Texas at a glance
Rules, not your dateChild sexual abuse: the civil deadline
30 years after the claim accrues. For abuse of a minor the period does not start until age 18, so until age 48. Claims already expired on Sept. 1, 2019, when the 30-year period took effect, were not revived. The rule is in Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.0045(a); § 16.001; Acts 2019, ch. 1306 (H.B. 3809), § 2.
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
5 years for sexual assault or aggravated sexual assault. Other personal injury claims: 2 years. The rule is in Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.0045(b); § 16.003.
Revival and lookback windows
Texas 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
Notice to the governmental unit within 6 months after the incident, unless it had actual notice; a city charter may set a different notice period. The Tort Claims Act does not cover claims arising out of assault, battery or other intentional torts, so a claim against a public body generally must rest on something other than the assault itself. See Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code §§ 101.101, 101.057(2), 101.021.
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 Texas
- Catholic diocese abuse claims: Diocese of El Paso in Chapter 11
- Roblox litigation: Attorney general suit against Roblox, November 2025
- Discord litigation: Attorney general suit against Discord
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.
- Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.0045(a); § 16.001; Acts 2019, ch. 1306 (H.B. 3809), § 2 (childhood claims). Accurate as of October 7, 2026.
- Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.0045(b); § 16.003 (adult claims). Accurate as of October 7, 2026.
- Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code §§ 101.101, 101.057(2), 101.021 (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).
