How Long You Actually Have to File a Claim in Hawaii

Nearly every article about Hawaii deadlines says “two years” and stops. That is the general rule for injury claims, and it is wrong often enough to matter. Different claims run from different starting points, some require written notice long before any lawsuit, and at least one commonly cited period changed in 2026 in a way most sources have not caught up with.

Below is each period with the statute it comes from, so you can check it. None of it replaces asking an attorney what applies to your situation — the point of listing the sources is that you should not have to take a website’s word for it, including this one.

Injury to a Person or to Property: Two Years

HRS §657-7 provides that actions for the recovery of compensation for damage or injury to persons or property “shall be instituted within two years after the cause of action accrued, and not after,” except as provided in HRS §657-13.

The phrase that does the work is “after the cause of action accrued.” That is not always the date of the incident. Hawaii courts have applied a discovery approach in some circumstances, which is exactly the kind of question that turns on the facts of a specific case.

HRS §657-13 is the exception the section refers to. It provides that a person who, at the time the cause of action accrued, was within the age of eighteen years, was insane, or was imprisoned on a criminal charge or under a criminal sentence for a term less than their natural life, may bring the action within the times limited after the disability is removed, or at any time while the disability exists.

Medical Torts: Two Years From Discovery, Six Years Outside

Medical claims have their own statute. HRS §657-7.3 provides that no action for injury or death against a listed health care provider — including a physician or surgeon, nurse, dentist, chiropractor, psychologist, physical therapist, or a licensed hospital as the employer of such a person — based on alleged professional negligence shall be brought more than two years after the plaintiff discovers, or through the use of reasonable diligence should have discovered, the injury, “but in any event not more than six years after the date of the alleged act or omission causing the injury or death.”

The same subsection tolls that six-year limit for any period during which the provider failed to disclose an act, error, or omission known to them and on which the action is based.

For minors, HRS §657-7.3 provides that actions shall be commenced within six years from the date of the alleged wrongful act, except that actions by a minor under the age of ten shall be commenced within six years or by the minor’s tenth birthday, whichever provides the longer period.

Medical claims also have a step that comes before any lawsuit. Under HRS §671-12, an inquiry must be submitted to a Medical Inquiry and Conciliation Panel before suit may be commenced in any court of this State. How that process affects the running of time is set out on the page about Hawaii’s medical inquiry and conciliation panel requirement.

Wrongful Death: Two Years From the Date of Death

HRS §663-3(b) provides that any action brought under that section shall be commenced within two years from the date of death of the injured person, except as otherwise provided.

That start date is different from the general injury rule, and the difference is not academic: where a death follows the injury that caused it by months or years, the two provisions point at different dates. The statute’s own “except as otherwise provided” language signals that other provisions can change the calculation again. The Hawaii wrongful death claims page covers who may bring the claim and what the statute allows.

Motor Vehicle Claims: A Deadline Measured From the Later Of Several Dates

Motor vehicle claims carry their own limitations statute, and it does not work like the others. HRS §431:10C-315(a) provides that no suit shall be brought on any contract providing motor vehicle insurance benefits, or optional additional coverage, more than the later of: two years from the date of the accident; two years after the last payment of motor vehicle insurance benefits; two years after entry of a final order in arbitration; two years after entry of a final judgment in, or dismissal with prejudice of, a tort action arising out of the accident where a bad faith cause of action arises out of it; or two years after payment of liability coverage, for underinsured motorist claims.

For claims in tort, HRS §431:10C-315(b) sets the deadline at the later of: two years after the date of the accident; two years after the date of the last payment of motor vehicle insurance or optional additional benefits; or two years after the date of the last payment of workers’ compensation or public assistance benefits arising from the accident.

Because the period runs from the later of those dates, a continuing stream of no-fault payments can matter to the calculation. Working out which date governs is fact-specific, and it is not a safe thing to estimate from a website. See also Hawaii car accident claims and no-fault rules.

Claims Against the State: Two Years

HRS §662-4 provides that a tort claim against the State “shall be forever barred unless action is begun within two years after the claim accrues,” except in the case of a medical tort claim, where the limitation provisions of HRS §657-7.3 apply instead.

Claims Against a County: Written Notice Within Two Years

Claims against a county work differently, and this is the entry most often described incorrectly. HRS §46-72 requires that, before a county is liable for damages for injuries to person or property received on its streets, sidewalks or other public places, or on account of the negligence of a county official or employee, the injured person must give written notice of the injuries and the specific damages “within two years after the injuries accrued.” The notice goes to the individual identified in the county’s charter, or if none is specified, to the chairperson of the council or the clerk of the county where the injuries occurred, and it must state fully when, where and how the injury occurred, its extent, and the amount claimed.

Two points are worth separating out. This is a notice requirement, not only a filing deadline — a claim can be lost by never sending the notice at all. And older sources describing a six-month county period are describing a version of §46-72 that no longer reads that way; the section was amended in 2007. If a county, a county employee, or a county road may be involved, that is a reason to get advice early rather than to rely on a general two-year assumption.

Workers’ Compensation: Two Years and Five Years, Both

HRS §386-82 bars the right to compensation unless a written claim is made to the director of labor and industrial relations within two years after the date at which the effects of the injury for which the employee is entitled to compensation have become manifest, and within five years after the date of the accident or occurrence which caused the injury. Both conditions have to be satisfied.

The section excepts certain claims — injuries caused by compressed air, and occupational exposure to a list of named substances with carcinogenic properties, or to X-rays, radium, ionizing radiation, or radioactive substances — which instead must be made in writing within two years after knowledge that the injury was proximately caused by or resulted from the nature of the employment.

Employment Discrimination With the State: One Year, Changed in 2026

This is the entry to read carefully if you have seen a number elsewhere.

The Hawaii Civil Rights Commission states on its own site that on May 28, 2026, in Gov. Msg. No. 1156, the Governor signed Act 56 (2026), which extends the statute of limitations for filing complaints with the Commission to one year from when the alleged unlawful discriminatory practice occurred, or from the last occurrence in a pattern of ongoing discriminatory practice. The Commission also states that the change applies prospectively, to claims that had not already expired on the date of enactment.

That last clause matters as much as the number. On the Commission’s stated position, a claim that had already run out under the previous 180-day period before May 28, 2026 is not revived by the change. The text of the act itself does not address revival either way, so if your dates are close to that line, confirm it with an attorney rather than relying on this page.

Anyone checking this against the published Hawaii Revised Statutes will find HRS §368-11(c) still reading “one hundred eighty days.” That is because the codified compilation lags the session laws and had not yet absorbed Act 56 when this page was written — which is also why most other websites still say 180 days. Confirm your own date with the Commission or an attorney rather than with the compilation.

The Hawaii employment discrimination page covers what the state law prohibits and who it covers.

Employment Discrimination With the EEOC: 180 or 300 Days

The federal deadline is separate and much shorter than most people expect. The EEOC states that, in general, a charge must be filed within 180 calendar days from the day the discrimination took place, and that the 180-day deadline is extended to 300 calendar days if a state or local agency enforces a law prohibiting employment discrimination on the same basis. The agency notes that the rules differ for age discrimination charges.

Which of the two applies to a particular charge depends on the basis of the claim and the agency arrangement, so it should be confirmed with the EEOC or an attorney rather than assumed.

Whistleblower Retaliation: Two Years

HRS §378-63(a) provides that a person alleging a violation of the Hawaii Whistleblowers’ Protection Act may bring a civil action for injunctive relief, actual damages, or both, “within two years after the occurrence of the alleged violation of this part.” See Hawaii retaliation and wrongful termination claims.

Unpaid Wages: One Confirmed Limit, and One This Page Will Not Guess At

HRS §388-11(b) provides that no claim shall be accepted by the director of labor and industrial relations after the expiration of one year from the date the wages are due and payable. On its face that governs when the director may accept an assigned claim.

The limitations period for an employee’s own court action to recover unpaid wages under HRS §388-11(a) is not stated on this page, because it could not be confirmed against a primary source. It is not the same thing as the one-year figure above, and treating it as though it were would be a guess. If you are owed wages, ask an attorney what period applies to a court action before relying on any published number. The Hawaii unpaid wages page sets out what the wage statutes require of employers.

What This Page Cannot Tell You

Which deadline governs your claim depends on facts this page does not know: when the cause of action accrued, whether a government body is involved, whether any tolling rule applies, whether a contract or a collective bargaining agreement imposes its own shorter notice period, and whether more than one of the periods above applies at once. Claims frequently sit under two deadlines simultaneously — an employment claim can have separate state and federal clocks, and a motor vehicle claim can have both a tort and a contract clock.

If you take one thing from this page, take the boring one: find out your date early, from someone who can look at your facts. It is a short conversation, and it is the only part of a claim that cannot be fixed later.