Cross-Practice

A Statute of Limitations Overview Across Montana Law

Deadlines vary by claim type, and missing one usually ends the matter regardless of merit. Why the clock's start date is the real question.

Written by

Misty Gaubatz, Partner, A&M Law

Licensed Montana attorney and co-founder of A&M Law. Over two decades in the practice of law focusing on family law, criminal defense, and DUI defense, with federal and state court experience and a Certificate in Mediation.

Montana Bar #122346+ years as an attorney, with over two decades working in the lawReviewed by Ashley HurlbertLast reviewed: July 20, 2026

A statute of limitations is a deadline for bringing a claim. Miss it and the matter is generally over, regardless of how strong it was. Few rules in law are as unforgiving, and few are as widely misunderstood.

This is a general orientation across practice areas. It is not a lookup table, for a reason we will get to.

There Is No Single Deadline

The most common error is assuming one number covers everything. Deadlines vary substantially depending on what kind of claim it is. An injury claim, a contract dispute, a professional negligence claim, and a criminal charge all run on different clocks, and within each category there are variations.

The one we cite most often on this site: Montana's personal-injury deadline is generally three years from the date of injury, under MCA § 27-2-204. Our dedicated guide to Montana injury claim deadlines covers that in detail, including how it applies to specific kinds of injury cases.

For other claim types, we are deliberately not publishing a list of numbers. Getting one wrong by a year in a general article is exactly the sort of thing that costs somebody their case, and the applicable period genuinely depends on how the claim is characterized.

The Start Date Is Usually the Real Fight

Here is what people miss. The length of the period is often the simple part. When the clock started is where these disputes actually live.

It is not always the date something happened. Depending on the claim, the clock may begin when the harm was discovered, or reasonably should have been. That distinction matters enormously in cases where an injury was not apparent immediately, or where the cause of a loss only became clear later.

There are also circumstances that can pause or extend a period. Claims involving people who were minors when the events occurred frequently work differently, which is why we flag it on pages like our dog bite guide, where children are so often the injured party.

None of this is something to reason out on your own from a general description. It is precisely the question to ask early.

Criminal Deadlines Are a Different System

Time limits also apply to the State bringing charges, and they operate separately from civil deadlines. They vary by offense, and the most serious offenses are treated very differently from minor ones.

If you have been contacted about something that happened years ago, whether charges remain available is a real question and worth asking rather than assuming in either direction. Our criminal defense page covers that side of our practice.

The Deadline Is Not Your Actual Constraint

This is the most useful thing on this page. People treat the limitations period as the moment they need to act by. In practice, the evidence deteriorates long before the deadline arrives.

Video is overwritten, often within days.
Witnesses move and stop remembering specifics.
Physical scenes change, get repaired, or get rebuilt.
Records reach the end of retention cycles and are destroyed on schedule.
Memory softens, including yours, in ways that show up under questioning.

So a claim brought comfortably inside the deadline can still be much weaker than the same claim brought early. Treating the limitations period as your planning horizon is a way of losing slowly.

If You Are Unsure, Ask Now

Working out which deadline applies, and when it started, takes a short conversation and settles something you cannot afford to guess at. That is true whether the matter looks like an injury claim, a family issue, or a criminal exposure. Call 406-830-3060.

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FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the statute of limitations in Montana?

There is no single answer, and that assumption is the most common error. Deadlines vary substantially by claim type, and within categories there are further variations. Montana's personal-injury deadline is generally three years from the injury under MCA § 27-2-204. For other claim types the applicable period depends on how the claim is characterized, which is worth confirming rather than guessing.

Does the clock start on the day it happened?

Not always, and this is usually where the real dispute is. Depending on the claim, the period may begin when the harm was discovered or reasonably should have been, which matters enormously where an injury was not immediately apparent or where the cause of a loss only became clear later. Certain circumstances can also pause or extend a period.

What if I was a child when it happened?

Claims involving people who were minors at the time frequently work differently, which is one of the more important exceptions to know exists. It is a specific enough question that it deserves an actual answer about your circumstances rather than an assumption in either direction.

I am still inside the deadline. Is there any rush?

Yes, and the deadline is not your real constraint. Video gets overwritten within days, witnesses move, scenes get repaired, and records hit retention limits and are destroyed on schedule. A claim brought comfortably inside the period can be far weaker than the same claim brought early, so treating the deadline as your planning horizon is a way of losing slowly.

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