may reduce the period of limitation to not less than one year but may not extend it. (B) A cause of action accrues when the breach occurs, regardless of the aggrieved party's lack of knowledge of the breach. A breach of warranty occurs when tender of delivery is made, except that where a warranty explicitly extends to future performance of the goods and discovery of the breach must await the time of such performance, the cause of action accrues when the breach is or should have been discovered.

In accordance with Section 34a of Article II, Ohio Constitution, an action for equitable and monetary relief may be brought against an employer by the attorney general and/or an employee or person acting on behalf of an employee or all similarly situated employees in any court of competent jurisdiction, including the court of common pleas of an employee's county of residence, for any violation of Section 34a of Article II, Ohio Constitution, or any law or regulation implementing its provisions within three years of the violation or of when the violation ceased if it was of a continuing nature

If the action is for trespassing under ground or injury to mines, or for the wrongful taking of personal property, the causes thereof shall not accrue until the wrongdoer is discovered; nor, if it is for fraud, until the fraud is discovered.

(A) Except as provided in sections 126.301 and 1302.98 of the Revised Code, an action upon a contract not in writing, express or implied, shall be brought within four years after the cause of action accrued. (B) An action upon a liability created by statute other than a forfeiture or penalty shall be brought within six years after the cause of action accrued. (C) Except as provided in sections 1303.16 , 1345.10 , and 2305.04 of the Revised Code, and notwithstanding divisions (A) and (B) of this section, section 1302.98 , and division (B) of section 2305.03 of the Revised Code, an action arising out of a consumer transaction incurred primarily for personal, family, or household purposes, based upon any contract, agreement, obligation, liability, or promise, express or implied, including an account stated, whether or not reduced to writing or signed by the party to be charged by that transaction, shall be commenced within six years after the cause of action accrued.

If the action is for trespassing under ground or injury to mines, or for the wrongful taking of personal property, the causes thereof shall not accrue until the wrongdoer is discovered; nor, if it is for fraud, until the fraud is discovered. An action for professional negligence against a registered surveyor shall be commenced within four years after the completion of the engagement on which the cause of action is based.

(D)(1) If a person making a medical claim, dental claim, optometric claim, or chiropractic claim, in the exercise of reasonable care and diligence, could not have discovered the injury resulting from the act or omission constituting the alleged basis of the claim within three years after the occurrence of the act or omission, but, in the exercise of reasonable care and diligence, discovers the injury resulting from that act or omission before the expiration of the four-year period specified in division (C)(1) of this section, the person may commence an action upon the claim not later than one year after the person discovers the injury resulting from that act or omission. (2) If the alleged basis of a medical claim, dental claim, optometric claim, or chiropractic claim is the occurrence of an act or omission that involves a foreign object that is left in the body of the person making the claim, the person may commence an action upon the claim not later than one year after the person discovered the foreign object or not later than one year after the person, with reasonable care and diligence, should have discovered the foreign object.

Unless otherwise provided in sections 1302.98 , 1304.35 , and 2305.04 to 2305.14 of the Revised Code, if a person entitled to bring any action mentioned in those sections, unless for penalty or forfeiture, is, at the time the cause of action accrues, within the age of minority or of unsound mind, the person may bring it within the respective times limited by those sections, after the disability is removed. When the interests of two or more parties are joint and inseparable, the disability of one shall inure to the benefit of all. After the cause of action accrues, if the person entitled to bring the action becomes of unsound mind and is adjudicated as such by a court of competent jurisdiction or is confined in an institution or hospital under a diagnosed condition or disease which renders the person of unsound mind, the time during which the person is of unsound mind and so adjudicated or so confined shall not be computed as any part of the period within which the action must be brought.

An action for bodily injury or injuring personal property in Ohio must be brought within two years after the cause of action accrues, with the cause of action generally accruing when the injury or loss occurs. Specific discovery-rule accrual applies to enumerated toxic-exposure categories under (B)(1)-(5).

Under Ohio Rev. Code § 2305.06, an action upon a specialty or upon an agreement, contract, or promise in writing must be brought within six years after the cause of action accrued, except as provided in ORC 126.301, 1302.98, 1303.16, 1345.10, and 2305.04. Note: current text reflects amendment effective June 16, 2021 (SB 13, 134th GA), which reduced the period from 8 years to 6 years; pre-2012 the period was 15 years.

Under Ohio Rev. Code § 2305.10(A), an action for bodily injury or injuring personal property must be brought within two years after the cause of action accrues. The same provision covers product-liability claims at the same 2-year limit (subject to the 10-year statute of repose in (C) and discovery-rule carve-outs in (B) for specific toxic substances).

Under Ohio Rev. Code § 2305.11(A), an action for libel, slander, malicious prosecution, false imprisonment, legal malpractice against an attorney/law firm/legal professional association, or general (non-medical/dental/etc.) malpractice must be commenced within one year after the cause of action accrued. Single statute explicitly enumerates all five claim_types.

Under Ohio Rev. Code § 2305.09(C), an action for relief on the ground of fraud must be brought within 4 years after the cause accrues. The accrual is deferred until the fraud is discovered (codified discovery rule).

Under Ohio Rev. Code § 1302.98(A), an action for breach of any contract for sale must be commenced within four years after the cause of action accrued. Ohio's uniform UCC § 2-725.

Under Ohio Rev. Code § 2305.07(C) (added by S.B. 13, eff. June 16, 2021), an action on a consumer transaction (primarily for personal, family, or household purposes) on any contract or obligation — including an account stated, whether or not in writing — must be commenced within 6 years. Non-consumer unwritten contracts run 4 years under § 2305.07(A).

The base Ohio statute of limitations for bodily injury is 2 years under ORC § 2305.10(A). ORC § 2305.15(A)(1) tolls that 2-year period — and all limitations periods in ORC §§ 2305.04–2305.14, 1302.98, and 1304.35 — whenever the defendant is out of the state, absconded, or concealing self. If the defendant is absent at the time the cause of action accrues, the limitations period does not begin to run until the defendant enters the state. If the defendant departs after accrual, the time of absence

An Ohio mortgage foreclosure action must be brought within 6 years after the cause of action accrues under ORC § 2305.06 (written contract/specialty). The 21-year period under ORC § 2305.04 applies only to ejectment actions to recover title or possession of real property, not to mortgage foreclosure. After the 6-year foreclosure period expires, the mortgagee may still pursue ejectment within the 21-year period under ORC § 2305.04, but those are separate remedies.

Statute of limitations for personal injury in US-OH is 2 years under Ohio Rev. Code § 2305.10(A).

Statute of limitations for wrongful death in US-OH is 2 years under Ohio Rev. Code § 2125.02(F)(1).

Statute of limitations for medical malpractice in US-OH is 1 years under Ohio Rev. Code § 2305.113(A).

Statute of limitations for product liability in US-OH is 2 years under Ohio Rev. Code § 2305.10(A).

Statute of limitations for premises liability in US-OH is 2 years under Ohio Rev. Code § 2305.10(A).

Statute of limitations for breach oral contract in US-OH is 4 years under Ohio Rev. Code § 2305.07(A).

Statute of limitations for ucc sale of goods in US-OH is 4 years under Ohio Rev. Code § 1302.98(A).

Statute of limitations for property damage in US-OH is 2 years under Ohio Rev. Code § 2305.10(A).

Statute of limitations for trespass in US-OH is 4 years under Ohio Rev. Code § 2305.09(A).

Statute of limitations for government tort claim in US-OH is 2 years under Ohio Rev. Code § 2744.04(A).

Statute of limitations for legal malpractice in US-OH is 1 years under Ohio Rev. Code § 2305.11(A).

Statute of limitations for breach written contract in US-OH is 6 years under Ohio Rev. Code § 2305.06.

Statute of limitations for libel in US-OH is 1 years under Ohio Rev. Code § 2305.11(A).

Statute of limitations for slander in US-OH is 1 years under Ohio Rev. Code § 2305.11(A).

Statute of limitations for account stated open account in US-OH is 6 years under Ohio Rev. Code § 2305.07(C).

Statute of limitations for fraud in US-OH is 4 years under Ohio Rev. Code § 2305.09(C).

Ohio applies a 6-year statute of limitations to mortgage foreclosure actions under ORC § 2305.06, because a mortgage is a specialty (sealed written instrument) and is an action upon a written contract. The 6-year period runs from accrual of the cause of action.

In Ohio, an action for false imprisonment (false arrest) must be commenced within one year after the cause of action accrues under Ohio Rev. Code § 2305.11(A).

In Ohio, an action for libel (written defamation) must be commenced within one year after the cause of action accrues under Ohio Rev. Code § 2305.11(A).

An insurer's bad-faith refusal to pay a claim is an independent tort; under Ohio Rev. Code § 2305.09(D), an action for an injury to the rights of the plaintiff not arising on contract must be brought within four years after the cause of action accrued.

Enforcement of a domestic judgment in Ohio is governed by the revival statute, Ohio Rev. Code § 2325.18(A): once a judgment becomes dormant, an action to revive it can only be brought within ten years from the time it became dormant, subject to tolling for minority, unsound mind, or imprisonment.

A Title VII discrimination charge must be filed with the EEOC within 180 days, extended to 300 days where a state or local fair-employment agency enforces a parallel anti-discrimination law (Ohio qualifies).

An Ohio wage-and-hour action under the constitutional minimum-wage provision must be brought within 3 years of the violation, or of when a continuing violation ceased.

An action for slander (spoken defamation) in Ohio must be commenced within one year after the cause of action accrued under Ohio Rev. Code § 2305.11(A).

Under Ohio Rev. Code § 2305.16, the limitations period is tolled for a minor plaintiff — time does not begin to run until the disability of minority is removed.

Under Ohio Rev. Code § 2305.15(A), the limitations period does not begin to run while the defendant is out of the state or has absconded.

Under Ohio Rev. Code § 2305.15(A), the limitations period does not run while the defendant conceals self; time of concealment is not counted.

Ohio recognizes the discovery rule: ORC § 2305.09 codifies it for fraud and certain property torts (accrual deferred until discovery of wrongdoer or fraud); O'Stricker v. Jim Walter Corp., 4 Ohio St.3d 84 (1983) extends it to personal injury latent-discovery contexts via common law.

(A) When a cause of action accrues against a person, if the person is out of the state, has absconded, or conceals self, the period of limitation for the commencement of the action as provided in sections 2305.04 to 2305.14, 1302.98, and 1304.35 of the Revised Code does not begin to run until the person comes into the state or while the person is so absconded or concealed.

(A) When a cause of action accrues against a person, if the person is out of the state, has absconded, or conceals self, the period of limitation for the commencement of the action as provided in sections 2305.04 to 2305.14, 1302.98, and 1304.35 of the Revised Code does not begin to run until the person comes into the state or while the person is so absconded or concealed. After the cause of action accrues if the person departs from the state, absconds, or conceals self, the time of the person's absence or concealment shall not be computed as any part of a period within which the action must be brought.

if a person entitled to bring any action mentioned in those sections, unless for penalty or forfeiture, is, at the time the cause of action accrues, within the age of minority or of unsound mind, the person may bring it within the respective times limited by those sections, after the disability is removed.

Wrongful Death Statute Of Limitations in Ohio

Current verified answer

Authority and key facts

Wrongful Death Statute Of Limitations in Ohio

Governing authority

Deadline example