South Carolina at a glance
Rules, not your dateChild sexual abuse: the civil deadline
Until age 27 (6 years after turning 21), or 3 years from discovery, whichever is later. Claims against a public body, such as a school district, follow the shorter Tort Claims Act deadline instead. The rule is in S.C. Code Ann. § 15-3-555(A); Doe v. City of Duncan, 417 S.C. 277 (Ct. App. 2016).
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 from when the person knew or should have known of the claim (general assault and personal injury rule). The rule is in S.C. Code Ann. § 15-3-530(5); § 15-3-535.
Revival and lookback windows
South Carolina has not enacted a window that revives sexual abuse claims whose deadline had already passed.
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
Filing a verified claim is optional; if filed, within 1 year. Suit within 2 years of discovering the loss, or 3 years if a claim was filed. This deadline, not the longer childhood abuse period, governs suits against public bodies such as school districts. For a minor, time before 18 is not counted, but that pause cannot extend the deadline more than 1 year past the 18th birthday. No sexual abuse exception in the Act. See S.C. Code Ann. § 15-78-80(d); § 15-78-110; § 15-3-40; Doe v. City of Duncan, 417 S.C. 277 (Ct. App. 2016).
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 South Carolina
We do not track a lawsuit filed in South Carolina on this site as of October 7, 2026. Several of the cases we track are national proceedings rather than state ones; see every lawsuit we track and abuse by type of institution.
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.
- S.C. Code Ann. § 15-3-555(A); Doe v. City of Duncan, 417 S.C. 277 (Ct. App. 2016) (childhood claims). Accurate as of October 7, 2026.
- S.C. Code Ann. § 15-3-530(5); § 15-3-535 (adult claims). Accurate as of October 7, 2026.
- S.C. Code Ann. § 15-78-80(d); § 15-78-110; § 15-3-40; Doe v. City of Duncan, 417 S.C. 277 (Ct. App. 2016) (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).
