What Crimes Have No Statute of Limitations in Texas?

In Texas, the crimes with no statute of limitations are listed in Article 12.01 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, and they can be prosecuted at any time — years or decades after the offense. The list covers murder, capital murder, and manslaughter; several sexual offenses against children; any sexual assault where biological evidence is untested or does not match a known person; sexual assaults with five or more victims; trafficking of children or disabled persons, continuous trafficking, compelling prostitution of a minor or disabled person, and continuous promotion of prostitution; tampering with a human corpse or with evidence tied to a homicide; taking or retaining a child outside the United States in violation of custody; failing to stop or report a sexual or assaultive offense against a child; and leaving the scene of a fatal collision. Attempted and aggravated versions of these crimes carry the same unlimited window.¹

Murder, Capital Murder, and Manslaughter

Homicide offenses have no prosecution deadline in Texas. A charge can be filed whenever evidence or a suspect emerges, which is why cold-case units can bring indictments decades after a killing.¹

Capital murder is a capital felony. When the state seeks the death penalty, a convicted defendant faces either death or life without parole; when the state does not seek death, the sentence is life without parole for anyone who was 18 or older at the time of the offense.² Murder is a first-degree felony, punishable by 5 to 99 years or life and a fine up to $10,000. Manslaughter is a second-degree felony, carrying 2 to 20 years and a fine up to $10,000.³

Sexual Offenses Against Children

Texas removes the prosecution deadline for several sexual crimes against minors, because child victims often do not disclose until adulthood. These offenses can be charged no matter how long ago the abuse occurred:¹

Sexual assault of a child (victim under 17), a second-degree felony punishable by 2 to 20 years.
Aggravated sexual assault of a child, a first-degree felony carrying 5 to 99 years or life. The minimum rises to 25 years when the victim is under 6, or under 14 with threats of serious bodily injury or death, or use of a deadly weapon.³
Continuous sexual abuse of a young child or disabled individual, a first-degree felony with a mandatory minimum of 25 years and a maximum of 99 years or life.⁴
Indecency with a child by contact, a second-degree felony (2 to 20 years). Indecency by exposure is a third-degree felony.

Sexual Assault Tied to DNA Evidence or Multiple Victims

Even outside the child-victim context, a sexual assault has no limitation period when either of two forensic conditions is met: biological evidence was collected during the investigation and has not yet been tested for DNA, or it has been tested and the profile does not match the victim or any other readily identified person.¹ When a backlogged sexual assault kit is finally processed and a database hit identifies a suspect, charges can be filed regardless of how many years have passed.

The deadline also disappears when probable cause exists to believe the defendant committed the same or a similar sexual offense against five or more victims.⁵

The same DNA-based rule extends to burglary of a home when the defendant entered intending to commit sexual assault or aggravated sexual assault and biological evidence was collected that meets those testing conditions.¹

Human Trafficking and Compelled Prostitution

Several trafficking and exploitation offenses carry no prosecution deadline:¹

Trafficking of persons involving a child or disabled individual, where the defendant knowingly traffics the victim and causes them to be victimized by sexual abuse, prostitution, sexual performance, or related offenses. First-degree felony.⁶
Continuous trafficking of persons, charged when the defendant engages in trafficking conduct two or more times over 30 days or longer. First-degree felony with a 25-year minimum, up to 99 years or life.⁷
Compelling prostitution of a minor or disabled individual, which applies whether or not the defendant knew the victim’s age or disability. First-degree felony.⁸
Continuous promotion of prostitution, charged when the conduct occurs two or more times over 30 days or longer. First-degree felony.

First-degree felonies carry a standard range of 5 to 99 years or life and a fine up to $10,000, except where a specific statute sets a higher mandatory minimum.³

Tampering with a Corpse or Homicide Evidence

Destroying, concealing, or altering physical evidence has no prosecution deadline in two situations: when the evidence is a human corpse, or when a reasonable person in the defendant’s position would believe the evidence relates to a criminal homicide.¹ Tampering involving a corpse is a second-degree felony (2 to 20 years). Tampering with other homicide-related evidence is a third-degree felony (2 to 10 years).

Taking a Child Outside the US and Failing to Report Abuse

Two more child-protective offenses can be prosecuted at any time:¹

Interference with child custody by taking or retaining a child outside the United States with the intent to deprive someone with legal custody or access of that right, without permission. State jail felony, 180 days to 2 years.
Failure to stop or report a sexual or assaultive offense against a child. A person commits this crime by witnessing conduct that a reasonable person would recognize as such an offense against a child and failing to intervene or immediately report it to law enforcement, when they could have done so without risking serious injury or death. Third-degree felony, 2 to 10 years.⁹

Leaving the Scene of a Fatal Collision

A driver involved in a collision that kills someone must immediately stop, return to the scene if necessary, check whether anyone needs help, and remain until legal obligations are met. Failing to do so is a second-degree felony with no statute of limitations.¹ The penalty is 2 to 20 years in prison.¹⁰ If a witness, surveillance footage, or forensic evidence identifies the driver years later, charges can still be filed.

Attempted and Aggravated Versions

The same no-deadline rule reaches attempts and aggravated forms. Under Article 12.03 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, a criminal attempt carries the same limitation period as the completed offense, so attempted murder, attempted aggravated sexual assault, attempted trafficking, and every other attempted version of the crimes above can be prosecuted at any time.⁵ Article 12.03 also provides that any offense described as “aggravated” carries the same limitation period as the underlying primary offense.

Federal Crimes with No Deadline

Texas rules only govern state prosecutions. Under federal law, any offense punishable by death can be charged at any time.¹¹ Federal terrorism offenses also have no limitation period when the crime resulted in, or created a foreseeable risk of, death or serious bodily injury; non-capital terrorism offenses that do not cause death or serious injury carry an eight-year deadline instead of the standard five-year federal period.¹² State and federal limitations run independently, so a single act can be subject to both.

1
State of Texas. Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Article 12.01 – Felonies
2
State of Texas. Texas Penal Code Section 12.31 – Capital Felony
3
Office of the Attorney General. Penal Code Offenses by Punishment Range
4
State of Texas. Texas Penal Code Section 21.02 – Continuous Sexual Abuse of Young Child or Disabled Individual
5
State of Texas. Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Chapter 12 – Limitation
6
State of Texas. Texas Penal Code Section 20A.02 – Trafficking of Persons
7
State of Texas. Texas Penal Code Section 20A.03 – Continuous Trafficking of Persons
8
State of Texas. Texas Penal Code Section 43.05 – Compelling Prostitution
9
State of Texas. Texas Penal Code Section 38.17 – Failure to Stop or Report Sexual or Assaultive Offense Against Child
10
State of Texas. Texas Transportation Code Chapter 550 – Collisions and Collision Reports
11
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 3281 – Capital Offenses
12
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 3286 – Extension of Statute of Limitation for Certain Terrorism Offenses