EEOC charge deadline calculator. 180 days or 300, by state and claim.

The rule

Before suing under Title VII, the ADA, GINA or the ADEA, a private-sector worker files a charge with the EEOC. The EEOC states the deadline this way: generally 180 calendar days from the day the discrimination took place, extended to 300 calendar days where a state or local agency enforces a law that prohibits employment discrimination on the same basis. Those agencies are fair employment practices agencies, and states that have one are often called deferral states.

Three details change the date:

• Age claims. For the ADEA, only a state law extends the deadline to 300 days. A local law alone does not.
• Harassment. For ongoing harassment, the charge must be filed within 180 or 300 days of the last incident.
• Separate acts. When there is more than one discriminatory event, the deadline usually applies to each one. A demotion a year before a firing can fall outside the window even when the firing does not.

Weekends and holidays count toward the total. If the last day falls on a weekend or holiday, the EEOC gives until the next business day.

Claims with different rules

Equal Pay Act. No charge is needed. The EEOC says a worker does not have to file a charge or obtain a right-to-sue notice before suing under the EPA. The lawsuit is due within two years of the last discriminatory paycheck, or three years if the violation was willful, and filing a Title VII charge does not extend that deadline.

Federal employees and applicants. They do not start with a charge. They generally must contact the agency's EEO counselor within 45 days, a time the EEOC says can be extended in some circumstances.

The state selector

The selector follows the designated agencies listed in 29 CFR 1601.74(a). Most states have a statewide agency on that list, and the tool gives them 300 days. Alabama and Mississippi have no listed agency, and Arkansas's listed office is only a notice agency, so they get 180 days. Georgia's listed state office covers only charges against state departments, and North Carolina's listed agencies may not cover every employer, so the tool shows the 180-day date first with the 300-day date beside it. The regulation itself warns that state and local law changes: confirm the agency covers the employer and claim before relying on 300 days.

California has the Civil Rights Department, so a Title VII charge from California has 300 days. The deadline to file with the CRD is longer still: three years under FEHA. See the California right-to-sue calculator.

How the tool computes

It adds 180 or 300 calendar days to the date of the act, 45 days for a federal employee, or two and three years for an EPA claim. A date on a Saturday or Sunday moves to Monday. Federal holidays are not checked.

A worked example

A California employee was demoted because of her national origin on May 15, 2026. The 300-day deadline is Thursday, March 11, 2027. The 180-day date would be Wednesday, November 11, 2026, which is Veterans Day; the tool does not check holidays, so it shows the Wednesday. Had the same demotion happened in Mississippi, the 180-day date would control.

For an age claim in a state where only a city ordinance covers age, the 180-day date controls even if the city agency would accept the charge.

What it leaves out

• Lawsuit deadlines after the charge. Once the EEOC issues a notice of right to sue, the lawsuit must be filed within 90 days. An ADEA lawsuit can be filed any time after 60 days have passed from the charge.
• Equitable tolling and waiver, which courts apply case by case.
• Pay claims under Title VII, which have their own rules for when each paycheck counts.
• Holidays. Treat a holiday as the last day and file before it.

Related reading

The EEOC charge deadlines by state guide goes state by state, and the FEHA right-to-sue guide covers the California side. The glossary defines an EEOC charge, dual filing, adverse employment action and exhaustion of administrative remedies. PlaintiffStack's employment tools build a legal chronology of protected activity and adverse actions from the file, which is where a charge date starts; see the employment practice page.