When must a Florida claimant commence a tort action against the state or a subdivision?

Classify the actual cause of action and covered governmental defendant.

Determine accrual, applicable limitation and any legally established tolling.

Preserve complete presentment, disposition and successful complaint filing in the proper court.

1. Classify the actual cause of action and covered governmental defendant.
2. Do not convert statutory years or months into fixed day counts. Establish the governing computation provision for the actual presentment, denial or court-filing act. This conditional guide computes no date.
3. Check the observed statutory holidays, actual clerk calendar and chief-justice directions.
4. Complete the required act with the proper court or recipient.

A court clerk holiday does not by itself establish agency presentment or a statutory denial date. Establish the applicable computation provision and recipient procedure. Apply the observed New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King Jr. birthday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Veterans’ Day, Thanksgiving Day, Friday after Thanksgiving and Christmas Day holidays. Section 110.117 observes Saturday holidays on the preceding Friday and Sunday holidays on the following Monday. Rule 2.514 also includes clerk-observed holidays and days designated by the chief justice or chief judge. An ineligible final day moves in the counting direction. The bundled Florida calendar covers 2026 through 2028. Verify additional closures and chief-justice extensions separately.

The single four-year preset does not implement the expressly referenced claim categories, the prisoner-confinement provision or the complete notice and tolling history. No computed or paid lawsuit date is released.

Notice does not move the accrual date

Section 768.28(6)(b) makes agency notice and denial conditions precedent, without making them elements of the cause of action or changing its accrual. Section 95.031(1) generally uses the occurrence of the last element. An incident, a later demand and the legal accrual date are not automatically the same event.

Contribution has judgment and nonjudgment enforcement branches

Section 768.31(4)(c) uses one year after judgment finality for a separate contribution action. Paragraph (d) distinguishes timely payment from an agreement made while the action is pending, with its stated payment and commencement requirements. Section 768.28(6)(a)1. separately requires contribution presentment within six months of the applicable event.

Medical malpractice and wrongful death are separately referenced

Section 95.11(5)(c) supplies incident/discovery, repose, minor and concealment conditions for medical malpractice. Paragraph (e) states the wrongful-death limitation. Section 768.28(6)(d) also supplies express disposition-period tolling for those categories. A four-year government preset cannot resolve their full comparison.

Prisoner confinement claims have a separate one-year provision

Section 95.11(6)(f) expressly includes tort actions under section 768.28(14) concerning a prisoner’s conditions of confinement. It states one-year commencement from the incident, conduct or conditions, or actual or constructive discovery. Its stated disciplinary and criminal-conviction categories remain separate. Do not treat every covered government complaint as a four-year action.

A claim investigation is not universal tolling

Section 768.28(6)(d) expressly identifies medical-malpractice and wrongful-death disposition tolling. Section 95.051 separately enumerates limitation-tolling grounds and limits other asserted reasons. Establish applicability and actual history instead of assuming an ordinary agency investigation stops every limitation.

The complaint must actually be filed

Rule 1.050 defines commencement by filing a complaint or petition. Filing in the appropriate court, successful submission and prescribed original process remain separate from presuit presentment or a calculated anniversary.

• This guide does not establish accrual, a sovereign-immunity waiver, completed presentment, an applicable tolling period or permission to file suit.
• Check the governing historical edition, actual motions, orders, clerk holidays and filing receipts.

• Classify the actual cause of action and covered governmental defendant.
• Determine accrual, applicable limitation and any legally established tolling.
• Preserve complete presentment, disposition and successful complaint filing in the proper court.
• Section 768.28(6)(b) makes agency notice and denial conditions precedent, without making them elements of the cause of action or changing its accrual. Section 95.031(1) generally uses the occurrence of the last element. An incident, a later demand and the legal accrual date are not automatically the same event.
• Section 768.31(4)(c) uses one year after judgment finality for a separate contribution action. Paragraph (d) distinguishes timely payment from an agreement made while the action is pending, with its stated payment and commencement requirements. Section 768.28(6)(a)1. separately requires contribution presentment within six months of the applicable event.
• Section 95.11(5)(c) supplies incident/discovery, repose, minor and concealment conditions for medical malpractice. Paragraph (e) states the wrongful-death limitation. Section 768.28(6)(d) also supplies express disposition-period tolling for those categories. A four-year government preset cannot resolve their full comparison.
• Section 95.11(6)(f) expressly includes tort actions under section 768.28(14) concerning a prisoner’s conditions of confinement. It states one-year commencement from the incident, conduct or conditions, or actual or constructive discovery. Its stated disciplinary and criminal-conviction categories remain separate. Do not treat every covered government complaint as a four-year action.
• Section 768.28(6)(d) expressly identifies medical-malpractice and wrongful-death disposition tolling. Section 95.051 separately enumerates limitation-tolling grounds and limits other asserted reasons. Establish applicability and actual history instead of assuming an ordinary agency investigation stops every limitation.
• Rule 1.050 defines commencement by filing a complaint or petition. Filing in the appropriate court, successful submission and prescribed original process remain separate from presuit presentment or a calculated anniversary.
• Preserve the actual written claim, each legally required recipient, delivery or filing evidence and the actual disposition. Presentment is not court filing or service of process. Section 768.28(7) separately requires process on the agency head and DFS, subject to its stated local-government and Space Authority exceptions. A compliant notice does not establish a waiver, timely suit or successful service.