In California, you generally have two years from the date of a dog bite to file a personal injury lawsuit against the dog’s owner. That two-year window is the California dog bite statute of limitations under Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1, which governs all personal injury claims in the state.1California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 335.1 – Actions for Assault, Battery, or Injury A few situations change that deadline substantially, and one of them, a bite from a government-owned dog, shortens it to six months. Read past the two-year headline before you assume you have time.
When the Two-Year Clock Starts and What It Covers
The clock begins on the day the bite happens. Dog bite injuries are immediately apparent, so there is rarely a dispute about the start date the way there can be with illnesses or slow-developing harm.
The two-year deadline covers every form of compensation tied to the physical injury: medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, scarring, and emotional distress from the attack. If the bite proved fatal and the family needs to file a wrongful death claim, the same two-year period applies.2California Courts. Deadlines to Sue Someone File even one day late and the owner has an automatic defense; courts almost always dismiss these cases without ever hearing the facts.
Three Years for Property Damage
A dog attack often destroys more than skin. Torn clothing, broken eyeglasses, a damaged prosthetic, or a destroyed fence all count as property damage, and California gives you three years to sue for those losses under Code of Civil Procedure section 338.3California Legislative Information. California Code CCP 338 – Actions for Taking, Detaining, or Injuring Property
If you file your personal injury case within two years, include the property damage claims in the same complaint. If you miss the two-year personal injury deadline, you may still have a year left to recover the value of damaged belongings. These are legally distinct claims with distinct clocks.
Six Months If a Government-Owned Dog Was Involved
If a police K-9 bit you, or if government negligence on public land contributed to an attack, the rules change dramatically. Before you can sue any California government agency, you must file a written administrative claim with that agency within six months of the incident.4California Legislative Information. California Government Code 911.2 – Claims Against Public Entities Skip this step and you cannot sue, period. Courts enforce the requirement rigidly.
If the agency denies the claim and mails you a written rejection, you then have six months from the mailing date to file suit in court.5California Legislative Information. California Government Code 945.6 – Actions Against Public Entities If the agency never sends a formal rejection, you have two years from the date the claim arose. Either way, the administrative claim comes first.
Late Claim Applications
Missing the six-month deadline is not automatically fatal. Government Code section 911.4 allows you to submit a late claim application to the agency within one year of the incident, explaining why you missed the original window and attaching the proposed claim.6California Legislative Information. California Government Code 911.4 – Late Claim Applications
If the agency denies that application, you can petition a court for permission to proceed. A judge can grant relief when the delay resulted from mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect, and the agency would not be unfairly prejudiced by the late filing.7California Legislative Information. California Government Code GOV 946.6 – Actions Against Public Entities Courts are more receptive when the victim was a minor or mentally incapacitated during the original six months. The safety valve exists, but it means convincing a judge, which is harder than filing on time.
Federal Agency Dogs
A bite from a dog owned by a federal agency falls under the Federal Tort Claims Act, not California’s government claims process. You have two years from the date of the bite to file a written administrative claim with the responsible federal agency.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 USC 2401 – Time for Commencing Action Against United States If the agency denies the claim, you have six months from the mailing date of the denial to file a federal lawsuit. Miss either deadline and the claim is permanently barred.
When the Clock Pauses: Minors
Children receive extra protection. Code of Civil Procedure section 352 pauses the two-year clock for any victim who was under 18 at the time of the attack, and the period does not begin running until the child’s 18th birthday.9California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 352 – General Provisions as to the Time of Commencing Actions A child bitten at age five has until age 20 to sue.
The reason is practical: children cannot bring their own lawsuits. A parent or guardian ad litem usually handles the filing, but if no adult acts, the child’s rights survive until they can act for themselves.
One critical caveat. This generous tolling does not fully apply to the six-month government claim deadline. Government Code section 911.4 specifies that time spent as a minor still counts toward the one-year late claim window.6California Legislative Information. California Government Code 911.4 – Late Claim Applications If a government dog bites your child, do not assume you have years. Move quickly, or plan to use the court petition process.
When the Clock Pauses: Mental Incapacity
The same tolling rule covers adults who lack the mental capacity to make legal decisions at the time of the bite. The two-year clock does not start until the incapacity ends.9California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 352 – General Provisions as to the Time of Commencing Actions If the incapacity never resolves, the statute remains paused indefinitely. Once the person regains capacity, or a court appoints a conservator to act on their behalf, the two-year countdown begins.
When the Owner Leaves California
Code of Civil Procedure section 351 says that time the dog owner spends outside California after the bite does not count toward the statute of limitations.10California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 351 – General Provisions as to the Time of Commencing Actions In theory, an eight-month out-of-state move gives you eight extra months to file.
Treat this provision carefully. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled section 351 unconstitutional in cases involving interstate commerce, and the California Law Revision Commission has recommended its repeal. Courts may not apply it consistently, especially when the defendant can be served through California’s long-arm jurisdiction rules without being physically present. If you plan to rely on it to justify a late filing, expect a fight. The safer approach is to treat the standard two-year deadline as firm regardless of where the owner lives.
Filing on Time Is Only the First Hurdle
California is a strict liability state for dog bites. Under Civil Code section 3342, an owner is liable whenever their dog bites someone in a public place or lawfully on private property, with no need to prove the owner was negligent or that the dog had a bite history.11California Legislative Information. California Civil Code 3342 – Liability of Dog Owner That rule has limits. Trespassers generally cannot use section 3342. Government agencies are not strictly liable for bites that occur while a dog is assisting in law enforcement activities such as apprehending a suspect or executing a warrant, as long as the agency has a written use-of-force policy for its dogs; uninvolved bystanders can still sue. Provocation is a common defense, and California’s pure comparative fault system reduces recovery by the percentage of blame assigned to the victim. Filing within the deadline keeps the case alive. It does not guarantee the outcome.