Did Missouri’s injury filing deadline change in 2026?
No. Most Missouri personal injury claims still must be filed within five years (RSMo 516.120). The bill that would have shortened that deadline died in the Senate. Here is what actually happened — and the shorter clocks that catch people anyway. Educational, not legal advice.
Educational guide · Last reviewed August 28, 2026
By Dontay Phillips, Founder & Principal Attorney, ClearScope Counsel
A 2026 bill to shorten Missouri’s injury filing deadline got far enough through the legislature to generate headlines, then died. The confusion it left behind is still costing people sleep, so here is the record, statute by statute.
Is the Missouri personal injury deadline still five years?
Yes. Most Missouri personal injury claims must be filed within five years of the injury under RSMo 516.120, subdivision (4), which covers “any other injury to the person or rights of another, not arising on contract.” That subdivision has read the same way since 1939 and was not amended in 2026 — the Revisor of Statutes still shows a single version of the section, with no pending amendment.
What happened to HB 1645?
It never became law. HB 1645 (Overcast), prefiled December 1, 2025, proposed to modify the statute of limitations for personal injury claims. It moved through committee, then was replaced by a substitute: HCS HBs 1664, 1610, 1645 & 2182 (Seitz), which was perfected and passed the House. In the Senate it stalled. The last action, April 21, 2026, placed it on the Informal Calendar — and the 2026 regular session adjourned with the bill still sitting there. Never truly agreed, never sent to the governor, not enacted.
The double check: August 28, 2026 was the substitute’s own proposed effective date. On that date, revisor.mo.gov displays §516.120 with no new version — the 1939 text, standing alone. Had anything passed, the amended text would be the one on display. The bill records are public: HB 1645 and HB 1664 on house.mo.gov.
Most Missouri personal injury claims must be filed within five years of the injury (RSMo 516.120). A 2026 bill to shorten this deadline (HB 1645, folded into HCS HBs 1664, 1610, 1645 & 2182) passed the House but died in the Senate — the five-year period is unchanged as of August 2026.
Which Missouri deadlines are shorter than five years?
The two that catch St. Louis families most often: wrongful death, at three years, and the 90-day mayor-notice rule for City of St. Louis street and sidewalk cases. Five years applies to most injury claims — a car accident on Kingshighway, a fall in a Chesterfield grocery store — but a different statute can quietly take the case out of that rule, and the shorter clocks do not announce themselves.
How long do I have to file a wrongful death claim?
Three years from the death, under RSMo 537.100 — not five. Families assume the injury deadline carries over; it does not, and the two-year gap is where fatal-accident claims go to die. Since a 2018 amendment, §537.100.2 adds a service trap on top: if the defendant is served after the three years have run, service must happen within 180 days of filing the petition, or the court dismisses the case against that defendant. Who may file follows a strict order under RSMo 537.080 — first the spouse, children, grandchildren through a deceased child, or parents; then siblings or their descendants; then a court-appointed plaintiff ad litem — and only one action may be brought against any one defendant for the death. The St. Louis wrongful death hub walks through the class system and the damages statute.
What is the 90-day deadline for St. Louis street and sidewalk injuries?
Before suing the City of St. Louis over an injury caused by a defective bridge, boulevard, street, sidewalk, or thoroughfare, RSMo 82.210 requires written notice to the mayor within 90 days of the injury — stating where it happened, when, how, and that you will claim damages. Miss the notice and the lawsuit is barred, even with years left on the limitations clock. Ninety days is not much time when you are in physical therapy and fighting with an adjuster, which is exactly why the statute keeps killing otherwise valid claims. It covers defect-in-condition claims about the ways themselves — the trip on a heaved sidewalk, the pothole that threw a cyclist — the same territory as a premises liability claim, aimed at the City. And if a public entity is on the other side at all, the rules shifted this year: see Missouri sovereign immunity after SB 916.
Why act early when the deadline is years away?
Because the deadline is the last date to file, not the right one. Camera footage overwrites in weeks, skid marks wash away, witnesses move, and businesses purge records on their own schedules — none of which waits five years. Filing deadlines also interact: an ordinary injury claim can sit next to a wrongful death claim, a government defendant, or a notice statute in the same case, each on its own clock. The fee structure removes the reason to wait: a flat 33% contingency fee, no upfront attorney fees or costs, and no fee unless you recover. No silent meter — the number is the same whether you call in month one or year four. Month one gets you the evidence.
Frequently asked questions
No. HB 1645 was folded into a substitute bill that passed the House and died on the Senate’s informal calendar when the session adjourned. The five-year period in RSMo 516.120 is unchanged as of August 2026.
Three years from the death, under RSMo 537.100 — not the five years that applies to ordinary injury claims. Who may file also follows a strict order under RSMo 537.080: first the spouse, children, grandchildren through a deceased child, or parents; if none, siblings or their descendants; if none, a court-appointed plaintiff ad litem.
For injuries caused by a defective bridge, boulevard, street, sidewalk, or thoroughfare, yes: RSMo 82.210 requires written notice to the mayor within 90 days of the injury before any lawsuit can be maintained. Miss the notice and the claim is barred, no matter how much of the five years remains.
Nothing. The consultation is free, and injury matters are handled on a flat 33% contingency fee — no upfront attorney fees or costs, and no fee unless you recover.
Primary sources: RSMo 516.120, RSMo 537.100, RSMo 537.080, and RSMo 82.210 (Revisor of Statutes); HB 1645 and HB 1664 bill records on house.mo.gov.
Not sure which deadline applies to your case?
Five years, three years, or ninety days — the answer depends on who hurt you and how. A short case review pins down the date, and it costs nothing to ask.