NJ car accident deadline checker: your general dates from the crash date
Enter the crash date below to see three general New Jersey dates. They are 2 years to sue a driver, 90 days to notify a public body, and 10 days for the MVC report when no officer filed one. Each has exceptions, so check your own dates with a lawyer.
Hurt in a New Jersey crash and worried about a deadline? A 30-second questionnaire checks whether a lawyer's office may review your claim for free.
Check your claim in 30 seconds
Advertisement. Opens the New Jersey questionnaire. Review its policies and contact consent before submitting your details. No legal advice or guarantee of acceptance or compensation.
When are my NJ car accident deadlines?
How long after a car accident can you sue in NJ?
Generally two years from the day the claim accrued, under N.J.S.A. 2A:14-2.1
The checker counts those two years from your crash date, because that is when most claims accrue. The statute itself counts from accrual, and the start can move on the facts. Our sources do not settle when it moves, so the checker never shifts the date for you.
A crash on 29 February is the odd case: two years later there is no 29 February. The checker shows 28 February and flags that 1 March is the other reading.
What changes if a town, the state or NJ Transit was involved?
A much shorter clock starts: written notice of the claim must reach the public body by the 90th day after the claim accrued.2
- Missed the 90 days? A court may still allow notice within one year, but only for extraordinary circumstances and where the public body is not substantially harmed by the delay.
- Waiting period: no lawsuit until six months after the public body receives the notice.
- Outer limit: never later than two years from accrual.
The six months run from when the notice arrives, so the checker cannot date it. Which bodies count and what the notice says are on the tort claim notice after a crash with a public body.
How long do you have to report an accident in NJ?
Police first, by the quickest means, when someone is hurt or killed or one person's property damage is over $500; then a written MVC report within 10 days.3
The written report is only due when no police officer files one. Knowingly skipping it can cost a $30 to $100 fine and a possible suspension. If no officer investigated at all, the record of the crash is the SR-1 self-report, and our crash report finder shows who holds a police report by town or road.
Does a child get more time to sue after a crash in NJ?
Possibly, but our sources only confirm one rule: the public-body notice law lets a minor bring the claim within its limits after turning 18.2
General rules that may pause the two-year clock for children exist but are not verified in our sources. So the checker shows "special rules may apply" for a minor and gives no extra date.
How many NJ crashes start these clocks each day?
About 726: New Jersey police reported 265,827 crashes in 2024, and 59,466 of them hurt or killed someone, about 162 a day.4
- Leap day, 29 February 2024: 733 crashes, 133 with someone hurt or killed.
- Busiest day of 2024: 21 November, with 1,215 crashes.
- Quietest: Christmas Day, with 332.
Crash counts by month and hour are on when most car accidents happen in New Jersey.
Is the checker's date my real deadline?
No. It shows where the general rules point from the crash date, not a deadline for your case.
- Accrual can differ from the crash date.
- Weekends, holidays and court counting rules are not applied.
- A lawsuit over unpaid PIP benefits runs on its own clock.
- Wrongful death and uninsured motorist claims follow rules our sources do not settle.
All seven clocks side by side are on how long you have to sue after a car accident in NJ. The first steps after a crash are on the New Jersey car accident help guide.
Questions people ask
Is it too late to sue someone after 2 years?
Under the general rule the time for a suit against a driver has run by then. The start date and exceptions turn on your facts, so a New Jersey lawyer should look before you decide.
Can you sue someone after getting hurt after 4 years in New Jersey?
Not under the general two-year injury rule. Four years shows up only in the PIP rule, as an outer limit for suing your insurer over unpaid PIP benefits, explained in the NJ deadline guide.
What happens if I don't report an accident within 10 days?
If no officer filed a report and you knowingly skipped yours, the fine is $30 to $100, and the MVC may suspend your license or registration.3
Not sure which date applies to you? Answer a few short questions, about 30 seconds, to see if a lawyer's office may review your claim for free.
Advertisement. A sponsoring lawyer's office may call you. No legal advice or guaranteed result.
Sources
- N.J.S.A. 2A:14-2, via Justia (2025 edition). Retrieved 2026-11-10.
- N.J.S.A. 59:8-8 and 59:8-9 as quoted in O'Donnell v. N.J. Turnpike Authority, 236 N.J. 335 (2019); N.J.S.A. 59:8-8 via Justia (2025 edition). Retrieved 2026-11-10.
- N.J.S.A. 39:4-130, via Justia (2025 edition). Retrieved 2026-11-10.
- NJDOT police crash records for 2024 via the NJDOT Crash Data Portal, as normalized by the open-source nj-crashes project; our count by day. Retrieved 2026-11-06.
How the checker counts
- Dates are counted in calendar days and years from the crash date you enter: 10 and 90 days, 1 and 2 years. A 29 February crash maps to 28 February in years without one.
- No weekend, holiday or court-rule adjustment, and no accrual or tolling adjustment.
- The checker runs in your browser and sends or stores nothing. General information, not legal advice; Injuries Cases Autos is not a law firm.