New York Criminal Statute of Limitations: Deadlines and Tolling

Under New York’s criminal statute of limitations, prosecutors have anywhere from one year to no time at all to file charges, depending on the offense. The deadlines live in Criminal Procedure Law Section 30.10, and they turn on the severity of the crime and, for certain sex offenses, the age of the victim. Once the window closes, the case is over before it starts, no matter how solid the evidence.¹

The Deadlines by Offense Type

The basic ladder is short. The most serious crimes have no deadline at all. Everything else runs on a clock.

No time limit. Every Class A felony can be charged at any time. That covers first- and second-degree murder, first-degree kidnapping, and first-degree arson. A handful of sex offenses are also open-ended even when they aren’t Class A felonies: rape in the first degree, criminal sexual act in the first degree, aggravated sexual abuse in the first degree, course of sexual conduct against a child in the first degree, and incest in the first degree.¹

Five years for most felonies. Any felony not listed above must be charged within five years of the date of the offense. That’s the rule for the bulk of Class B, C, D, and E felonies, including grand larceny and burglary.¹

Two years for misdemeanors. Both Class A and Class B misdemeanors, such as petit larceny and third-degree assault, carry a two-year deadline.¹

One year for violations. Violations, which are not technically crimes under New York law, must be charged within one year. Second-degree harassment is a typical example.¹

Longer Windows for Sex Crimes

Several sex offenses have their own deadlines that run well past the standard five-year felony window.

Second- and Third-Degree Offenses

A prosecution for second-degree rape must be commenced within twenty years of the offense or within ten years of when the crime was first reported to law enforcement, whichever comes first. The same rule applies to second-degree criminal sexual act, and to second-degree incest when the conduct qualifies as second-degree rape or criminal sexual act. Third-degree rape and third-degree criminal sexual act carry a ten-year deadline from the date of the offense.¹

When the Victim Was a Child

If the victim was under eighteen at the time of the offense, the clock doesn’t start on the date of the crime. It starts when the victim turns twenty-three or when the offense is first reported to law enforcement or the statewide central register of child abuse, whichever comes first. So a five-year felony against a child effectively runs until the victim’s twenty-eighth birthday; a ten-year offense runs to the thirty-third. For offenses with no time limit, the victim’s age doesn’t matter because charges can be brought whenever.¹

Terrorism and Public Officials

Felonies under Article 490 of the Penal Law, which covers terrorism-related crimes, generally carry an eight-year deadline. If the offense caused, or created a foreseeable risk of, death or serious physical injury, there is no time limit.¹

When a public servant commits misconduct in office, charges can be filed at any time while the person still holds the position, plus five years after they leave. The overall extension from this rule is capped at five years beyond the deadline that would otherwise apply.¹

When the Clock Is Paused

Two situations can pause the statute of limitations under New York law.

The first is continuous absence from the state. Someone who commits a crime and moves away can’t run out the clock from a distance; the countdown stops while they are outside New York and resumes when they return.

The second is when the defendant’s whereabouts are continuously unknown and cannot be found through reasonable law enforcement effort. The clock stays frozen until the person is located.¹

There is a hard cap. Tolling can never extend the deadline by more than five years beyond its normal limit. So a five-year felony can be stretched to ten years at the outside; once that combined period runs, the case is time-barred whether or not the defendant has been found or come back to New York.¹

Raising the Defense

An expired statute of limitations doesn’t kill a case on its own. You have to raise it. Under Criminal Procedure Law Section 210.20, untimeliness under Section 30.10 is a specific ground for a motion to dismiss the indictment.²

This is a pretrial motion. If the court agrees the deadline has passed, the indictment or the affected counts must be dismissed; the motion doesn’t touch guilt or innocence, only whether the case was brought in time. Wait too long to raise it and the defense can be waived entirely, which is a hard result to accept when the calendar was on your side.

1
New York State Senate. New York Criminal Procedure Law CPL 30.10 – Timeliness of Prosecutions; Periods of Limitation
2
New York State Senate. New York Criminal Procedure Law CPL 210.20 – Motion to Dismiss Indictment