What Is the Statute of Limitations for Sexual Assault in MN?

The statute of limitations for sexual assault in Minnesota depends on what kind of case you’re asking about. On the criminal side, prosecutors can file first- through fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct charges at any time after the offense. On the civil side, adult survivors generally have six years from the date of the abuse to sue for damages, and survivors who were children when the abuse occurred usually face no civil deadline at all.

No Deadline to Charge First- Through Fourth-Degree Criminal Sexual Conduct

Under Minnesota Statute 628.26, prosecutors can file charges for criminal sexual conduct in the first, second, third, or fourth degree at any time after the offense was committed. The statute uses the words “at any time after the commission of the offense” and covers sections 609.342 through 609.345 of the criminal code, along with sex trafficking and sexual extortion.¹ A survivor can report the assault years or decades later, and the case can still be charged.

Minnesota only reached this point recently. Before 2021, prosecutors generally had nine years from the date of the offense to bring felony-level sexual conduct charges, with some extensions for DNA evidence and offenses involving minors.² The legislature eliminated the time limit in 2021, and the statute has been amended again in 2023 and 2025.¹

One caveat matters if your assault is older. The 2021 law originally applied only to offenses committed on or after September 15, 2021.² Later amendments changed the statute, and the current text contains no date restriction, but applying the elimination backward to older offenses raises constitutional questions that courts may still be sorting out. If your assault happened before September 2021, talk to a Minnesota attorney before assuming the no-time-limit rule covers it.

Three Years to Charge Fifth-Degree Criminal Sexual Conduct

Not every sexual offense in Minnesota falls under the no-deadline rule. Fifth-degree criminal sexual conduct, which covers conduct like nonconsensual sexual contact, is a gross misdemeanor in most circumstances and a felony with repeat offenses.³ Section 609.3451 is not on the list of offenses in 628.26 that have no time limit, so it falls under the catch-all three-year deadline for most crimes.¹

Section 628.26 also pauses the clock while physical evidence is being analyzed for DNA, unless the defendant can show that law enforcement delayed the testing to gain an unfair advantage.¹ For a fifth-degree case, that can meaningfully extend the three-year window.

Six Years to Sue as an Adult Survivor

A civil case runs on a separate track from a criminal prosecution. The state brings criminal charges; a survivor files a civil lawsuit to recover money damages from the person or institution responsible. The deadlines are different, and so are the standards of proof.

If you were 18 or older when the abuse occurred, you have six years from the date of the abuse to file a civil lawsuit for damages under Section 541.073.⁴ That tracks Minnesota’s general six-year personal injury limitations period under Section 541.05.⁵ Once six years pass, the court will almost certainly dismiss the case regardless of how strong the evidence is.

Civil damages typically cover medical and counseling expenses, lost income, and the psychological harm from the abuse. A successful civil case produces a financial judgment, not a criminal conviction.

No Civil Deadline for Childhood Sexual Abuse

Minnesota treats civil claims by survivors of childhood sexual abuse very differently. Under Section 541.073, a person who was sexually abused as a minor can file a civil lawsuit for damages at any point in their lifetime.⁴ There is no deadline. That rule reflects how often survivors need years or decades before they are able to disclose what happened.

One narrow exception exists. If the alleged abuser was under 14 at the time of the abuse, the survivor must file the lawsuit before turning 24.⁴ Outside that scenario, no deadline applies to civil claims for childhood sexual abuse.

Suing Schools, Churches, and Other Institutions

Section 541.073 is not limited to the person who committed the abuse. It also covers claims against anyone who negligently allowed the sexual abuse to occur.⁶ A school, church, employer, youth organization, or other institution that failed to prevent abuse through negligent hiring, inadequate supervision, or ignoring warning signs can be sued under the same statute.

The same deadlines carry over to those institutional claims: six years for survivors abused as adults, and no deadline for survivors abused as children (with the under-14 abuser exception). These claims are often where the strongest financial recoveries happen, because institutions tend to carry insurance and have assets that an individual defendant may not.

What Can Pause the Clock

Two tolling rules can extend a civil deadline that would otherwise run out.

If the defendant leaves Minnesota and cannot be served with legal process, the time they spend outside the state does not count toward the limitations period. Minnesota Statute 541.13 keeps an abuser from running out the six-year clock by relocating.⁷

Minnesota courts also recognize the discovery rule, under which a limitations period generally does not begin until the injured person discovers, or reasonably should have discovered, both the injury and its link to the wrongful act. Section 541.073 itself does not spell out a discovery rule, so its application in sexual abuse cases comes from broader Minnesota common law and equitable tolling principles. For adult survivors facing the six-year window, the discovery rule can potentially push back the start of the clock if the survivor was genuinely unaware of the connection between their injuries and the abuse.

Minnesota Crime Victims Reparations

Separate from any prosecution or lawsuit, Minnesota’s Crime Victims Reparations Board can reimburse sexual assault survivors for certain out-of-pocket expenses, including medical costs, mental health counseling up to $7,500, lost wages, and prescriptions. A reparations claim must be filed within three years of the crime.

Sexual assault survivors get a partial exemption from the program’s usual intake rules. The standard requirement that a crime be reported to police within 30 days is waived, though a report must still be filed at some point and the survivor must cooperate with law enforcement. Reparations payments do not count as income or resources for purposes of other federal, state, or local assistance programs.⁸ Because the reparations deadline is tighter than either the criminal or civil deadlines, it is often the first clock a survivor needs to watch.

1
Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 628.26 – Statute of Limitations
2
Minnesota House Research Department. Statutes of Limitations in Criminal Cases
3
Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 609.3451 – Criminal Sexual Conduct in the Fifth Degree
4
Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 541.073 – Actions for Damages Due to Sexual Abuse
5
Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 541.05 – Six-Year Limitations
6
Justia. Minnesota Code 541.073 – Actions for Damages Due to Sexual Abuse – Section: Applicability
7
Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code Chapter 541 – Limitation of Time, Commencing Actions – Section: 541.13 Absence From State
8
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 34 USC 20102 – Crime Victim Compensation