How long you have, by agency and by claim
A police abuse case carries two kinds of claim with two kinds of clock. The federal claim under Section 1983 borrows each state's personal injury period and needs no notice: three years in New York, two in New Jersey, four in Florida. The state-law claims against the city, county or state, which add defendants and remedies, need a notice first, and the notice is due in 90 days in New York and New Jersey. Against a federal agency the road is different again. This page has every clock in one table; the pages below it go through each state, and the tool counts the dates from yours.
Every deadline on this page comes from a statute or a decision cited beside it, and every one of them is applied by the deadline tool to the date you enter. The tool counts; it does not decide. Which agency actually employed the officers, when a claim accrued, and whether a tolling rule applies to you are the questions that decide a real deadline, and those are a lawyer's questions.
By agency
"Notice" is the pre-suit step the state-law claims require. "Federal claim" is the Section 1983 claim against the individual officers (and, through Monell, the municipality). "State claims" are the state-law torts and state civil rights claims against the officers and their employer.
| Agency | Notice | State claims: suit | Federal claim: suit | Authority |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| City of New York (NYPD, Department of Correction) | Notice of claim to the Comptroller within 90 days | 1 year and 90 days from the event; wrongful death 2 years from death | 3 years | Gen. Mun. Law §§ 50-e, 50-i; CPLR 214(5); Owens v. Okure, 488 U.S. 235 (1989) |
| The City's own civil rights law (NYPD only) | Not expressly required by the statute; we serve one anyway | 3 years | same claim, 3 years | N.Y.C. Admin. Code §§ 8-803, 8-806 |
| Another New York city, county, town or village | Notice of claim within 90 days | 1 year and 90 days | 3 years | Gen. Mun. Law §§ 50-e, 50-i |
| New York State (State Police, DOCCS) | Claim or notice of intention in the Court of Claims within 90 days | Set by the Court of Claims Act; a notice of intention extends it | 3 years, against the individual officers only | Court of Claims Act § 10(3), (3-b); Will v. Michigan, 491 U.S. 58 (1989) |
| New Jersey (any public entity) | Tort Claims Act notice within 90 days; suit not before 6 months; late notice within 1 year | 2 years (tort and Civil Rights Act; no notice for the Civil Rights Act claim) | 2 years | N.J.S.A. 59:8-8, 59:8-9, 2A:14-2, 10:6-2; Owens v. Feigin, 194 N.J. 607 (2008) |
| Florida (any state or local agency) | Written notice to the agency and, except for a city or county, the Department of Financial Services within 3 years (2 for wrongful death); suit not before 6 months | 4 years; damages capped at $200,000 per person, $300,000 per incident | 4 years | Fla. Stat. §§ 768.28(5), (6), (14), 95.11(3); Doe v. Swearingen (11th Cir. 2022) |
| Pennsylvania (any government unit) | Written notice to the unit within 6 months (and to the Attorney General for a Commonwealth agency); excused for a reasonable excuse or actual notice | 2 years; state-law claims limited to listed negligence categories; damages capped at $500,000 per occurrence (local) and $250,000 per person (Commonwealth) | 2 years | 42 Pa.C.S. §§ 5522(a), 5524, 8542, 8553, 8528; Kach v. Hose, 589 F.3d 626 (3d Cir. 2009) |
| Federal agency (ICE, CBP, FBI, Marshals) | Administrative claim (Form 95) to the agency within 2 years; suit not before 6 months; suit within 6 months of a denial | not applicable | No Section 1983 claim; a Bivens claim, where one lies, borrows the state period | 28 U.S.C. §§ 2401(b), 2675(a), 2680(h); Egbert v. Boule, 596 U.S. 482 (2022) |
The Florida caps were not raised in 2026: HB 145, which would have lifted them to $350,000 and $500,000, was vetoed on June 30, 2026 (Florida Senate bill page, HB 145 (2026)). Figures are statutory caps on damages against the government, not settlements or results.
By claim: when the clock starts
The limitation period is only half the question. The other half is when it starts, and different claims from the same incident start on different days.
| Claim | Federal clock starts | New York notice of claim runs from | Authority |
|---|---|---|---|
| False arrest | Arraignment or release | The arrest | Wallace v. Kato, 549 U.S. 384 (2007); Gen. Mun. Law § 50-e |
| Excessive force, unlawful search | The incident | The incident | Gen. Mun. Law § 50-e |
| Malicious prosecution, fabricated evidence | The criminal case ends without a conviction | The favorable termination | Thompson v. Clark, 596 U.S. 36 (2022); McDonough v. Smith, 588 U.S. 109 (2019) |
| Wrongful death | The death (survival claims per state law) | Appointment of the estate's representative; suit within 2 years of death | Gen. Mun. Law §§ 50-e(1)(a), 50-i(1); EPTL § 5-4.1; Robertson v. Wegmann, 436 U.S. 584 (1978) |
| Conditions in a jail or prison, person still inside | After the grievance process is exhausted | The incident | 42 U.S.C. § 1997e(a); Ross v. Blake, 578 U.S. 632 (2016) |
The rule that saves the most cases
Serve the notice of claim within 90 days of the incident, for every claim, to every agency that might have employed the officers. It costs nothing to serve and nothing to abandon. Decide the rest later, with the footage in hand and the criminal case resolved.
The rules in full
The 90-day notice of claim
What goes in it, where it goes, the 50-h examination, late notice, and the claims it does not cover.
Read →New York
The City, other municipalities, the State Police and DOCCS, the Court of Claims, the City's 2021 law, wrongful death.
Read →New Jersey
The Tort Claims Act notice, the six-month wait, the two-year limit, the Civil Rights Act, and qualified immunity under state law.
Read →Pennsylvania
The six-month written notice, the two-year limit, the Tort Claims Act immunity and its caps, and the 60-day window to request police video.
Read →Florida
The pre-suit notice, the six-month wait, the damages caps and the 2026 veto, officer personal liability, and the four-year federal period.
Read →Federal agencies
The Federal Tort Claims Act claim, the two-year clock, the six-month wait, and what is left of Bivens.
Read →Common questions
Which deadline runs first?
Almost always the state notice of claim: 90 days from the incident in New York and New Jersey. It runs while the criminal case is still open, and it is the one most people miss. The federal claim has years. Serve the notice, then decide.
Does the federal claim need a notice of claim?
No. Felder v. Casey holds that a state notice requirement cannot be applied to a Section 1983 claim. The federal claim in New York has three years from accrual, and accrual for a false arrest claim is arraignment or release, for a malicious prosecution claim the end of the criminal case.
What if the officers were federal?
Section 1983 does not reach federal officers. A tort claim against the United States for what ICE, CBP or another federal agency's officers did must be presented to the agency in writing within two years, and suit waits until the agency denies it or six months pass. The ICE and federal officers page explains the rest.
Can the deadline be extended?
Sometimes. A New York court can allow a late notice of claim if asked before the limitation period runs, generally one year and 90 days. A New Jersey court can allow a late Tort Claims Act notice within one year on extraordinary circumstances. Neither is a right, and the federal limitation period is extended only by narrow tolling rules that a lawyer has to evaluate.
Tell us what happened.
One conversation with an attorney, in your language. We tell you which claims the facts support, which deadline runs first for the agency involved, what evidence to preserve this week, and whether a pending criminal case changes the timing. If it is not a case we can take, we say so and tell you where to go.
(718) 484-7510If a criminal charge is still open, talk to your defense lawyer before you describe the arrest to anyone, including us. English, Russian and Spanish in-house; an interpreter for any other language. Contingency fee, confirmed in writing before we begin.