Most employment discrimination claims never reach a judge because of one missed date. Before you can sue an employer under Title VII, the ADA, or the ADEA, you must first file a charge of discrimination with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) — and the clock for that charge is brutally short: 180 days in some places, 300 in others. Miss it, and the claim is usually gone for good, no matter how strong the facts were.
This guide lays out the EEOC charge filing deadline exactly: which deadline applies to you, how the days are counted, what counts as a fresh clock, and the separate, much shorter track for federal employees.
The Core Rule: 180 Days, or 300 Days in a Deferral State
Under 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-5(e)(1), a charge must be filed within 180 calendar days of the alleged discriminatory act. That period stretches to 300 calendar days if a state or local agency enforces a law prohibiting discrimination on the same basis — what lawyers call a “deferral state” (or a state with a Fair Employment Practices Agency, a FEPA). The EEOC’s own filing guidance states the rule the same way: 180 days by default, 300 days where a state or local anti-discrimination law covers the location and the basis of the charge.
In practice, most workers get the 300-day window, because most states have a FEPA. But do not assume it. If no state or local law covers your claim — for example, a basis the local law does not protect — you may be stuck with 180 days. When in doubt, work to the shorter deadline. Filing early costs nothing; filing late costs the case.
There is a second way the 300-day rule is framed, and it matters: in a deferral jurisdiction, you may file with the EEOC within 300 days of the act, or within 30 days after receiving notice that the state or local agency has terminated its processing of the charge, whichever is earlier. Filing with the EEOC in a FEPA state usually triggers dual filing automatically, so you do not have to file twice — but confirm that your charge was actually dual-filed rather than assuming it.
One Deadline Per Act: The Discrete-Act Rule
The Supreme Court settled how these clocks run in National Railroad Passenger Corp. v. Morgan, 536 U.S. 101 (2002). Each discrete act of discrimination — a firing, a demotion, a denied promotion, a refused hire — starts its own 180- or 300-day clock. An older act is not saved just because a related act happened recently. If you were passed over for promotion in January and fired in September, the January promotion claim needs its own timely charge; the September firing does not revive it.
Hostile work environment claims work differently, and this is the one place the clock is more forgiving. A hostile work environment builds up over a series of acts, and no single act may be actionable on its own. Under Morgan, the whole hostile-environment claim is timely as long as at least one act contributing to it falls inside the filing period. Older acts that are part of the same practice can then be considered, even though they would be time-barred standing alone.
Pay discrimination has its own wrinkle. After Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. (2007) held that each paycheck did not restart the clock, Congress answered with the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009, which treats each discriminatory paycheck — and each other compensation decision affected by discrimination — as a fresh violation that restarts the filing period for pay claims. That fix is specific to compensation; it does not rescue a stale firing or promotion claim.
How the Days Are Counted
The EEOC counts calendar days, not business days. Weekends and holidays eat into your window. Count forward from the date of the discriminatory act, and treat the last day as a hard stop — do not plan to file on a Friday afternoon when the deadline falls on a Sunday, and do not bank on a weekend extension. Build in a cushion of at least a week: portals go down, intake interviews get scheduled out, and a charge is not “filed” until the EEOC has it, signed.
What counts as the act matters as much as the arithmetic. The clock starts when the discriminatory decision is made and communicated, not when you discover its full consequences. A termination letter dated and delivered on a given day starts the clock that day, even if the last paycheck or the loss of benefits comes later. For a failure to hire, the clock typically runs from when you learn you did not get the job. If you are unsure which date controls, use the earliest plausible date for planning purposes.
Worked Examples: Do the Math Before You Need It
Example 1 — 300-day deadline. Suppose you are fired on Monday, January 5, 2026, in a state with a FEPA covering your claim. Three hundred calendar days later is Sunday, November 1, 2026. Do not aim for that Sunday. File by Friday, October 30, 2026, at the latest — and ideally weeks earlier, since the intake process itself takes time.
Example 2 — 180-day deadline. Suppose you are denied a promotion on Friday, May 1, 2026, in a jurisdiction with no covering state or local law. One hundred eighty calendar days later is Wednesday, October 28, 2026. That is your last day, and every weekend in between already counted against you.
Example 3 — federal employee. Suppose a federal agency takes a discriminatory personnel action against you on Monday, January 5, 2026. You do not get 180 or 300 days at all (see the federal-sector section below). You must contact an EEO counselor within 45 calendar days — by Thursday, February 19, 2026.
If any of these dates feels tight, that is the point: these are among the shortest deadlines in American civil law, and they are the single most common reason employment claims die before they start. Run your dates through our free legal deadline calculator the day you learn of the act, and calendar a reminder a full month before the deadline, not the week of it.
The Age-Discrimination Exception to the 300-Day Rule
For charges under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), the 300-day extension works more narrowly than it does for Title VII or the ADA. The EEOC states that an age charge gets the 300-day window only if there is a state law prohibiting age discrimination in employment and a state agency or authority enforcing it. A local ordinance alone is not enough to extend an ADEA deadline. So an age claim in a city with a local anti-discrimination ordinance but no state age law may still carry only 180 days. Check the state law, not just the city code, before relying on 300 days for an age claim.
The Equal Pay Act Exception: No Charge Required
The Equal Pay Act is the exception to the whole charge-first system. You do not have to file an EEOC charge before suing under the Equal Pay Act, so its 180/300-day limits do not apply to that claim. The EEOC itself flags the catch, though: many pay claims also raise Title VII sex-discrimination issues, and those issues do require a timely charge. The safe move is to file the EEOC charge within the Title VII window anyway, preserving both claims, rather than betting the whole case on the Equal Pay Act alone.
After the Charge: The 90-Day Right-to-Sue Clock
Filing the charge is only the first deadline. After the EEOC finishes its process, it issues a Notice of Right to Sue. From the day you receive that notice, you have 90 days to file your lawsuit in federal court. This second clock is just as unforgiving as the first, and it runs from receipt — so tell the EEOC immediately if your address changes, and open every piece of agency mail the day it arrives. A lawsuit filed on day 91 is late. If you have already missed a deadline, read our guide on what happens when you miss a court deadline — but be clear-eyed: for EEOC charges, late filing usually ends the federal claim, with only narrow equitable exceptions such as the agency misleading you or a timely filing in the wrong forum.
Federal Employees: A Different, Shorter Track
If you work for a federal agency, or applied for a federal job, none of the 180/300-day rules above apply to you. You do not file a charge with the EEOC at all. Instead, under the federal-sector process, you must contact an EEO counselor at your agency within 45 calendar days of the discriminatory action. Counseling ordinarily wraps up within 30 days (or 90 days if you choose alternative dispute resolution). If counseling does not resolve the matter, you then have 15 days from receiving the notice to file a formal complaint with the agency. Miss the 45-day counselor contact, and the federal-sector claim is typically dismissed before it begins. If you are a federal employee, treat day 45 the way a private-sector worker treats day 180 — as the last day, not the first day to think about it.
How to File, and What to File With
Start through the EEOC Public Portal, where you submit an inquiry and schedule an intake interview by phone, video, or in person. You can also start by phone at 1-800-669-4000 or at a local EEOC office. Before the interview, assemble the file that makes your charge concrete: the dates of each act, the decision-makers involved, the written records (termination letter, promotion denial, performance reviews, pay records), and the names of witnesses. Write the timeline down before you call — memory blurs, and the intake interviewer will ask for dates first. If your deadline is days away, say so at the first contact and ask for an immediate interview; do not let a scheduling queue eat your last days.
Finally, remember that the EEOC charge is not the only clock running. State agencies have their own filing deadlines (some longer, some shorter than the federal window), and the later lawsuit has its own rules — see our federal court deadlines calculator for the counting rules that will govern once you are in court. File the charge, protect the state claim, and calendar the 90-day suit window the day the right-to-sue notice arrives.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the EEOC deadline 180 or 300 days?
Both, depending on where the discrimination happened. The default is 180 calendar days from the discriminatory act under 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-5(e)(1). It extends to 300 days if a state or local agency enforces a law prohibiting discrimination on the same basis. Most states qualify, but verify yours rather than assuming — and plan to the shorter deadline if you are unsure.
Do weekends and holidays count toward the EEOC deadline?
Yes. The EEOC counts calendar days, so Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays all count against you. Never schedule your filing for the final weekend of the window; file at least a week early to absorb portal problems, scheduling delays, or a missing signature.
Does each discriminatory act get its own deadline?
Yes, for discrete acts. Under Morgan, a firing, demotion, denied promotion, or refused hire each starts its own 180- or 300-day clock, and a timely act does not revive an untimely one. Hostile work environment claims are the exception: the claim is timely if at least one contributing act falls inside the period.
Does the 300-day rule apply to age discrimination claims?
Only if a state law prohibits age discrimination and a state agency enforces it. A local ordinance alone does not extend an ADEA charge to 300 days. Check the state statute, not just the city code, before relying on the longer window for an age claim.
What happens after I file the EEOC charge?
The EEOC notifies the employer, may offer mediation, and investigates. When the process ends, it issues a Notice of Right to Sue, and you then have 90 days from receiving that notice to file a lawsuit in federal court. Calendar that 90-day window the day the notice arrives.
What if I work for the federal government?
You follow a different process: contact an EEO counselor at your agency within 45 calendar days of the act, then file a formal complaint within 15 days of receiving the notice after counseling. You do not file an EEOC charge, and the 180/300-day deadlines do not apply to you.
This article is general information only and is not legal advice. EEOC deadlines are strict and fact-specific; if a deadline is near, contact the EEOC or an employment attorney immediately.