District of Columbia at a glance
Rules, not your dateChild sexual abuse: the civil deadline
Until age 40, or 5 years from when the victim knew or should have known of the abuse, whichever is later. These periods do not cover claims that had already expired before May 3, 2019; those could be filed only in the 2019 to 2021 revival window. The rule is in D.C. Code § 12-301(a)(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
Abuse at ages 18 to 34: until age 40, or 5 years from discovery. Abuse at 35 or older: 5 years, or 5 years from discovery, whichever is later. Claims already expired before May 3, 2019 are not covered except through the 2019 to 2021 window. The rule is in D.C. Code § 12-301(a)(11), (a)(12).
Revival and lookback windows
District of Columbia opened a window that revived expired sexual abuse claims. It ran from May 3, 2019 to May 3, 2021. It is closed now. The law was D.C. Law 22-311, § 5(a)(2).
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
Written notice to the Mayor within 6 months after the injury, before suing the District for unliquidated damages. A police report made in the regular course of duty counts as notice. No exemption for sexual abuse claims appears in the text. See D.C. Code § 12-309.
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 District of Columbia
- 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.
- D.C. Code § 12-301(a)(11) (childhood claims). Accurate as of October 7, 2026.
- D.C. Code § 12-301(a)(11), (a)(12) (adult claims). Accurate as of October 7, 2026.
- D.C. Law 22-311, § 5(a)(2) (revival window). Accurate as of October 7, 2026.
- D.C. Code § 12-309 (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).
