The California civil statute of limitations sets how long you have to file a lawsuit, and the deadline depends entirely on the type of claim. The most common deadlines are two years for personal injury and wrongful death, three years for property damage or fraud, four years for a written contract (two for an oral one), one year for medical malpractice, and as little as six months when you’re suing a government agency. Miss the deadline and your case is almost always finished before a judge ever looks at the merits.
Deadlines by Type of Claim
Personal Injury and Wrongful Death: Two Years
You have two years from the date of injury to file a personal injury lawsuit, whether the harm came from a car crash, a slip-and-fall, or any other negligent act.1California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 335.1 Wrongful death claims use the same two-year window, running from the date of death. Assault and battery claims also fall under this period.
When the injury isn’t immediately apparent — latent exposure to a toxic substance, for example — the clock starts when you discovered or reasonably should have discovered the harm and its cause.
Property Damage: Three Years
Damage to real estate or personal belongings carries a three-year deadline measured from the date the damage occurred or was discovered.2California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 338
Breach of Contract: Four Years Written, Two Years Oral
A written contract breach must be filed within four years of the breach.3California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 337 Oral contracts get two years.4California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 339 Contracts for the sale of goods under the Uniform Commercial Code also carry a four-year default, but the parties can agree in writing to shorten that period to as little as one year. They cannot extend it past four.5Cornell Law School. U.C.C. 2-725 – Statute of Limitations in Contracts for Sale
Fraud: Three Years From Discovery
Fraud claims carry a three-year deadline, but the clock only starts when you actually discover the fraud or reasonably should have discovered it.2California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 338 Courts still expect reasonable diligence. If obvious red flags were present and you ignored them, a judge may treat the discovery date as whenever a reasonable investigation would have surfaced the problem.
Medical Malpractice: One Year, Three-Year Outer Limit
You must file a medical malpractice suit within one year of discovering the injury, or within three years of the date the injury actually occurred, whichever comes first.6California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 340.5 The three-year outer limit is hard, with narrow exceptions for fraud, intentional concealment, or a foreign object left inside the patient’s body.
California also requires at least 90 days’ written notice to the healthcare provider before filing suit. If that notice is served within 90 days of the deadline expiring, the deadline extends by 90 days from the date of the notice. Many malpractice claims collapse here: people gather records and consult experts for months, then realize the notice was never sent.
Legal Malpractice: One Year or Four Years
Claims against an attorney for professional negligence must be filed within one year of discovering the wrongful act or omission, with an absolute outer limit of four years from the malpractice itself. The clock doesn’t start until you’ve actually suffered harm from the mistake, and it’s paused while the same attorney continues to represent you on the matter where the error occurred. It’s also paused if the attorney knowingly conceals the facts.
Sexual Assault: Extended Windows and a Revival Period
For adult sexual assault, you may file within 10 years of the last assault or within three years of discovering an injury that resulted from the assault, whichever is later.7California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure CCP 340.16
For childhood sexual assault, you may file within 22 years of turning 18 (effectively up to age 40), or within five years of discovering that psychological harm from the abuse surfaced after you reached adulthood, whichever period runs longer.8California Legislative Information. Assembly Bill 218 Claims against institutions that knew or should have known about the risk of abuse may be brought after age 40 if the institution failed to take reasonable steps to prevent it.
California has also revived previously time-barred adult sexual assault claims arising on or after January 1, 2009. Those revived claims can be filed through December 31, 2026.7California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure CCP 340.16 Claims already fully litigated or settled in writing before January 1, 2023, cannot be revived.
Short Deadlines That Catch People Out
Government Agencies: Six Months
Suing a California state or local government agency is the single biggest trap in this area. Before filing a lawsuit, you must submit an administrative claim directly to the government entity. For personal injury, wrongful death, and damage to personal property, that claim is due within six months of the incident.9California Legislative Information. California Government Code GOV 911.2 All other claims get one year.
If the entity rejects your claim, you have six months from the mailing of the rejection notice to file suit. If it doesn’t respond within 45 days, the claim is deemed denied by default, and you then have two years from the date the cause of action accrued to file.
Critically, the tolling rules for minors and incapacitated persons do not apply to government claims.10California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 352 A five-year-old injured by a city bus still has to meet the six-month deadline.
Claims against federal agencies run on a separate track under the Federal Tort Claims Act: an administrative claim is due within two years of the incident, with six months to sue in federal court after denial.
Workplace Discrimination: 180 or 300 Days
Employment discrimination claims start with a charge filed at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission within 180 calendar days of the discriminatory act. Because California has its own civil rights enforcement agency, that deadline extends to 300 days for most types of discrimination.11U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Time Limits for Filing a Charge Weekends and holidays count toward the total, except that if the final day falls on one, you get until the next business day.
When the Clock Starts
For most claims the statute of limitations begins on the date the harmful event occurs. A car accident on March 1 gives you until March 1 two years later. A contract breach starts the clock on the date of the breach, not the signing date.
The main exception is the delayed-discovery rule. When the harm isn’t immediately obvious, the clock starts when you actually discover the injury and its cause, or when a reasonable person in your position would have. The rule applies automatically to fraud and medical malpractice and is applied case-by-case to other claims. It doesn’t reward willful ignorance; if the facts were there and you simply didn’t look, courts treat the discovery date as the point a reasonable investigation would have revealed the problem.
When the Clock Pauses
Tolling pauses the statute of limitations and gives you additional time once the pausing condition ends. California and federal law recognize several situations.
Minors and Incapacitated Persons
If you were under 18 or legally incapacitated when the claim arose, that time doesn’t count against your deadline.10California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 352 A child injured at 10 in a personal injury case has until age 20 to file. Again, this tolling does not apply to government claims.
Defendant Absent From California
Time a defendant spends outside California after the claim accrues doesn’t count toward the statute of limitations. If the defendant was already out of state when the claim arose, the clock doesn’t start until they enter California. In practice, long-arm jurisdiction often makes this rule less important, but it still applies when a defendant cannot be reached.
Active-Duty Military Service
Under the federal Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, a servicemember’s period of active duty is excluded from any statute of limitations calculation for civil claims by or against them, including state court actions and state agency proceedings.12Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 50 U.S. Code 3936 – Statute of Limitations An 18-month deployment on a two-year claim takes those 18 months off the clock. The protection extends to the servicemember’s heirs and legal representatives.
Defendant Files Bankruptcy
When a defendant files for bankruptcy, the automatic stay blocks most civil claims against them. If the statute of limitations hasn’t expired when the petition is filed, it won’t expire until at least 30 days after the stay is lifted or the case closes.13Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 11 U.S. Code 108 – Extension of Time
What Happens When You Miss the Deadline
The consequence is blunt. Your claim is permanently barred. The defendant can ask the court to dismiss, and the court will almost certainly grant it, often at the earliest stage of the case on a motion to dismiss if the complaint itself shows the filing was late.14United States District Court for the District of Maryland. Memo and Order Regarding Motion to Dismiss Claims as Time Barred Under California Law A judge won’t give you extra time because your case is strong or because the delay was short. The merits never get reviewed.
If there’s any chance you’ll file a claim, pin down the deadline early and work backward. Tolling and discovery rules can buy time in specific situations, but they’re the exception. Treat the standard deadline as firm.