By Priya Raman, Contributing Writer, Policy & RegulationUpdated July 8, 2026
Tolling suspends the running of a statute of limitations, so the remaining time is preserved until the tolling condition ends. Common grounds include the plaintiff being a minor, mental incapacity, the defendant's fraudulent concealment of the claim, and in some cases the filing of a related lawsuit or a government investigation. Tolling rules vary widely by state and claim type. Do not assume tolling applies to your situation without checking with an attorney. This article is general educational information, not legal advice.
Take a two-year personal injury clock that starts on a 15-year-old's accident date. If the state does not run limitations against minors, the clock does not even begin until the child turns 18, and the plaintiff then has the full two years from that birthday, not from the accident. A claim that looked dead on paper by simple subtraction can still be very much alive once the tolling ground is applied correctly.
Why tolling exists
Statutes of limitations exist to push claims forward while evidence is still usable. But applied rigidly, they punish plaintiffs who could not reasonably have acted: children, the severely incapacitated, or people deliberately deceived about the claim itself. Tolling answers those situations by suspending the clock until the law can fairly expect action.
Common grounds for tolling
Minority: In most states the clock does not run against a minor (someone under 18). It starts when the minor turns 18. A 10-year-old injured in an accident may therefore have until age 20 to file in a 2-year-limitations state, though some states cap how long minority tolling can stretch the period.
Mental incapacity: Many states toll the period while a plaintiff is legally incompetent or mentally incapacitated. What qualifies, and how long the tolling lasts, varies by state.
Fraudulent concealment: When a defendant actively hides the cause of action through fraud or deception, most states toll the period until the plaintiff discovers, or reasonably should discover, the claim. The defendant's own concealment is what buys the plaintiff time.
Defendant's absence from the state: Some states toll the period while the defendant is out of state and harder to serve. This ground has faded as national service rules have expanded.
Government investigation or related criminal proceedings: Some statutes specifically toll civil limitations periods while a related criminal case or government investigation is pending.
How tolling interacts with the discovery rule
The discovery rule controls when the clock starts. Tolling pauses the clock once it is already running. Sometimes both apply: the clock starts late under the discovery rule, then pauses partway through because of a tolling condition. Working out the remaining time in those cases takes careful analysis, and it is exactly the kind of math worth double-checking. See the discovery rule explained.
Equitable tolling
Courts can also apply "equitable tolling," pausing the clock when extraordinary circumstances blocked a timely filing despite the plaintiff's diligence. They apply it sparingly. Missing a deadline because you were unaware of it, or never consulted an attorney, does not qualify. Equitable tolling demands both a genuine obstacle to filing and a record of diligent effort, and convincing a court you cleared both bars is its own uphill exercise.
Once you know your actual start date
Feed it into the Deadline Calculator for the resulting filing date. Tolling changes the start date; the calculator only handles what comes after.