28 U.S.C. 2415 generally sets a six-year period for covered contract money-damages actions brought by the United States and a three-year period for covered tort damages actions, subject to statutory qualifications. It concerns claims brought by the government, not a universal deadline for suing it. [1]
Contract timing has important qualifications
The contract provision can allow filing within one year after final decisions in required administrative proceedings, when later. A later partial payment or written acknowledgment of debt can cause a new accrual under the text. A timeline ending at the original invoice date may therefore miss a controlling event. [1]
Exclusions and special statutes matter
Section 2416 excludes specified periods from the calculation. Section 2415 also contains exceptions and special treatment for particular claims. Tax matters, title disputes, and administrative collection mechanisms should not be forced into a generic three- or six-year rule. [1] [2]
For example, a debtor’s later written acknowledgment may affect a covered contract action even when the original transaction occurred more than six years earlier.
Build a claim-specific chronology
Identify the plaintiff, legal theory, requested relief, accrual date, mandatory administrative proceedings, acknowledgments, payments, and any concealment or knowledge issue. Check whether Congress supplied another limitations rule.
Identify the collection method before declaring a debt time-barred
A limitation on a covered damages action is different from every other method of collecting or asserting a debt. Section 2415 contains provisions concerning other proceedings and claims, and Congress can supply a different rule for a particular program. A conclusion that one complaint would be late should not be turned into a promise that all collection authority disappeared. [1]
For an exclusion under section 2416, record the facts and dates that support it rather than merely asserting the government did not know enough. Compare the alleged injury, responsible officials’ knowledge, any material concealed facts, and the time excluded under the applicable clause. [2] If litigation is threatened, request the actual claim theory and calculation. A demand letter’s heading may say “contract” even when another statute supplies a different cause of action or deadline.
Keep notices, contracts, payment records, and administrative decisions. See section 1983 limitations and interlocutory appeal certification to distinguish a filing deadline from unrelated civil-rights and appellate procedures.
Primary sources
Sources checked: October 31, 2026.