Can You Sue the Government? Sovereign Immunity, Tort Claims, and Qualified Immunity
Key takeaways
- The government cannot be sued without its consent, but Congress has consented for many kinds of claims.
- The Federal Tort Claims Act lets people sue the United States for injuries caused by federal employees' negligence, after first filing a claim with the agency within two years.
- Contract and property takings claims against the United States usually go to the Court of Federal Claims.
- Section 1983 lets people sue state and local officials and cities for violating constitutional rights, but officials can claim qualified immunity.
- Suing federal agents for violating rights is far harder, because the Supreme Court has sharply limited Bivens claims.
- Anyone can also challenge unlawful government actions in court to stop them, under the Administrative Procedure Act.
Whether you can sue the government depends on who harmed you, how, and what you want. A car crash with a mail truck, a broken contract, a police beating, and an unlawful regulation are each handled under different laws and courts.
This guide explains the main paths and their limits. It is general information, not legal advice, and deadlines are strict, so people with a claim should consult a lawyer quickly.
People and groups harmed by a regulation or agency decision can sue to have it set aside under the Administrative Procedure Act, without seeking money. States often sue the federal government this way, and such suits challenged many executive actions in 2025 and 2026. Courts may also hear constitutional challenges to laws. Debates continue over nationwide injunctions, which the Supreme Court limited in 2025, and over whether immunity rules strike the right balance between accountability and effective government.
There is no federal version of Section 1983. In 1971 the Supreme Court let people sue federal agents directly under the Constitution in Bivens, but it has refused to extend that remedy to new situations since 1980, and in 2022 said courts should almost never do so. As a result, people harmed by federal officers, including immigration agents, often can sue only the United States under the Tort Claims Act, with its exceptions, or not at all. Bills in Congress would create a federal claim.
The Federal Tort Claims Act of 1946 lets people sue the United States for injuries or property damage caused by federal employees' negligence on the job, such as a crash with a government vehicle or malpractice at a VA hospital. Claimants must file with the agency within two years and wait up to six months before suing, and a judge decides the case. The law excludes policy decisions, most intentional wrongs except by law enforcement, and injuries to service members related to their service.
Section 1983, from 1871, lets people sue state and local officials, including police, jailers, and school officials, who violate their constitutional rights, and sue cities whose policies cause violations. Officials sued personally can claim qualified immunity unless they violated clearly established law. Critics on the left and right say the doctrine denies remedies, while police groups and others say it protects officers making split-second decisions, and a few states have created their own claims without it.
Governments start with sovereign immunity: they cannot be sued unless they agree. The Eleventh Amendment, ratified in 1795, protects states from most private suits in federal court. Congress has waived federal immunity for many claims, and courts let people sue state officials to stop ongoing violations of federal law. Cities and counties do not share states' immunity from federal civil rights suits.
Claims that the government owes money under a contract, a statute, or the Fifth Amendment's requirement of just compensation when it takes private property usually go to the Court of Federal Claims under the Tucker Act. Smaller claims can go to district courts. Separately, whistleblowers can sue on the government's behalf to recover money from contractors who defraud it, and keep a share.
See the courts that hear claims in specialized federal courts, how cases climb in how a Supreme Court case works, or civil rights laws in who enforces civil rights.