Maryland at a glance
Rules, not your dateChild sexual abuse: the civil deadline
No deadline. Claims for sexual abuse suffered as a minor may be filed at any time, including claims that had expired before October 1, 2023. Damages caps apply. The rule is in Md. Code, Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 5-117.
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
3 years (general civil period). The rule is in Md. Code, Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 5-101.
Revival and lookback windows
A window that revives expired sexual abuse claims is open in Maryland. It opened on October 1, 2023. The law is Child Victims Act of 2023 (Ch. 6, 2023 Laws; HB 1, 2023 RS), Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 5-117(b); amended by Ch. 104, 2025 Laws (HB 1378).
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
None for these claims. The 1-year notice under the Local Government Tort Claims Act and the Maryland Tort Claims Act does not apply to actions under § 5-117. See Md. Code, Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 5-304(a)(2); State Gov't § 12-106(a)(2).
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 Maryland
- Maryland Child Victims Act: Claims Against the State and the Archdiocese of Baltimore: Claims under the Child Victims Act of 2023
- Catholic diocese abuse claims: Archdiocese of Baltimore in Chapter 11
- 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.
- Md. Code, Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 5-117 (childhood claims). Accurate as of October 7, 2026.
- Md. Code, Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 5-101 (adult claims). Accurate as of October 7, 2026.
- Child Victims Act of 2023 (Ch. 6, 2023 Laws; HB 1, 2023 RS), Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 5-117(b); amended by Ch. 104, 2025 Laws (HB 1378) (revival window). Accurate as of October 7, 2026.
- Md. Code, Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 5-304(a)(2); State Gov't § 12-106(a)(2) (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).
