Dog Bite Laws by State and Your Filing Deadline

Every state, A to Z

The table above lists each state, its filing period and the law that sets that deadline. The live state card shows who pays.

Most states give you 2 or 3 years from the bite. In most claims the owner's insurer pays, so learn how homeowners insurance covers dog bites.

Not sure which deadline fits your state? Call, and an attorney who practices there will confirm it with you.

Why the state matters

The same bite can end very differently across a state line. Arizona makes the owner pay even if the dog never bit before.

But Arizona's bite statute gives you only 1 year. A carelessness claim there gets 2 years.

Texas asks you to show the owner knew the dog was dangerous or was careless. You get 2 years to file.

Ohio splits its deadlines. A carelessness claim gets 2 years. A claim under Ohio's dog bite statute generally gets 6 years.

The fine print that changes a claim

Many states add a condition about where the bite happened or what the owner knew. These details can decide who pays:

• Illinois: the owner pays for an unprovoked attack where you had a right to be.
• Maine: the owner pays for a bite away from the owner's premises.
• Montana: the owner pays for a bite inside a city or town.
• Rhode Island: the owner pays for a bite outside the owner's enclosure.
• Maryland: a bite creates a presumption that the owner knew the dog was dangerous, and the owner can try to rebut it.
• Wisconsin: the owner pays. The owner pays double only if both bites caused qualifying scarring and the owner knew of the earlier bite.
• New York: the owner of a dangerous dog pays the medical bills, and since April 2025 carelessness counts too.
• Pennsylvania: the owner pays your medical bills in full, and carelessness covers the rest.

See how strict liability differs from the one-bite rule.