California at a glance
Rules, not your dateChild sexual abuse: the civil deadline
No deadline for abuse on or after January 1, 2024. Earlier abuse: until age 40, or 5 years from discovery of the injury, whichever is later. A 2026 law (SB 577) shortens that discovery period to 3 years from January 1, 2027. The rule is in Cal. Code Civ. Proc. §§ 340.1, 340.11.
That is the deadline for a civil lawsuit, a claim for money damages. A criminal prosecution runs on a separate clock set by the state’s criminal code, and a report to police can be made whether or not a civil claim is still open. How the two differ.
Adult sexual assault: the civil deadline
10 years from the last act, or 3 years from discovery of the injury, whichever is later. The rule is in Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 340.16.
Revival and lookback windows
A window that revives expired sexual abuse claims is open in California. It opened on January 1, 2026 and is scheduled to close on December 31, 2027. The law is CCP § 340.16(e) (AB 250, 2025): adult claims; none against public entities; entity claims need an alleged cover-up. Also § 340.16(b)(3) (AB 2777): conduct since 2009-01-01, to 2026-12-31.
A revival window, sometimes called a lookback window, lets survivors file claims that had already expired, for a set period. Closed windows stay listed here with their dates, because a claim filed while one was open may still be moving through the courts. Every state’s window, side by side.
Claims against public entities
Claim to the public entity within 6 months of accrual for personal injury. Childhood sexual assault claims are exempt from claim presentation; adult claims are not. See Cal. Gov. Code §§ 911.2, 905(m); Cal. Code Civ. Proc. §§ 340.1(q), 340.11(s).
A claim against a public body often needs a written notice filed with that body first, and the notice period can be far shorter than the deadline for the lawsuit itself.
Active lawsuits and institutions in California
- The LA County juvenile hall settlement: Los Angeles County juvenile halls and camps
- LA County foster care abuse claims: Los Angeles County foster care
- California Catholic diocese bankruptcies: where the six cases stand: Six California dioceses in Chapter 11
- FCI Dublin Sexual Abuse Lawsuits: Consent Decree, Damages Suits and Prosecutions: Federal women's prison in Dublin
- The Uber sexual assault litigation: The federal MDL sits in the Northern District of California
- Roblox litigation: The federal MDL sits in the Northern District of California
- Juvenile facility sexual abuse lawsuits, state by state: Juvenile facility abuse cases in this state
The deadlines described here are general rules, and most of them have exceptions. The date that governs a particular claim turns on the state, the person’s age when the abuse happened, when they connected it to the harm it caused, and who the defendant is. A claim against a public agency or a public school can carry a written notice requirement that runs out long before the ordinary deadline.
Nothing on this page can tell you your own date. A lawyer who looks at your facts can, and there is no charge to ask.
- Cal. Code Civ. Proc. §§ 340.1, 340.11 (childhood claims). Accurate as of October 7, 2026.
- Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 340.16 (adult claims). Accurate as of October 7, 2026.
- CCP § 340.16(e) (AB 250, 2025): adult claims; none against public entities; entity claims need an alleged cover-up. Also § 340.16(b)(3) (AB 2777): conduct since 2009-01-01, to 2026-12-31 (revival window). Accurate as of October 7, 2026.
- Cal. Gov. Code §§ 911.2, 905(m); Cal. Code Civ. Proc. §§ 340.1(q), 340.11(s) (notice to public entities). Accurate as of October 7, 2026.
- CHILD USA, statute of limitations research (used as a cross-check, not as the source of any rule above).
