In Texas, the general deadline to sue after a car accident is two years. If the other vehicle belonged to a city, county, school district or state agency, a shorter clock can run first: written notice of your claim is due within six months. This guide walks through that rule using the text of the Texas Tort Claims Act, so you know what to check and what to ask a Texas lawyer.
When can you make a claim against a government body in Texas?
Governments are generally protected from lawsuits, and the Tort Claims Act opens that door only in limited situations. For crashes, Section 101.021(1) makes a governmental unit liable for property damage, personal injury and death caused by an employee’s negligence within the scope of employment, but only when the harm arises from the operation or use of a motor-driven vehicle or motor-driven equipment and the employee would be personally liable to you under Texas law.
The Act defines governmental unit broadly in Section 101.001. It covers the state and its agencies, and political subdivisions such as cities, counties, school districts and river authorities. School districts and junior college districts are covered only for claims involving motor vehicles (Section 101.051).
Some claims fall outside the Act entirely. Two that can matter after a crash: claims arising from an employee’s response to an emergency call, where the employee complied with the laws that apply (or, if none apply, did not act with conscious indifference or reckless disregard for the safety of others), under Section 101.055(2); and claims arising from intentional torts, under Section 101.057(2).
The six-month notice rule
Under Section 101.101(a), a governmental unit is entitled to notice of your claim no later than six months after the day the incident happened. The notice must reasonably describe:
- the damage or injury you are claiming,
- the time and place of the incident, and
- the incident itself.
City charters can add their own notice rules
Section 101.101(b) ratifies a city’s charter and ordinance provisions that require notice within a charter period permitted by law. That means a city may have its own notice period, so check the charter and ordinances of the city involved instead of assuming that six months is the only rule.
The actual-notice exception
Section 101.101(c) says the notice requirements do not apply if the governmental unit has actual notice that a death occurred, that you received some injury, or that your property was damaged. Whether a government body really had actual notice can be disputed, so sending written notice anyway is the safer course. A Texas lawyer can tell you how this exception applies to your facts.
The lawsuit deadline is separate
Giving notice does not stop the lawsuit clock. Section 16.003(a) of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code requires suit for personal injury to be brought no later than two years after the day the cause of action accrues, and Section 16.003(b) sets the same two years for a claim for injury resulting in death, counted from the death. A suit under the Tort Claims Act must be brought in state court in the county where the cause of action, or part of it, arose, and it must name the governmental unit as the defendant (Section 101.102).
What you can recover from a government body
Section 101.023 caps the money damages a governmental unit can owe under the Act. The limits depend on the type of government:
| Type of government | Bodily injury or death | Property damage |
|---|---|---|
| State government | $250,000 per person, $500,000 per occurrence | $100,000 per occurrence |
| Municipality | $250,000 per person, $500,000 per occurrence | $100,000 per occurrence |
| Other unit of local government | $100,000 per person, $300,000 per occurrence | $100,000 per occurrence |
| Emergency service organization | $100,000 per person, $300,000 per occurrence | $100,000 per occurrence |
The Act also does not authorize exemplary damages (Section 101.024). Compare these limits with your insurance and your losses before deciding how to proceed.
Choosing who to sue
Section 101.106 is an election of remedies. Filing suit against the governmental unit immediately and forever bars a suit against any individual employee over the same subject matter. Filing suit against an employee bars a suit against the governmental unit unless the unit consents. Because that choice is hard to undo, it is one to make with a lawyer early.
Shared fault still matters
Texas law bars a claimant from recovering damages if the claimant’s percentage of responsibility is greater than 50 percent (Section 33.001). How that rule plays out in a claim against a government body is a question for your lawyer.
A practical checklist
These are general suggestions, not legal advice:
- Write down the date, time and place of the crash right away, and keep photos and the crash report.
- Work out which governmental unit employed the driver: a city, a county, a school district, a transit authority or a state agency.
- Look up that unit’s notice requirements, including its charter if it is a city.
- Send written notice that covers the three items in Section 101.101(a), and keep proof that it was delivered.
- Put both deadlines on your calendar, counted from the crash date: the six-month notice and the two-year lawsuit deadline.
- Speak with a Texas-licensed attorney before either deadline passes. Many firms offer a free first consultation.
Finding a Texas lawyer
Our Houston page lists Houston-area firms, and you can browse the full attorney directory by city. Listings are not endorsements or rankings, and we do not verify credentials, so check any attorney’s license and discipline record with the State Bar of Texas before you hire.
Sources
- Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code, Chapter 101 (Texas Tort Claims Act): Sections 101.001, 101.021, 101.023, 101.024, 101.051, 101.055, 101.057, 101.101, 101.102 and 101.106
- Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code, Chapter 16: Section 16.003
- Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code, Chapter 33: Section 33.001
Chapter 101 was checked against the Texas Legislative Council’s published code on October 15, 2026. Sections 16.003 and 33.001 are summarized from the published statute text. This article has not been reviewed by an attorney and is not legal advice. Laws change, so confirm the current text and how it applies to your situation with a lawyer licensed in Texas.