A missed deadline can end a civil rights case before anyone looks at the facts
I am Mitchell Bisson, a Grand Rapids civil rights lawyer. I have litigated for over 15 years. This page explains the deadlines and notice rules that apply to civil rights claims in Michigan: how a section 1983 deadline is built, which state-law claims run on a shorter clock, which claims need notice or an agency charge first, and what can pause a deadline. The page covers deadlines only. It does not cover what must be proved on each claim. I do not promise outcomes, and I tell people early when a date has already passed.
The short answer. A section 1983 claim has no deadline of its own. It borrows Michigan’s three-year period for injury to a person or property. MCL 600.5805(2). Related state-law claims can run only two years, claims against the State carry a notice or claim filing step in the Court of Claims, and discrimination claims have their own agency and notice rules, some measured in days. The shortest date on the file controls what I do first. Nothing here predicts how a case will end.
People often wait because they are recovering, because a criminal case is still pending, or because they are trying to resolve the problem through an internal complaint. Those are understandable reasons, but most of them do not stop a deadline from running. The rules below are the ones I check at the first meeting, before I look at anything else.
Civil rights deadlines at a glance
The table lists the periods I check most often. The right-hand column gives the source for each period. A period is only one part of the answer, because the date it starts can differ from the date of the event. The sections after the table explain how the clock starts and what can change it.
| Claim | Period or step | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Section 1983 claim against a person acting under color of state law | 3 years in Michigan, because the claim borrows the state period for injury to a person or property | Wilson v. Garcia, 471 U.S. 261, 279 (1985); Owens v. Okure, 488 U.S. 235, 249 (1989); MCL 600.5805(2) |
| State-law false imprisonment | 2 years | MCL 600.5805(3) |
| State-law malicious prosecution | 2 years | MCL 600.5805(7) |
| State-law claim against a sheriff for misconduct or neglect of office, including the sheriff’s deputies | 2 years | MCL 600.5805(9) |
| Claim against the State of Michigan or its agencies in the Court of Claims | Written claim or notice of intention within 1 year after the claim accrues, or within 6 months after the event for property damage or personal injury. The claim itself is barred unless filed within 3 years | MCL 600.6431(1), (4); MCL 600.6452(1) |
| Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act (race, sex, age and other protected traits) | 3 years. Older acts can be time-barred because the continuing violations doctrine is not available | Garg v. Macomb County Community Mental Health Services, 472 Mich. 263 (2005); MCL 600.5805(2) |
| Persons with Disabilities Civil Rights Act, failure to accommodate at work | Written notice of the need for accommodation within 182 days after you knew or should have known it was needed | MCL 37.1210(18); MCL 37.1606(5) |
| Whistleblowers’ Protection Act | 90 days after the violation | MCL 15.363(1) |
| Title VII and similar federal job claims | EEOC charge within 180 days, or 300 days when the state agency condition in the statute is met. Suit within 90 days after the right-to-sue notice | 42 USC 2000e-5(e)(1), (f)(1) |
| Section 1981 workplace claims made possible by the 1991 amendments | 4 years | 28 USC 1658(a); Jones v. R.R. Donnelley & Sons Co., 541 U.S. 369, 382 (2004) |
| Section 1983 suit by a person confined in a jail or prison | Same 3-year period, with possible tolling while available grievances are exhausted | 42 USC 1997e(a); Brown v. Morgan, 209 F.3d 595, 596 (6th Cir. 2000) |
Two cautions about the table. First, an agency or employer rule can be shorter than the statute and I check for one in every file. Second, this is not a complete list. Housing claims, claims against schools, claims under the Americans with Disabilities Act and other federal statutes each carry their own periods, and the library answers further down cover several of them.
How a section 1983 deadline is built
Congress did not write a statute of limitations into section 1983. The Supreme Court filled the gap in two steps. It held that section 1983 claims are treated as personal injury actions for this purpose. Wilson v. Garcia, 471 U.S. 261, 279 (1985). It then held that where a state has more than one limitation period for personal injury, the general or residual one applies. Owens v. Okure, 488 U.S. 235, 249 (1989). In Michigan that is the three-year period in MCL 600.5805(2). One note on Wilson: Congress later passed a general four-year statute, 28 USC 1658(a), for civil actions arising under federal statutes enacted after December 1, 1990. The Supreme Court has held that it covers claims made possible by a post-1990 enactment and that borrowed state periods remain in place for causes of action that existed before then. Jones v. R.R. Donnelley & Sons Co., 541 U.S. 369, 382 (2004). Section 1983 claims existed long before 1990, so the borrowing rule still applies to them.
When the clock starts. The date a claim accrues is a question of federal law, even though the length of the period comes from state law. Wallace v. Kato, 549 U.S. 384, 388 (2007). The answer depends on the claim. A false arrest claim begins to run when the person is held under legal process, which is not necessarily the date of the arrest. Wallace v. Kato, 549 U.S. 384, 389 to 390 (2007). A claim that officers fabricated evidence does not begin to run until the criminal case ends in the person’s favor. McDonough v. Smith, 588 U.S. 109 (2019). A related rule, Heck v. Humphrey, 512 U.S. 477 (1994), blocks a damages claim that would undercut a standing conviction until the conviction is set aside. These accrual rules cut both ways: they can give a person more time than the date of the event suggests, or less. I do not guess. I work out the accrual date for each claim and then calendar the earliest date that could apply.
What can pause the clock. Courts applying a borrowed state period also borrow the state’s tolling rules, unless a tolling rule conflicts with federal law. Hardin v. Straub, 490 U.S. 536, 539 (1989). Michigan’s main tolling statute for a person under a disability says that a person who is under 18 years old when the claim accrues has 1 year after the disability ends to sue, even if the usual period has run. MCL 600.5851(1). The statute also recognizes insanity, defined as a condition of mental derangement that prevents the person from comprehending rights he or she is otherwise bound to know. MCL 600.5851(2). The disability has to exist when the claim accrues, and successive disabilities cannot be tacked together. MCL 600.5851(3), (4). Imprisonment is no longer a general tolling ground. Subsections (9) and (10) of the current statute refer only to the “former provisions” on imprisonment and give a one-year transition window after the 1993 amendment, so a person in custody should not assume the deadline is paused. MCL 600.5851(9), (10).
Michigan also tolls its limitation periods for Michigan-law claims in Michigan courts when a complaint is filed, if a copy of the summons and complaint is served within the time set by the Supreme Court rules. MCL 600.5856(a). Whether that statute carries over to a federal section 1983 suit is unsettled, so I do not rely on it there. Prompt service after filing is the safer course in either court. A claim filed on the last day and then never served can lose the benefit of the filing.
State-law claims against the same officers can be shorter
A single incident often supports both a federal claim and a Michigan claim. The Michigan period depends on the label of the claim, not on the facts. The general period for injury to a person or property is 3 years. The statute sets 2 years for an action charging assault, battery or false imprisonment, 2 years for malicious prosecution, and 2 years for an action against a sheriff charging misconduct or neglect of office by the sheriff or the sheriff’s deputies. MCL 600.5805(2), (3), (7), (9). That means a wrongful arrest that supports a three-year section 1983 claim can also support a state false imprisonment claim that expires a year earlier. If I think a state claim adds value, I plan to file within the shorter period.
Michigan’s accrual statute says that, unless another section provides otherwise, a claim accrues when the wrong was done, regardless of when the damage results. MCL 600.5827. That is a different test from the federal accrual rule above, so the same event can start two different clocks.
Notice rules: when a notice is required and when it is not
Claims against the State. A claim against the State of Michigan or its agencies cannot be maintained unless the claimant files a written claim or notice of intention with the clerk of the Court of Claims within 1 year after the claim accrues. For property damage or personal injury, the filing must be made within 6 months after the event. The filing has to state when and where the claim arose, describe the claim and damages, name the state agencies involved, and be signed and verified. MCL 600.6431(1) to (4). The Michigan Supreme Court has held that courts may not add an exception for a late filing that did not prejudice the State, so the notice rules are enforced as written. McCahan v. Brennan, 492 Mich. 730 (2012). The claim itself must also be filed within 3 years after it accrues. MCL 600.6452(1). The Court of Claims has exclusive jurisdiction over claims against the State and its departments and officers, subject to exceptions in the statute. MCL 600.6419(1).
Claims against cities and counties under section 1983. A state notice-of-claim rule does not defeat a section 1983 claim brought in state court, because it conflicts with the purposes of section 1983. Felder v. Casey, 487 U.S. 131 (1988). The Supreme Court noted that lower courts almost all agree the same is true for notice provisions in section 1983 actions brought in the federal district courts. Felder v. Casey, 487 U.S. 131 (1988). That does not mean I ignore notice. A state-law claim joined to the same case may carry its own notice rule, and I send notice early to any government that might be a defendant. For example, a claim for injury caused by a defective highway requires notice to the governmental agency within 120 days, or within 180 days if the injured person was under 18. MCL 691.1404(1), (3). That statute is about road defects, not civil rights, but it shows how short a government notice period can be.
Why I send notice even when it may not be required. A letter that identifies the event, the people involved and the injuries costs little. It puts the government on notice to keep the evidence. I also ask for video and incident records in the letter.
Discrimination and disability claims: agency steps, notice and short windows
Elliott-Larsen. The Michigan Supreme Court applied the three-year period to Civil Rights Act claims and held that the continuing violations doctrine is inconsistent with the statute. Garg v. Macomb County Community Mental Health Services, 472 Mich. 263 (2005). The Court of Appeals later held that a charge with the Department of Civil Rights that ended without a hearing did not change the three-year period. Major v. Village of Newberry, 316 Mich. App. 527, 537 to 539 (2016). If the matter goes to a hearing and the Civil Rights Commission issues a final order, the parties have 30 days after service of that order to appeal to circuit court. MCL 37.2606(1). The Act allows a civil action for injunctive relief or damages. MCL 37.2801.
Disability accommodation. The Persons with Disabilities Civil Rights Act has a notice condition that catches people by surprise. A person with a disability may allege a failure to accommodate in employment only if the person notified the employer in writing of the need for accommodation within 182 days after learning that one was needed. MCL 37.1210(18). A civil action for failure to accommodate cannot be brought without that notice, but the condition does not apply if the employer failed to post the notice that subsection (19) requires. MCL 37.1606(5). This is why I tell clients to put an accommodation request in an email, dated, with the limitation and the change they need.
Whistleblower claims. A claim under the Whistleblowers’ Protection Act must be brought within 90 days after the violation. MCL 15.363(1). It is the shortest civil action in this group, and I treat a whistleblower file as urgent from the first call.
Federal job claims. Title VII requires a charge with the EEOC within 180 days after the unlawful practice, extended to 300 days, or to 30 days after a state agency ends its proceedings if that is earlier, when the person has first instituted proceedings with a state or local agency. After the EEOC dismisses the charge, or after 180 days if you ask for it, the EEOC issues a notice and the person has 90 days to sue. 42 USC 2000e-5(e)(1), (f)(1). The library answer below explains how the Sixth Circuit counts those 90 days. Section 1981 is different. It has no agency charge, and for claims made possible by the 1991 amendments, which include many workplace harassment and termination claims, the four-year period in 28 USC 1658(a) applies. Jones v. R.R. Donnelley & Sons Co., 541 U.S. 369, 382 (2004). Whether a particular section 1981 claim falls into that group depends on the claim, and I check it before relying on four years.
When an employment form says you have six months to sue
Some job applications and employment agreements contain a clause that shortens the time to sue. The Sixth Circuit held that, outside an arbitration agreement, a contract shortening the Title VII period is unenforceable, so the federal statutory deadlines control. Logan v. MGM Grand Detroit Casino, 939 F.3d 824 (6th Cir. 2019). For Michigan state-law claims the question is different. In 2025 the Michigan Supreme Court decided Rayford v. American House Roseville I, LLC, No. 163989 (Mich. July 31, 2025), which held that a shortened limitations period in an adhesive employment agreement must be examined for reasonableness, overruled Clark and Timko, and sent the question of whether a 180-day period was reasonable back to the lower court. Because the law here is still moving, I calendar the shortest date any document suggests, while also protecting the longer statutory dates. I read every application, handbook and agreement a client signed.
People held in a jail or prison: exhaustion and the clock
A person confined in a jail, prison or other correctional facility generally must exhaust the available administrative remedies before suing over prison conditions under section 1983. 42 USC 1997e(a). In the Sixth Circuit, the limitation period is tolled while the available remedies are being exhausted. Brown v. Morgan, 209 F.3d 595, 596 (6th Cir. 2000); Surles v. Andison, 678 F.3d 452, 458 (6th Cir. 2012). The length of the pause depends on when the grievance process started and ended, and tolling arguments can be contested. I treat the full three years as the working deadline and keep every grievance date and response in the file. A person who is not in custody generally cannot count on an internal complaint to pause the deadline.
How I calendar a civil rights deadline
- List every claim the facts could support. Federal, state, against the individual, against the government, against the employer.
- Identify the event dates. The arrest, the charge, the release, the end of the criminal case, the termination, the last discriminatory act, the date you asked for an accommodation.
- Work out accrual for each claim. The federal accrual rule for section 1983 and the Michigan rule for state claims can give different dates.
- Apply the shortest period. I use the shortest statute, notice or agency date, then check the employment papers and any facility rules for something shorter.
- Check tolling honestly. Age, disability, a pending exhaustion process and service after filing can matter, but I do not plan around an argument I can avoid by filing sooner.
- Send notice and preservation letters. Notice to the State, the city or county and the employer goes out early, together with requests to preserve video, records and messages.
- File before the date, not on it. A filing on the last day leaves no room for a rejected filing, a wrong court or a service problem.
Ways a deadline problem is resolved
A deadline problem does not always end the case. Sometimes a different claim is still timely, such as a section 1983 claim that is open for three years when the state claim has expired. Sometimes the date has passed and no argument is honest. I tell you which one it is after I have worked through the dates, and I do not file a claim I cannot support.
What I need from you
Write down the date of every event, even if you are not sure of it: the incident, any arrest or charge, any court dates, the date you filed a grievance or internal complaint, the date you were fired or disciplined, and the date you asked for any accommodation. Bring every letter, email, text message, notice, charge number, grievance form and response, and any employment application or agreement you signed. If a criminal case is pending or ended, bring the paperwork showing how it ended and when. If you were under 18 at the time, tell me your birth date. Do not wait to gather everything before you call. I would rather start with partial dates than lose a week.
Where your Kent County civil rights case will be heard
A section 1983 claim or a Michigan civil rights claim from Kent County can be filed in the Kent County Circuit Court, which is the 17th Judicial Circuit, MCL 600.518. A claim that arises under federal law may also be filed in a federal district court. Federal venue lies in a judicial district where any defendant resides, if all defendants are residents of the State in which the district is located, or in a district where a substantial part of the events or omissions giving rise to the claim occurred. 28 USC 1391(b)(1)-(2). Kent County is in the Western District of Michigan, Southern Division, and court for that division is held at Grand Rapids. 28 USC 102(b)(1). An Elliott-Larsen action may be brought in the circuit court for the county where the violation occurred or where the defendant resides or has its principal place of business. MCL 37.2801(2). A claim against the State and its departments and officers is brought in the Court of Claims. MCL 600.6419(1). I decide where to file after I know the claims, the defendants and the deadlines.
Why people hire me for a Michigan civil rights deadline problem
You work directly with me, the lawyer handling your case. I start with the dates, tell you plainly what has run and what has not, and explain which claims are still open. I do not promise outcomes, and I do not hide a bad date to keep a client. If a claim can be filed, I prepare it with the evidence in hand and the deadline in front of me.
My fee depends on the type of claim, how complicated it is and how far it is likely to go. We talk about the fee at the consultation, before you decide whether to hire me.
Questions I hear from people with a civil rights deadline
How long do I have to file a Section 1983 lawsuit in Michigan?
Three years in Michigan. Section 1983 borrows the state’s personal injury limitation period, and Michigan’s general period for injury to a person or property is 3 years under MCL 600.5805(2). State-law claims against the same officers can be shorter, such as 2 years for false imprisonment, malicious prosecution, or sheriff misconduct.
Does the deadline change if I was a minor when my rights were violated?
Sometimes. Under MCL 600.5851(1), if the person first entitled to sue is under 18 years of age when the claim accrues, the person may sue within 1 year after turning 18, even if the usual period of limitations has run. Federal courts apply Michigan’s tolling rules to Section 1983 claims (Hardin v Straub). Because that year runs from the 18th birthday, it helps mainly when the claim accrued at a younger age, roughly before age 16 for a 3-year claim or before age 17 for a 2-year claim.
What notice do I have to file before suing the State of Michigan in the Court of Claims?
Under MCL 600.6431, a claim against the state or its agencies cannot be maintained unless you file a verified claim or notice of intent in the Court of Claims clerk’s office within 1 year after the claim accrues, and within 6 months after the event for property damage or personal injuries.
Do I have to send the city or county a notice of claim before filing a Section 1983 lawsuit?
Generally no. A state notice-of-claim rule is pre-empted when it is used against a Section 1983 action brought in state court. Felder v Casey held such a statute is pre-empted because it conflicts with the remedial objectives of Section 1983, and the Court agreed with the near-unanimous view of lower federal courts that such notice provisions do not apply to Section 1983 actions in federal court. Notice rules can still apply to separate state-law claims, so they should be checked.
What is the deadline to sue under the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act?
A civil action under the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act is subject to Michigan’s three-year period of limitations. Filing a charge with the Department of Civil Rights does not shorten it where the charge ended without a Department hearing and final order. The Michigan Supreme Court also rejected the continuing violations doctrine in Garg, so acts older than the period can be time-barred.
Is there a deadline to ask my Michigan employer for a disability accommodation?
Yes. Under MCL 37.1210(18), a person with a disability may allege a failure to accommodate under the employment article only if the person notifies the employer in writing of the need for accommodation within 182 days after the person knew or reasonably should have known that an accommodation was needed.
What are the deadlines for a federal fair housing claim?
You may file a complaint with HUD within one year after the discriminatory housing practice occurred or ended, or sue in federal or state court within 2 years after it occurred or ended. Time during which an administrative proceeding on the same practice is pending is not counted toward the 2 years. A conciliation agreement or an administrative hearing on a HUD charge can cut off a court case.
I received an EEOC right-to-sue notice. How long do I have to file in court, and can I get the notice early?
After the EEOC dismisses your charge, or after 180 days if you ask for it in writing, it issues a notice of right to sue, and you have 90 days from that notice to file a federal lawsuit under 42 USC 2000e-5(f)(1). The ADA uses the same rule. The Sixth Circuit treats the notice as received five days after mailing, so the 90 days can start before you open the envelope. In some cases the EEOC can issue it sooner.
Related Michigan pages
- Michigan civil rights attorney
- Section 1983 claims
- Qualified immunity and governmental immunity
- Municipal liability and suing a city or county
- Government claims and notice deadlines
I represent people with civil rights claims in Kent County and West Michigan. Contact me 24/7 by phone or email. Your Rights, My Fight! Call for a free initial consultation.
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Law Offices of Mitchell S. Bisson, 2828 Kraft Ave SE, Suite 295, Grand Rapids, MI 49512, serving Kent County and West Michigan.
This page provides general information about Michigan law and is not legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Laws change and every case turns on its own facts. Consult a licensed attorney about your specific situation.