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Limitation period calculator for Indian suits, appeals and applications
Choose the type of proceeding and enter the date from which time runs. The calculator applies the period in the Limitation Act, 1963 or the relevant special statute and shows the last day for filing.
Last updated 9 October 2026
Your proceeding
Date the loan is made
Limitation
Period
3 years
Source
Article 19, Limitation Act, 1963
Time runs from
Date the loan is made
Last day to file
Enter the starting date
The day from which time runs is excluded, as Section 12(1) of the Limitation Act requires. Nothing you enter is saved.
How the last day is worked out
- The day from which the period is reckoned is excluded (Section 12(1), Limitation Act, 1963).
- A period stated in years or months ends on the corresponding date. A period stated in days ends that many days after the starting date.
- For an appeal, revision or review, the day the judgment was pronounced and the time requisite for obtaining a copy of the decree, order or judgment are also excluded (Section 12(2) and (3)). The calculator does not know how long your certified copy took, so add that time yourself.
- If the court is closed on the last day, the filing may be made on the day it reopens (Section 4).
- A court must dismiss a suit, appeal or application filed after the prescribed period even if limitation is not raised as a defence (Section 3).
When time stops, restarts or is excluded
- Condonation: an appeal or application may be admitted late on sufficient cause (Section 5). This does not apply to suits or to execution applications under Order XXI.
- Legal disability: where the person entitled to sue is a minor or of unsound mind, time runs from when the disability ceases (Sections 6 to 8).
- Wrong forum: time spent prosecuting the same matter with due diligence and in good faith in a court without jurisdiction is excluded (Section 14).
- Stay and notice periods: the time during which a suit or execution was stayed by injunction, and the period of any notice required by law before suing, such as a notice under Section 80 of the Code of Civil Procedure, are excluded (Section 15).
- Fraud or mistake: where the suit is based on fraud or mistake, time does not begin until the plaintiff discovers it or could with reasonable diligence have discovered it (Section 17).
- Acknowledgment and part payment: a signed written acknowledgment of liability, or a part payment, made before the period expires starts a fresh period (Sections 18 and 19).
- COVID-19: the Supreme Court directed that the period from 15 March 2020 to 28 February 2022 be excluded in computing limitation under general and special laws. The calculator warns you when your period overlaps those dates but does not adjust for them.
Limitation periods included in this calculator
These are common entries, not the whole Schedule to the Limitation Act. If your proceeding is not listed, check the Schedule or the special statute that governs it.
Suits
| Proceeding | Period | Time runs from | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price of goods sold and delivered (no fixed credit period) | 3 years | Date of delivery of the goods | Article 14, Limitation Act, 1963 |
| Price of work done (no time fixed for payment) | 3 years | Date the work is done | Article 18, Limitation Act, 1963 |
| Recovery of money lent | 3 years | Date the loan is made | Article 19, Limitation Act, 1963 |
| Promissory note or bill of exchange payable on demand | 3 years | Date of the note or bill | Article 35, Limitation Act, 1963 |
| Arrears of rent | 3 years | Date the arrears become due | Article 52, Limitation Act, 1963 |
| Specific performance of a contract | 3 years | Date fixed for performance or, if none, the date the plaintiff has notice that performance is refused | Article 54, Limitation Act, 1963 |
| Compensation for breach of contract | 3 years | Date the contract is broken | Article 55, Limitation Act, 1963 |
| Declaration (other than as to forged instruments or adoption) | 3 years | Date the right to sue first accrues | Article 58, Limitation Act, 1963 |
| Cancelling or setting aside an instrument or decree, or rescission of a contract | 3 years | Date the facts entitling the plaintiff to relief first become known to him | Article 59, Limitation Act, 1963 |
| Redemption of a mortgage | 30 years | Date the right to redeem or to recover possession accrues | Article 61(a), Limitation Act, 1963 |
| Enforcing payment of money secured by a mortgage | 12 years | Date the money sued for becomes due | Article 62, Limitation Act, 1963 |
| Possession of immovable property based on previous possession | 12 years | Date of dispossession | Article 64, Limitation Act, 1963 |
| Possession of immovable property based on title | 12 years | Date the defendant's possession becomes adverse to the plaintiff | Article 65, Limitation Act, 1963 |
| Landlord recovering possession from a tenant | 12 years | Date the tenancy is determined | Article 67, Limitation Act, 1963 |
| Compensation for malicious prosecution | 1 year | Date the plaintiff is acquitted or the prosecution is otherwise terminated | Article 74, Limitation Act, 1963 |
| Compensation for libel | 1 year | Date the libel is published | Article 75, Limitation Act, 1963 |
| Compensation for slander | 1 year | Date the words are spoken | Article 76, Limitation Act, 1963 |
| Any suit with no period provided elsewhere in the Schedule | 3 years | Date the right to sue accrues | Article 113, Limitation Act, 1963 |
Appeals
| Proceeding | Period | Time runs from | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Civil appeal to a High Court from a decree or order | 90 days | Date of the decree or order | Article 116(a), Limitation Act, 1963 |
| Civil appeal to any other court from a decree or order | 30 days | Date of the decree or order | Article 116(b), Limitation Act, 1963 |
| Appeal from a decree or order of a High Court to the same court | 30 days | Date of the decree or order | Article 117, Limitation Act, 1963 |
| Criminal appeal to a High Court from a sentence or order (other than death) | 60 days | Date of the sentence or order | Article 115(b)(i), Limitation Act, 1963 |
| Criminal appeal to any other court from a sentence or order | 30 days | Date of the sentence or order | Article 115(b)(ii), Limitation Act, 1963 |
| Appeal from a Commercial Court or Commercial Division | 60 days | Date of the judgment or order | Section 13, Commercial Courts Act, 2015 |
Applications
| Proceeding | Period | Time runs from | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bringing legal representatives of a deceased party on record | 90 days | Date of death of the party | Article 120, Limitation Act, 1963 |
| Setting aside an abatement | 60 days | Date of abatement | Article 121, Limitation Act, 1963 |
| Setting aside an ex parte decree | 30 days | Date of the decree or, where the summons was not duly served, the date the applicant had knowledge of the decree | Article 123, Limitation Act, 1963 |
| Review of a judgment by a court other than the Supreme Court | 30 days | Date of the decree or order | Article 124, Limitation Act, 1963 |
| Revision to a High Court (civil or criminal) | 90 days | Date of the decree, order or sentence sought to be revised | Article 131, Limitation Act, 1963 |
| Execution of a decree (other than a mandatory injunction) or order of a civil court | 12 years | Date the decree or order becomes enforceable | Article 136, Limitation Act, 1963 |
| Any other application with no period provided elsewhere | 3 years | Date the right to apply accrues | Article 137, Limitation Act, 1963 |
Special statutes
| Proceeding | Period | Time runs from | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Consumer complaint | 2 years | Date the cause of action arises | Section 69, Consumer Protection Act, 2019 |
| Consumer appeal: District Commission to State Commission | 45 days | Date of the District Commission's order | Section 41, Consumer Protection Act, 2019 |
| Consumer appeal: State Commission to National Commission | 30 days | Date of the State Commission's order | Section 51, Consumer Protection Act, 2019 |
| Consumer appeal: National Commission to Supreme Court | 30 days | Date of the National Commission's order | Section 67, Consumer Protection Act, 2019 |
| Cheque dishonour complaint | 1 month | Date the cause of action arises, that is, the day after the fifteen-day notice period ends | Section 142(1)(b), Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 |
| Application to set aside an arbitral award | 3 months | Date the applicant received the arbitral award | Section 34(3), Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 |
Limitation period calculator: common questions
Is the day on which the cause of action arose counted?
No. Under Section 12(1) of the Limitation Act, 1963, the day from which the period is to be reckoned is excluded. A three-year period that starts on 10 January 2023 therefore ends on 10 January 2026.
Can delay in filing a suit be condoned?
No. Section 5 of the Limitation Act allows a court to admit an appeal or application after the prescribed period on sufficient cause, but it does not apply to suits, or to execution applications under Order XXI of the Code of Civil Procedure.
What happens if the last day is a court holiday?
Under Section 4 of the Limitation Act, where the prescribed period expires on a day when the court is closed, the suit, appeal or application may be instituted on the day the court reopens.
Does a written acknowledgment of the debt extend limitation?
Yes. Under Section 18, an acknowledgment of liability made in writing and signed by the party before the period expires starts a fresh period of limitation from the date it was signed. A part payment before expiry has a similar effect under Section 19.
Track limitation on every matter in Settl
Record the limitation date on the matter and Settl flags it as it approaches, alongside the firm's hearings and deadlines.
Not legal advice. This calculator gives general information from the dates and figures you enter. It does not account for every exclusion, extension or local rule. Check the statute and current case law, and have a qualified advocate confirm any date or amount you intend to rely on. Settl is not a law firm.