Countries › Dominican Republic › Guide › 14. Disputes › Limitation periods in the Dominican Republic: from 60 days to 20 years

Limitation periods in the Dominican Republic: from 60 days to 20 years

Last verified: 2026-10-30 · Status: Stable

The general period is 20 years, but short rules swallow it: contractual civil liability is two years, tort one year, and quasi tort six months where no longer term is set. Commercial paper and commercial acts are five years under art. 189. Public law periods run in days. A summons, a seizure or the debtor's acknowledgment interrupts the period.

Key facts

General period	20 yearsCódigo Civil art. 2262, as of 2026-10-30 · in force
Contractual civil liability	2 yearsCódigo Civil art. 2273, as of 2026-10-30 · in force
Tort	1 yearsCódigo Civil art. 2272, as of 2026-10-30 · in force
Commercial paper	5 yearsCódigo de Comercio art. 189, as of 2026-10-30 · in force

The rule

1. All real and personal actions lapse in 20 years, absent a shorter rule.Código Civil, art. 2262, 1882-07-04 official text · verified 2026-10-30

2. Contractual civil liability lapses in two years from when the action arises, unless the law sets a longer term.Código Civil, art. 2273 par., 1941-10-24 official text · verified 2026-10-30

3. Tort liability lapses in one year, again where no longer term is set.Código Civil, art. 2272 par., 1941-10-24 official text · verified 2026-10-30

4. Quasi tort liability lapses in six months, with time not running while the action is impossible.Código Civil, art. 2271 par., 1941-10-24 official text · verified 2026-10-30

5. Merchants' claims for goods sold to non merchants lapse in one year.Código Civil, art. 2272, 1941-10-24 official text · verified 2026-10-30

6. Claims on bills and notes signed by merchants or for commercial acts lapse in five years from protest or the last judicial step.Código de Comercio, art. 189, 1882-07-04 official text · verified 2026-10-30

7. Claims against carriers and commission agents for lost or damaged goods lapse in six months domestically and one year for foreign shipments.Código de Comercio, art. 108, 1882-07-04 official text · verified 2026-10-30

8. A summons, order or seizure interrupts the period, from the date of the act, even before the wrong court. It is undone if the summons is void, or the claim dropped or dismissed.Código Civil, art. 2244 to art. 2247, 1959-09-11 official text · verified 2026-10-30

9. Acknowledgment by the debtor interrupts too, and steps against one joint debtor bind the rest.Código Civil, art. 2248 and art. 2249, 1882-07-04 official text · verified 2026-10-30

10. Limitation cannot be waived in advance. It can be waived once earned.Código Civil, art. 2220, 1882-07-04 official text · verified 2026-10-30

11. Consumer law actions lapse in two years from the last violating act.Ley 358-05 General de Protección de los Derechos del Consumidor, art. 134, 2005-07-26 official text · verified 2026-10-30

12. Declaring a claim in restructuring interrupts limitation.Ley 141-15 de Reestructuración y Liquidación, art. 114, 2015-08-07 official text · verified 2026-10-30

Claim	Period	Source
General	20 years	CC art. 2262
Commercial paper	5 years	CCom art. 189
Contract, civil	2 years	CC art. 2273
Tort	1 year	CC art. 2272
Quasi tort	6 months	CC art. 2271
Carrier, domestic	6 months	CCom art. 108
Carrier, foreign	1 year	CCom art. 108
Consumer	2 years	Ley 358-05 art. 134
Tax assessment	3 years	taxes/tax-audits-and-disputes
Administrative act	30 days	Ley 13-07 art. 5
State liability	1 year	Ley 13-07 art. 5
Amparo	60 days	Ley 137-11 art. 70
Award annulment	1 month	Ley 489-08 art. 39
DR-CAFTA claim	3 years	art. 10.18

Common periods

Worked example

A supplier's contract claim arises on 1 March 2026. On the safe view it should summon the buyer by 1 March 2028, or get a signed debt acknowledgment before then, which restarts time.

Step by step

Find the shortest possible period.
Date when the action arose.
Serve a summons or get an acknowledgment.
Make sure the summons is valid.

Common traps

Whether a commercial contract claim falls under the five years of art. 189 or the two years of art. 2273 was not settled in the sources read, so plan for two.
A letter of demand alone is not listed in art. 2244.
Labor limits are in the Código de Trabajo and are shorter; see the labor pages.

Sources

← Insolvency in the Dominican Republic: Ley 141-15 restructuring, stay and creditor claimsConciliation and mediation in the Dominican Republic: chamber courts, settlements and what binds →

Get rule changes weekly

Free. One email a week from The LatAm Thread.

One more step after you press the button: we take you to Substack, where your email is already filled in. Confirm there to start. No spam, unsubscribe anytime, we never share your address. By subscribing you agree to the privacy policy.