Estimate the presumptive deadline to file your Small Claims Court claim under the Limitations Act, 2002 — and get flagged on the special deadlines and notice traps that override the usual two-year rule. Updated for 2026.
· Reviewed by Jonathan Kleiman, J.D.
Most Ontario claims must be started within two years of the day the claim was discovered — presumed to be the day it happened — under ss. 4–5 of the Limitations Act, 2002. This checker computes that presumptive deadline, applies the COVID-19 suspension where it still matters, and flags the claim types where a different deadline overrides the two-year rule. Small Claims Court handles claims up to $50,000.
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The general rule is in section 4 of the Limitations Act, 2002: a proceeding cannot be commenced "after the second anniversary of the day on which the claim was discovered." Section 5(2) presumes you discovered the claim the day it happened unless the contrary is proved — and the burden of proving later discovery is on you. That is why this checker uses the event date: the presumptive deadline it produces is the safe answer, and actual discoverability can only ever push the real deadline later.
Discovery cuts both ways. The Supreme Court's Grant Thornton standard (2021 SCC 31) starts the clock when you could draw a plausible inference of liability — more than suspicion, but well short of certainty. You do not get to wait for an expert report to confirm what you already had good reason to believe. If in doubt, assume the clock is already running.
The two-year rule yields to special periods preserved by the Schedule to s. 19 of the Act, to statutes the Act does not touch, and to pre-suit notice requirements that can quietly kill a claim long before two years are up:
| Situation | Deadline | Authority |
|---|---|---|
| Municipal road / sidewalk injury or damage | 10-day written notice | Municipal Act, 2001, s. 44(10) |
| Snow / ice injury, private property | 60-day written notice | Occupiers' Liability Act, s. 6.1 |
| Car accident (tort claim) | 2 years + 120-day insurer notice | Insurance Act, s. 258.3(1)(b) |
| Claim against the provincial Crown | 60-day pre-suit notice | CLPA, 2019, s. 18 |
| Newspaper / broadcast libel | 6-week notice; 3-month limitation | Libel and Slander Act, ss. 5(1), 6 |
| Tort claim by / against an estate | 2 years from death | Trustee Act, s. 38(3) |
| Fire / property insurance claim | 1 year from loss | Insurance Act, s. 148, SC 14 |
| Auto damage claim vs. insurer | 1 year | Insurance Act, s. 259.1 |
| Construction liens | Weeks — preservation / perfection | Construction Act, ss. 31, 36 |
| LTB money applications | 1 year | RTA, 2006, s. 135(4) |
| Recovery of land or rent | 10 years | RPLA, s. 4 |
| Arrears of genuine rent (other lease amounts: 2 years) | 6 years | RPLA, s. 17(1); Pinnacle v Torstar, 2024 ONCA 755 |
| Child / spousal support arrears | No limitation period | Limitations Act, 2002, s. 16(1)(c) |
| Enforcing an Ontario court judgment | No limitation period | Limitations Act, 2002, s. 16(1)(b) |
| Enforcing a foreign / out-of-province judgment | 2 years | Independence Plaza v Figliolini, 2017 ONCA 44 |
| Enforcing a domestic arbitration award | 2 years from receipt | Arbitration Act, 1991, s. 52(3) |
For a debt (a "liquidated sum"), a written, signed acknowledgment of the debt restarts the two-year clock from the acknowledgment date — and a part payment has the same effect (s. 13). The acknowledgment must be made to you or your agent before the existing period expired. It counts even if the debtor refuses to pay (s. 13(8)), and the Divisional Court has accepted text messages as signed acknowledgments (1475182 Ontario Inc. v Ghotbi, 2021 ONSC 3477). If a debtor keeps promising to pay in writing, your deadline may be later than you think — but never bank on it without advice.
For a loan repayable on demand made on or after January 1, 2004, the two years run from the first day the borrower fails to pay after you demand repayment (s. 5(3)–(4)) — not from when the money was advanced. If you have never made a demand, the clock generally has not started at all. Older demand loans (pre-2004) follow the old six-year-from-advance rule and are usually statute-barred by now.
Ontario suspended provincial limitation periods generally from March 16 to September 13, 2020 (O. Reg. 73/20; Construction Act periods resumed April 16, 2020 under O. Reg. 137/20). Periods already running were extended by the suspension; claims that arose during the window started running September 14, 2020 (Brady v Waypoint, 2025 ONCA 722). In 2026 this mostly matters for long periods — the fifteen-year ultimate cap, the ten-year RPLA period — and the checker applies it automatically.
Even where discovery is late, no claim may be commenced after the 15th anniversary of the act or omission (s. 15(2)), with narrow exceptions for minority, incapacity, and wilful concealment (s. 15(4)). The checker caps every computed date at the ultimate period.
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An expired limitation period does not stop you from filing — the court clerk does not screen claims for expiry. Expiry is an affirmative defence: the defendant must plead it (Collins v Cortez, 2014 ONCA 685), and if they do, the claim will almost certainly fail. But before giving up, have a lawyer check the exceptions — later discoverability, acknowledgments, tolling, minority, incapacity, or a special period that runs differently than you assumed. Sometimes a claim that looks dead is not.
Estimating what the claim is worth too? The Small Claims Court Calculator rolls the amount, interest, and costs into one estimate, and the Prejudgment Interest Calculator handles the interest math on its own.
The basic rule is two years. Under s. 4 of the Limitations Act, 2002, a proceeding cannot be commenced after the second anniversary of the day the claim was discovered — and s. 5(2) presumes discovery the day the event happened. Some claims carry shorter or longer special deadlines, which is why the checker asks what kind of claim you have.
Presumptively on the day of the act or omission — the missed payment, the breach, the damage. Later discovery can start it later, but the clock runs from the earlier of when you actually knew and when a reasonable person in your shoes ought to have known (s. 5(1)(b)) — the burden of proving later discovery is on you, and the Supreme Court's "plausible inference" standard means the clock can start before you have certainty. Treat the event date as the start unless a lawyer advises otherwise.
Often, yes — for debts. A written, signed acknowledgment restarts the two-year clock from the acknowledgment date, and a part payment has the same effect (s. 13). It must be made to you or your agent before the existing period expired. Courts have accepted text messages as signed acknowledgments.
For demand loans made on or after January 1, 2004, two years from the first day the borrower fails to pay after a demand is made (s. 5(3)–(4)) — not from when the loan was advanced. No demand yet generally means the clock has not started.
You can still physically file — expiry is a defence the defendant must plead, not a filing bar. But once pleaded it will almost certainly defeat the claim. Exceptions (discoverability, tolling, acknowledgments) sometimes save a claim that looks expired, so get advice before giving up.
The big traps: 10-day notice for municipal road/sidewalk claims; 60-day notice for snow and ice injuries on private property; 60-day pre-suit notice against the provincial Crown; 120-day insurer notice for car-accident tort claims; 1-year periods for some claims against your own insurer and for HRTO human rights applications; 6-week notice and 3-month limitation for newspaper/broadcast libel; 2 years from death for estate tort claims; franchise and consumer rescission windows measured in days or weeks; and construction lien deadlines measured in weeks.
Sometimes. Limitation periods were suspended March 16 – September 13, 2020. Periods running then were extended; claims arising during the window started September 14, 2020. By 2026 it mostly matters for longer periods — the checker applies it automatically.
No. It computes a presumptive date from the limited facts you enter, and it can be wrong for your situation. It is general legal information only — the reliable way to know your deadline is advice from a lawyer retained to assess your case.
Jonathan Kleiman helps businesses and individuals recover debts, enforce contracts, and resolve disputes in Small Claims Court and the Superior Court — and confirming the real limitation deadline is always step one.
Describe your dispute and Jonathan will contact you — usually the same day.
This page provides general legal information about Ontario law. It is not legal advice and is not tailored to your circumstances. Using this tool does not create a lawyer–client relationship with Kleiman Law. The rules encoded here are current as of and were verified against the official e-Laws consolidations and primary case law on that date; the law changes, and this page may not reflect changes after that date. No warranty is given as to accuracy or completeness, and Kleiman Law accepts no liability for reliance on this tool. The only reliable way to know your deadline is advice from a lawyer retained to assess your specific situation. If you think you may have a claim, the safest course is always to get legal advice immediately and file well before any deadline — limitation rules are inflexible, and waiting until the last moment leaves no room for the surprises these calculations often hold.
Book a free 30-minute consultation with Jonathan. Tell your story, get the real deadline confirmed, and leave with a clear plan — before time becomes the problem.