To file a claim against the State of California for damages, you submit a government claim to the Government Claims Program at the Department of General Services (DGS), pay a $25 filing fee, and wait for the state board to act before you can sue in Superior Court.1California Department of General Services. File a Government Claim California law bars lawsuits against public entities unless this administrative claim has been presented and either acted on or automatically rejected.2California Legislative Information. California Code GOV 945.4 The deadlines are short, the form is specific, and skipping any step can permanently end your right to sue.
The claim goes to DGS, not to the state agency that caused the harm. This process covers things like crashes with state vehicles, injuries at state hospitals or universities, road-hazard damage on state highways, and breach of a state contract. Claims against a city or county follow a parallel but separate process and go directly to that local entity. A handful of claim types are exempt, most notably federal civil rights suits under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, which do not require a pre-suit government claim.
How Long You Have to File
Two deadlines control when a claim must be presented:3California Legislative Information. California Code GOV 911.2
- Six months from accrual for death, personal injury, or damage to personal property.
- One year from accrual for breach of contract, damage to real property, or any other cause of action.
Accrual usually means the date the incident happened. In some cases it can mean the date you discovered the injury, or reasonably should have, but delayed-discovery arguments need strong facts and should not be assumed to buy extra time.
What the Claim Form Must Include
Government Code section 910 lists exactly what belongs on the claim. Leaving pieces out can trigger a notice of insufficiency or outright rejection. Your claim needs:4California Legislative Information. California Code GOV 910
- Your name and mailing address, plus the address where you want official notices sent.
- The date, location, and circumstances of the incident. Be specific. For a highway claim, include the route number and post mile marker when possible.
- A description of the injuries or losses as far as you know them when you file.
- The name of the state employee who caused the harm, if you know it.
- The dollar amount claimed, handled under a two-track rule: if the total is under $10,000, state the exact figure and show how you calculated it; if the total exceeds $10,000, do not list a dollar amount and instead state whether the matter would be a limited civil case (up to $35,000) or an unlimited civil case (over $35,000).
The claimant, or someone acting on the claimant’s behalf, must sign the claim.5California Legislative Information. California Code GOV 910.2 If the state sends a notice of insufficiency within 20 days of receiving your claim, amend quickly; you can amend any claim before the filing deadline expires or before the board takes final action, whichever comes later, as long as the amendment relates to the same incident.6California Legislative Information. California Code GOV 910.6
How to Submit the Claim and Pay the Fee
Filing costs $25.7California Department of General Services. GCP Filing Fee Guide You have two ways to submit:
- Online. DGS offers a claim portal where you complete the form and pay the fee by credit card or bank transfer. You need a valid email address to use it.1California Department of General Services. File a Government Claim
- By mail. Download the paper form from the DGS website and mail it to the Government Claims Program in Sacramento. Use certified mail with return receipt requested. The postmark counts as the presentation date, and the receipt proves it.
Keep copies of everything you send. The received-or-postmark date is the official presentation date, and you may have to prove it months later.
What Happens After You File
The state board has 45 days from receipt to accept, reject, or settle the claim.8California Legislative Information. California Code GOV 912.4 You and the board can agree in writing to extend that period, but only before the 45 days expire, or afterward only if no lawsuit has been filed and the statute of limitations has not run.
If the board does nothing within 45 days and there is no extension, the claim is deemed rejected on the last day of the period by operation of law. In practice, most contested state claims are either rejected outright or deemed rejected by silence; settlement at the administrative stage is uncommon.
Filing a Lawsuit After Rejection
Rejection is the trigger for the next deadline, and which deadline applies depends on whether you got a formal written notice:9California Legislative Information. California Code GOV 945.6
- With formal written notice: six months from the date the notice was personally delivered or deposited in the mail.
- Without formal written notice: two years from the date the cause of action accrued.
A proper rejection notice has to include a warning about the six-month deadline under Government Code section 913.10California Legislative Information. California Code GOV 913 If the state sends a rejection with that warning, the six-month clock controls. If the notice omits the warning, or the claim was only deemed rejected by silence, the two-year window applies instead. The two-year window still runs from the original accrual date, so it can expire sooner than it sounds. Courts rarely extend the post-rejection deadline on equitable grounds; treat the six-month clock as the hardest date in the entire process.
If You Miss the Original Filing Deadline
Missing the six-month claim deadline is not automatically the end. You can file an application for leave to present a late claim, but it must be filed within a reasonable time and no later than one year after accrual.11Legal Information Institute. California Code of Regulations Title 2 Section 632.8 The board will grant the application only on one of these grounds:12California Legislative Information. California Code GOV 911.6
- Mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect, provided the state was not prejudiced by the delay.
- The injured person was a minor during all or part of the original filing period.
- The injured person was physically or mentally incapacitated during all or part of the filing period, and the disability prevented timely filing.
- The injured person died before the original filing period expired.
If the board denies the late-claim application, you can petition the Superior Court for an order excusing the late filing. That petition must be filed within six months after the application is denied or deemed denied, and it must explain why you missed the original deadline using the same grounds the board considered.13California Legislative Information. California Code GOV 946.6 It is a second shot at the same argument, not a new standard.