EEOC charge filing deadlines by state: 180 vs 300 days, with every state agency

Federal discrimination claims under Title VII, the ADA, the ADEA and GINA start with a charge filed with the EEOC. The deadline is 180 or 300 days from the discriminatory act, depending on the state. This page gives the rule, the exceptions, and a table for all 50 states and the District of Columbia, each with the state fair employment practices agency (FEPA). It is general information, not legal advice. Agencies merge and rename, so confirm the current agency before you rely on a row.

The rule

The EEOC's own words: a charge must be filed within 180 calendar days of the discriminatory act, and the deadline is "extended to 300 calendar days if a state or local agency enforces a law that prohibits employment discrimination on the same basis." Weekends and holidays count, but a deadline that lands on one moves to the next business day.

In practice, almost every state has a FEPA, so most private-sector charges have 300 days. Five states have no state agency covering private employers, and there the federal deadline is 180 days. Each discrete act, such as a termination or a failure to promote, has its own deadline.

Exceptions that change the count

• Age (ADEA). The 300-day period applies only if a state law prohibits age discrimination and a state agency enforces it. A local law does not extend an age charge.
• Equal Pay Act. No charge is required. The employee may go straight to court within 2 years of the last discriminatory paycheck, or 3 years if the violation was willful. A Title VII pay claim filed alongside still follows the charge deadline.
• Federal employees. A different process: contact the agency's EEO counselor within 45 days of the discriminatory act.
• After the charge. Once the EEOC issues a Notice of Right to Sue, the lawsuit must be filed within 90 days.
• Coverage. Title VII, the ADA and GINA cover employers with 15 or more employees; the ADEA covers those with 20 or more, counting employees who worked 20 or more calendar weeks this year or last.

State-by-state table

Sources: the EEOC's time-limits page and its field office FEPA pages, checked against state agency sites on the review date. The EEOC no longer publishes a single national list; each field office page lists the agencies in its area.

Notes on the states that need a second look

• The five 180-day states. In Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi and North Carolina, assume 180 days for private employers. A city or county agency can extend a Title VII or ADA charge to 300 days inside its area, but the EEOC field office pages for these states list none we could find, and a local agency never extends an age charge.
• Local agencies elsewhere. Many cities and counties have their own FEPAs (for example in Texas, Florida, Maryland, Virginia and Pennsylvania). They do not change the state's row, but they can matter for where to file.
• Minnesota. The Minnesota Department of Human Rights says that since October 1, 2025, people must file separately with the EEOC to preserve federal rights. A charge filed only with the state does not protect the federal claim.

California: CRD, EEOC and dual filing

California is a 300-day state. A complaint filed with the CRD for investigation that includes a claim the EEOC also covers is dual-filed with the EEOC (2 CCR 10019). Dual filing does not happen with an immediate right-to-sue request: the CRD says it does not send those complaints to the EEOC. Many plaintiff firms request an immediate right-to-sue notice on the state claim, so the federal charge has to be filed separately, inside 300 days. The state side runs on its own three-year clock; our FEHA deadlines guide covers it.

A checklist before you file a charge

1. Date of each discrete act, and 180 or 300 days from each.
2. Which statute applies to each act (Title VII, ADA, ADEA, GINA, Equal Pay Act).
3. Employer headcount against the 15 and 20 employee thresholds.
4. Whether the client already filed with the state agency, and whether that agency dual-files.
5. For age claims, whether a state agency covers age.
6. The 90-day suit date once a federal notice issues.

Our EEOC charge deadline calculator does the counting for each date.

Tracking charge deadlines in PlaintiffStack

PlaintiffStack follows California rules. A firm can record an EEOC charge date and its deadline on a case and assign a task to it, but the product does not compute other states' agency deadlines. The legal chronology tool lists each adverse act with its date from the documents, which is where the charge count starts.