The California domestic violence statute of limitations gives prosecutors one year to file misdemeanor charges and up to five years for felony corporal injury. A survivor who wants to sue for damages has three years under civil law. Some conduct carries no deadline at all, and certain events can pause the clock. The right number depends on how the conduct is charged and what the defendant has done since.
One Year for Misdemeanor Domestic Battery
Domestic battery under Penal Code 243(e)(1) covers the use of force or violence against a spouse, cohabitant, former partner, co-parent, or someone the defendant has dated.1California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 243 – Battery Because it is a misdemeanor, Penal Code 802(a) gives the prosecution exactly one year from the date of the incident to file charges.2California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 802 – Misdemeanor Statute of Limitations After that year, the state loses its authority to prosecute.
This is the tightest deadline in California’s domestic violence framework, and it catches people off guard. The clock starts on the date of the alleged act, not the date police learn about it. A report filed ten months later leaves the District Attorney scrambling. A report filed at fourteen months is too late.
Five Years for Felony Corporal Injury
When domestic violence causes a visible injury or traumatic condition, the charge typically escalates to a felony under Penal Code 273.5.3California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 273.5 – Corporal Injury to Spouse or Cohabitant The filing deadline for felony corporal injury is five years from the date of the offense, longer than the three-year window that applies to most California felonies. The extra time reflects the reality that serious cases often involve delayed reporting, complex medical evidence, and survivors who need time to come forward safely.
Penal Code 273.5 is a wobbler, meaning prosecutors can file it as either a felony or a misdemeanor depending on the facts and the defendant’s record. Charged as a felony, it uses the five-year limit. Charged as a misdemeanor, it falls back to the one-year deadline.
Offenses With No Filing Deadline
Some conduct is so severe that California imposes no statute of limitations at all. Penal Code 799 eliminates the filing deadline for any offense punishable by death or life in prison.4California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 799 – No Limitation If domestic violence results in murder or an attempted murder carrying a life sentence, prosecutors can file charges decades later.
Penal Code 799 also removes the time limit for certain sex offenses, including rape and sexual assault, regardless of when the crime is reported.4California Legislative Information. California Code PEN 799 – No Limitation Because sexual violence often occurs within abusive relationships, this matters for survivors who may not report for years. What controls is whether the specific conduct charged falls within one of the enumerated categories, not whether the broader situation is labeled domestic violence.
When the Clock Pauses
Even when a deadline applies, certain circumstances toll the clock and effectively extend the time prosecutors have to file. Penal Code 803 spells these out.5California Legislative Information. California Code Penal Code 803 The most common one in domestic violence cases involves a defendant who leaves California. Time the accused spends out of state does not count toward the statute of limitations, up to a maximum of three additional years. So if someone commits a misdemeanor and immediately moves out of state for two years, the one-year clock does not start running until they return.
The clock also pauses while a prosecution for the same conduct is already pending in a California court. If charges are filed, dismissed on procedural grounds, and refiled, the time the first case was pending does not count against the deadline. For sexual offenses within a domestic violence context, Penal Code 803 allows a new complaint to be filed within one year of identifying a suspect through DNA testing, provided the biological evidence was analyzed within the required timeframe.5California Legislative Information. California Code Penal Code 803
Active-duty military service can also toll filing deadlines. Under the federal Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, statutes of limitations in both civil and criminal matters are suspended while a party is on active duty.
Three Years for a Civil Lawsuit
A survivor can pursue financial compensation through a civil lawsuit, separate from any criminal case. Code of Civil Procedure 340.15 gives three years from the date of the last act of domestic violence to file a personal injury claim. The survivor can also file within three years of discovering that an injury or illness resulted from the abuse, whichever date comes later.6California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 340.15 – Civil Action for Damages Resulting From Domestic Violence
The discovery rule matters. Some injuries from domestic violence do not show up right away. Chronic pain, traumatic brain injury symptoms, and PTSD can take months or years to fully manifest. When that happens, the three-year clock starts from the date the survivor reasonably should have connected the condition to the abuse, not from the date of the violent act itself.
A civil lawsuit can recover medical expenses, lost wages, and compensation for emotional distress. The burden of proof is also lower than in a criminal case. Criminal convictions require proof beyond a reasonable doubt; civil cases require only a preponderance of the evidence, meaning more likely than not. A survivor can win a civil lawsuit even if the criminal case ended in acquittal or was never filed.
Restraining Orders Do Not Have a Deadline
If what you need is protection rather than prosecution, the limitations rules above do not apply. A domestic violence restraining order under Family Code 6300 does not require a criminal case and has no statute of limitations.7California Legislative Information. California Family Code 6300 – Issuance of Protective Order The survivor files directly with the court and needs to show reasonable proof of past abuse. A judge reviews a temporary order request the same day it is submitted or by the next business day. The full hearing is typically scheduled within a few weeks, and a resulting restraining order can last up to five years and be renewed before it expires.