In Arizona, there is no statute of limitations on criminal charges for child molestation, and a survivor generally has until their 30th birthday to file a civil lawsuit. The Arizona child molestation statute of limitations works on two separate clocks: one for prosecutors deciding whether to charge the offender, and one for survivors seeking money damages in civil court.
No Deadline for Criminal Charges
Prosecutors can bring a child molestation case at any time, no matter how many years have passed. Arizona’s criminal time-limits statute eliminates any deadline for Class 2 felony sexual offenses listed in the sexual offenses chapter of the criminal code, and child molestation is a Class 2 felony that sits squarely in that category.1Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 13-107 – Time Limitations2Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 13-1410 – Molestation of a Child; Classification Violent sexual assault carries the same unlimited window.
Not every sex crime gets this treatment. Other felony sex offenses that don’t qualify for the unlimited rule fall under a seven-year window, measured from the date the state discovers (or reasonably should have discovered) the offense.1Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 13-107 – Time Limitations That seven-year rule covers Class 2 through Class 6 felonies not swept into the unlimited provision. For child molestation specifically, though, the clock never runs out.
Civil Deadline: Until Age 30
A survivor can file a separate civil lawsuit for money damages against the abuser or against a third party whose negligence contributed to the abuse. The deadline is 12 years after the survivor turns 18, meaning the complaint must be filed before the survivor’s 30th birthday.3Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 12-514 – Civil Action Arising From Sexual Conduct or Sexual Contact Committed Against a Minor The statute uses the phrase “and not afterward,” so this is a hard cutoff.
The same statute covers a second kind of defendant: mandatory reporters who knew about sexual abuse and failed to report it. Teachers, doctors, clergy, and other professionals legally obligated to report suspected abuse can be held civilly liable when their silence allowed the abuse to continue.3Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 12-514 – Civil Action Arising From Sexual Conduct or Sexual Contact Committed Against a Minor The 12-year-after-18 deadline applies to those claims as well.
The current deadline replaced an older rule that cut survivors off at age 20. House Bill 2466, enacted in 2019, added a full decade to the filing window.4Arizona Legislature. House Bill 2466 – Fifty-Fourth Legislature, First Regular Session The reasoning behind the change: many survivors don’t process what happened to them until well into adulthood, and the old deadline shut the courthouse door before most people were ready to walk through it.
When the Civil Clock Can Pause
Arizona has a general tolling rule that pauses statutes of limitations when a person is of “unsound mind” at the time their claim arises.5Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 12-502 – Effect of Minority or Insanity If a survivor has a recognized mental disability when the clock would otherwise start running, that time doesn’t count against the limitation period. Once the disability lifts, the survivor gets the ordinary filing period. This provision operates separately from the 12-year child sexual abuse deadline and could extend the window in narrow circumstances where a survivor’s mental condition qualifies.
Shorter Deadline If a Government Entity Is Involved
When the abuse happened in a setting controlled by a government entity, such as a public school, a government-run foster program, or a state facility, a much shorter procedural requirement sits on top of the civil filing deadline. Before suing, the survivor must file a formal Notice of Claim with the entity within 180 days after the cause of action accrues.6Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 12-821.01 – Authorization of Claim Against Public Entity Miss that 180-day window and the claim is barred, regardless of how much time is left under the general civil statute.
For minors, the 180-day clock does not start running until the “disability ceases,” which in practice means after the survivor turns 18.6Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 12-821.01 – Authorization of Claim Against Public Entity A survivor abused at a public school would need to file the Notice of Claim within 180 days of their 18th birthday. The notice has to include enough facts for the entity to understand the basis for liability, plus a specific dollar amount for which the claim could be settled. Many government claims fail at this step because survivors and their families assume the general civil deadline is the only one that matters.
The 2019 Revival Window Is Closed
Along with the extended deadline, the 2019 legislation created a temporary revival window for claims that had already expired under the old age-20 rule. During that window, survivors of any age could file previously time-barred civil claims regardless of when the abuse occurred.4Arizona Legislature. House Bill 2466 – Fifty-Fourth Legislature, First Regular Session The window closed on December 31, 2020.
Revived claims came with two restrictions that don’t apply to claims filed under the standard deadline. The survivor had to prove the case by “clear and convincing evidence,” a higher standard than the usual “preponderance of the evidence.” Punitive damages were off the table. For claims against anyone other than the actual abuser, such as an institution, the survivor also had to show the defendant knew or had actual notice of misconduct creating an unreasonable risk of sexual abuse by an employee, volunteer, or agent.4Arizona Legislature. House Bill 2466 – Fifty-Fourth Legislature, First Regular Session
No new revival legislation has been enacted since. Survivors whose claims expired before 2019 and who did not file during the window no longer have a civil path forward unless the mental-disability tolling rule reaches their situation. The criminal side, by contrast, remains open indefinitely.