Freight Cargo Claim Statute of Limitations Under Carmack

Under the Carmack Amendment, the freight cargo claim statute of limitations gives you two federal deadlines: at least nine months to file a written claim with the carrier, and at least two years from a written denial to file a lawsuit.¹ Miss the first and you lose the right to sue at all. Miss the second and the courthouse door closes even if the carrier plainly owed you money. Both are federal minimums. No carrier contract or tariff can shorten them, though a carrier is free to offer longer windows.

The Nine-Month Claim Deadline

A carrier cannot require you to file your initial written claim in fewer than nine months.¹ This administrative claim is a condition you must satisfy before you can ever file a lawsuit. Courts have consistently held that a shipper who skips this step or files late forfeits the right to recover, regardless of how strong the underlying case is.

For shipments that arrived damaged or with items missing, the nine-month clock starts on the date of delivery. When cargo never arrives at all, the period begins after a reasonable time for delivery has passed. Courts define “reasonable time” by looking at customary transit times for similar shipments between the same origin and destination. If you shipped seasonal merchandise coast to coast and a four-month delay rendered it worthless, a court could treat that as a total loss rather than a late delivery.

What Counts as a Valid Written Claim

A late filing is not the only way to blow the nine-month deadline. A timely filing that doesn’t meet the federal minimum content requirements can be treated as no filing at all. Under 49 C.F.R. § 370.3, a valid written claim must contain three things:²

Enough facts to identify the shipment, such as the bill of lading number or pro number.
A statement asserting the carrier is liable for the loss or damage.
A demand for a specified or determinable amount of money.

That last item trips up more shippers than you would expect. Vague language about “significant damage” without a dollar figure is not a valid claim under the regulation. Pull the number from your commercial invoice, repair estimate, or replacement cost documentation. The claim does not need to be on any particular form, but it must be in writing and filed with the right carrier: the one that picked up the shipment, the one that delivered it, or the one on whose route the loss occurred.

Get the claim into the carrier’s hands with proof of delivery. Certified mail with a return receipt is the most reliable method. Carrier web portals and email are faster, but save every confirmation receipt and screenshot. If the carrier later disputes timing, the burden of proving timely filing falls on you.

Once a valid claim is received, the carrier must acknowledge it in writing within 30 days.³ The carrier then has 120 days from receipt to pay it, deny it, or make a firm written settlement offer.⁴ If the carrier cannot resolve the claim within 120 days, it must send a written status update at that point and every 60 days afterward until it reaches a final decision. Carriers that go silent after 120 days are violating federal regulations, and that paper trail can matter if the dispute ends up in court.

The Two-Year Lawsuit Deadline

If the carrier denies your claim, you have at least two years to file suit. The clock starts on the date the carrier gives you written notice that it has disallowed all or part of your claim.¹ The statute is specific about what qualifies as a real denial, and knowing the difference protects you from starting the clock too early or missing it altogether.

Settlement offers do not start the clock. A compromise offer is not a disallowance unless the carrier explicitly states in writing that a specific portion of the claim is denied and explains why.¹
Insurer letters do not start the clock either, unless the insurer’s written communication states the claim is denied, gives reasons, and confirms it is acting on behalf of the carrier.

A vague “we’re still reviewing” letter or a lowball settlement offer without a clear denial does not trigger the two-year countdown. And if the carrier simply never responds or never formally denies the claim, the two-year period arguably never begins.

Don’t take that as a reason to wait. Letting a claim linger indefinitely creates its own problems. Evidence disappears, witnesses forget details, and some courts have applied equitable defenses like laches against shippers who wait too long after it becomes clear the carrier has no intention of paying.

When the Nine-Month Deadline Can Be Excused

The nine-month claim deadline is not always absolute. Courts recognize three situations where a carrier cannot use a late filing as a defense:

Estoppel. The carrier told the shipper it was already aware of the claim and that a formal filing was unnecessary. A carrier that repeatedly says “we’re handling it, don’t worry about paperwork” cannot later argue the shipper filed too late.
Waiver. The carrier voluntarily gave up the right to enforce the deadline, typically by misleading the shipper into believing no formal claim was needed or by accepting an otherwise insufficient notice without objection.
Inability to determine the loss. The shipper could not reasonably figure out the extent of the damage within the filing period despite exercising due diligence. This comes up with concealed damage that only becomes apparent after unpacking, or when a carrier cannot produce proof of delivery.

Courts apply these exceptions sparingly. A carrier’s failure to respond to requests for delivery records, standing alone, is generally not enough to create estoppel. But a carrier that repeatedly assures a shipper that delivery was made while being unable to locate proof of that delivery can be estopped from later claiming the notice was late. The common thread is carrier conduct that actively prevented or discouraged timely filing.

State Law Deadlines Do Not Apply

The Carmack Amendment is the exclusive legal remedy for loss or damage to goods in interstate surface transportation. Federal law completely displaces state contract claims, tort claims, and state consumer protection statutes that might otherwise apply to a damaged shipment.¹

You cannot fall back on a state statute of limitations that might give you three to six years for a breach of contract or property damage claim. The federal nine-month and two-year deadlines are the only ones that matter for an interstate cargo dispute. Shippers who file state court claims based on state law theories routinely see those claims dismissed on preemption grounds, sometimes after spending significant money on litigation.

Which Shipments the Carmack Deadlines Cover

These deadlines apply to motor carriers and freight forwarders transporting property in interstate commerce. If a trucking company hauls your goods across state lines under a bill of lading, Carmack governs the loss or damage claim.¹ The statute also covers shipments from the United States to an adjacent foreign country when moved under a through bill of lading.

Carmack does not cover ocean shipments, which fall under the Carriage of Goods by Sea Act, air cargo, or purely intrastate moves that never cross a state line. If your shipment moved by sea or air, entirely different time limits and liability frameworks apply.

File Against the Carrier, Not the Broker

One of the most common ways shippers lose their claim is by filing against the freight broker instead of the actual carrier. Brokers arrange transportation but do not physically move the goods, and courts have consistently held that brokers are not subject to Carmack Amendment liability.

This matters for the deadline because your nine months runs against the carrier, not the broker. Filing a claim with the broker does not preserve your rights against the carrier. If you booked through a logistics company or an online freight marketplace, look at the bill of lading to identify which company actually transported the shipment. That is the entity your claim must go to.

Courts do not rely on the labels companies give themselves. A business that calls itself a “broker” in its contracts but actually takes possession of freight and controls the transportation may be treated as a carrier. The test is what the company actually did, not what its paperwork says. If there is any ambiguity, file claims against both parties within the nine-month window to avoid losing your rights while the legal question sorts itself out.

1
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 49 USC 14706 – Liability of Carriers Under Receipts and Bills of Lading
2
eCFR. 49 CFR 370.3 – Filing of Claims
3
eCFR. 49 CFR 370.5 – Acknowledgment of Claims
4
eCFR. 49 CFR 370.9 – Disposition of Claims