West Virginia at a glance
Rules, not your dateChild sexual abuse: the civil deadline
Against the abuser: until age 36, or 4 years after discovery, whichever is later. Against a person or entity that aided or concealed it: until age 36. The rule is in W. Va. Code § 55-2-15(a).
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
2 years (general personal injury period). The rule is in W. Va. Code § 55-2-12(b).
Revival and lookback windows
A window that revives expired sexual abuse claims is open in West Virginia. It opened on June 1, 2020. The law is 2020 W. Va. Acts ch. 2 (H.B. 4559); W. Va. Code § 55-2-15(c).
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
State agencies: written notice to the agency head and the Attorney General at least 30 days before suit. Counties, cities and school boards: no notice step, but a 2-year suit limit. See W. Va. Code § 55-17-3(a); § 29-12A-6.
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 West Virginia
- Roblox litigation: Attorney general settlement with Roblox, April 2026
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.
- W. Va. Code § 55-2-15(a) (childhood claims). Accurate as of October 7, 2026.
- W. Va. Code § 55-2-12(b) (adult claims). Accurate as of October 7, 2026.
- 2020 W. Va. Acts ch. 2 (H.B. 4559); W. Va. Code § 55-2-15(c) (revival window). Accurate as of October 7, 2026.
- W. Va. Code § 55-17-3(a); § 29-12A-6 (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).
