Statute of Limitations on Assault in Washington State

The statute of limitations on assault in Washington state is three years for felony assault charges (first, second, and third degree) and two years for fourth-degree assault, which is a gross misdemeanor. A victim who wants to sue for personal injury has three years from the date of the assault to file a civil lawsuit. Miss the deadline and the case is gone, with only a few narrow exceptions that pause the clock.

Criminal Deadlines by Degree of Assault

Washington sorts assault into four degrees, and the deadline for prosecutors to file charges tracks the classification of the offense rather than the degree itself.

A frequent assumption is that first-degree assault, as the most serious assault charge in the state, has no deadline. It does. The crimes with no statute of limitations in Washington are a short list that includes murder, homicide by abuse, vehicular homicide, and certain sex offenses against minors. No form of assault is on that list.2Washington State Legislature. Washington Code RCW 9A.04.080 – Limitation of Actions One narrow exception exists: vehicular assault in which the victim later dies can be prosecuted at any time.

Deadline to Sue for Personal Injury

A victim does not have to wait for a prosecutor’s decision to pursue the person who caused the harm. Washington gives assault victims three years from the date of the attack to file a civil lawsuit for personal injury.5Washington State Legislature. Washington Code RCW 4.16.080 – Actions Limited to Three Years

The civil case runs on its own track. A prosecutor might decline charges, or a jury might acquit, and a civil suit can still succeed because the burden of proof is lower in civil court. The three-year window applies regardless of what the criminal side does.

When the Clock Starts

For most assaults the clock starts on the date of the incident, because the victim knows right away what happened and who did it.

Civil claims have one important wrinkle. Under the discovery rule, the clock does not begin until the victim discovers, or reasonably should have discovered, the injury and its link to the assault. This mostly matters for delayed-onset harm. Someone struck in the head who is not diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury until a year later may have the three years run from the date of diagnosis rather than the date of the attack. The rule has limits. A court will expect you to have acted once a reasonable person in your position would have recognized the injury.

What Pauses the Clock

Washington recognizes several tolling rules that stop the clock after it has started.

The Person Who Attacked You Leaves the State

If the accused is no longer usually and publicly a resident of Washington, the criminal limitation period does not run during that absence.2Washington State Legislature. Washington Code RCW 9A.04.080 – Limitation of Actions A parallel civil statute pauses the three-year personal injury clock in the same situation.6Washington State Legislature. Washington Code RCW 4.16.180 – Statute Tolled by Absence From State, Concealment

The Victim Was a Minor or Legally Incapacitated

If the victim was under 18 or mentally incapacitated when the assault happened, the civil clock does not run until the disability ends. A child injured in an assault has until their 21st birthday to sue, with the three years starting at age 18.7Washington State Legislature. Washington Code RCW 4.16.190 – Statute Tolled by Personal Disability For an incapacitated adult, the clock starts once they can understand the nature of their claim.

Active-Duty Military Service

The federal Servicemembers Civil Relief Act pauses most civil statutes of limitations during active-duty service. The protection runs whether the service member is the one who was harmed or the one being sued.

If a Government Employee Assaulted You

Suing a city, county, or other local government entity in Washington, including over conduct by its employees such as police officers, requires a formal pre-lawsuit claim filed with the entity’s designated agent. No lawsuit can be filed until 60 calendar days after that claim goes in, and the statute of limitations is tolled during the waiting period.8Washington State Legislature. Washington Code RCW 4.96.020 – Tortious Conduct of Local Governmental Entities

Federal employees fall under the Federal Tort Claims Act, which requires an administrative claim with the responsible agency within two years. A lawsuit can only follow if the agency denies the claim or fails to act within six months.

A separate option exists for excessive force by law enforcement: a federal civil rights claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. The U.S. Supreme Court has held that § 1983 claims borrow the forum state’s personal injury statute of limitations,9Justia. Wilson v. Garcia, 471 U.S. 261 (1985) which in Washington is three years. The § 1983 route does not require the 60-day pre-filing notice that a state tort claim does.

What Happens If You Miss the Deadline

An expired statute of limitations ends the case. A criminal court must dismiss charges filed after the deadline, and a prosecutor cannot restart the clock by finding new evidence or waiting for a better moment. On the civil side, a defendant will raise the expired deadline as a defense and the court will dismiss the suit, no matter how strong the underlying facts. Washington courts enforce these windows strictly and grant extensions only under the tolling rules above. Filing early protects every option; waiting creates a risk that no lawyer can undo.