What Is the Statute of Limitations on Child Abuse in Texas?

In Texas, the statute of limitations on child abuse depends on whether the case is criminal or civil and whether the abuse was sexual or physical. Prosecutors can file charges for the most serious child sexual offenses at any point during the perpetrator’s life. Survivors pursuing civil damages for child sexual abuse generally have until their 48th birthday to sue. Physical child abuse carries much tighter deadlines on both sides.

Criminal Charges for Child Sexual Abuse Have No Deadline

Texas law lets prosecutors bring charges indefinitely for the most serious sexual offenses against children. There is no statute of limitations for sexual assault of a child, aggravated sexual assault of a child, continuous sexual abuse of a young child, indecency with a child, trafficking of a child for sexual purposes, or compelling a child into prostitution.¹ A perpetrator can face prosecution decades later, no matter when the victim comes forward.

Criminal Deadlines for Other Offenses Against Children

Not every offense against a child falls into the no-limitation category. Several carry a 20-year limitations period that starts on the victim’s 18th birthday: sexual performance by a child, human trafficking of a child, kidnapping with the intent to commit sexual assault, and burglary with the intent to commit sexual assault when the victim was younger than 17.¹ Because the clock starts at 18, a victim abused at age 10 would still have until age 38 before prosecution becomes time-barred.

Physical child abuse that doesn’t involve a sexual component has its own timeline. Injury to a child and child endangerment carry a 10-year limitations period that also starts on the victim’s 18th birthday, giving prosecutors until the victim turns 28 to bring charges.¹

Civil Lawsuits for Child Sexual Abuse Run to Age 48

A criminal case is brought by the state to punish the offender. A civil case is brought by the survivor to recover money for therapy, medical expenses, lost earnings, and the harm caused by the abuse. The civil window for child sexual abuse in Texas is far longer than the standard personal injury deadline.

Under Section 16.0045 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code, survivors have 30 years after the cause of action accrues to file suit.² Because the limitations clock is paused during the victim’s minority under Section 16.001, the 30-year period effectively begins on the victim’s 18th birthday.³ No matter how old the victim was when the abuse occurred, the practical deadline is the survivor’s 48th birthday.

The 30-year window covers civil claims arising from sexual assault of a child, aggravated sexual assault of a child, continuous sexual abuse of a young child, indecency with a child, certain forms of child sex trafficking, and compelling a child into prostitution.² Conduct that doesn’t fall into one of these categories isn’t covered by the extended deadline.

The 2019 Expansion and What It Did Not Revive

The 30-year period wasn’t always the law. House Bill 3809, which took effect on September 1, 2019, expanded what had been a 15-year window.⁴ The new deadline applies to any cause of action that accrued on or after that date, as well as claims that accrued earlier but had not yet expired under the old 15-year limit. Claims that were already time-barred before September 1, 2019 were not revived. This is a common point of confusion: a survivor whose claim lapsed under the old law cannot use the longer window to resurrect it.

Civil Lawsuits for Physical Abuse Have a Much Shorter Window

This is where many people get tripped up. The 30-year deadline only applies to the sexual offenses listed in Section 16.0045. For physical abuse without a sexual component, the standard two-year personal injury statute of limitations applies under Section 16.003.⁵

Tolling helps. Under Section 16.001, the two-year clock does not run while the victim is under 18.³ Once the victim turns 18, the full two-year period begins. A survivor of childhood physical abuse generally has until their 20th birthday to file. Missing that date by even a day will almost certainly mean dismissal.

The gap between the 48th-birthday deadline for sexual abuse and the 20th-birthday deadline for physical abuse is wide. A survivor who experienced both needs to understand which deadline governs which claim. Waiting until age 25 to file a civil suit for physical abuse alone would be too late, even though a sexual abuse claim from the same period would still be timely.

The Discovery Rule as a Limited Backup

Texas recognizes a “discovery rule” that can delay when the limitations period starts. The clock begins when the victim discovers (or reasonably should have discovered) the injury and its connection to the abuse, rather than when the abuse itself occurred. This matters most for survivors who suppressed memories of childhood abuse and only later connected their symptoms to it.

Texas courts apply the rule cautiously. Two conditions must be met: the injury must have been inherently undiscoverable at the time it occurred, and the victim must provide objective verification of both the abuse and the resulting harm. An injury is inherently undiscoverable if a reasonable person using ordinary diligence would not have identified it within the normal limitations period. Expert testimony based on theories without broad scientific consensus, such as repressed memory recovery, has historically struggled to meet the objective verification requirement.

Don’t rely on the discovery rule to rescue an otherwise expired claim. The statutory deadlines above are far more dependable. The discovery rule works best as a backup when the survivor genuinely had no way to connect their injuries to childhood abuse within the normal window.

Federal Deadlines May Also Apply

When the conduct involves federal offenses, a separate set of deadlines applies. Under federal law there is no statute of limitations for kidnapping involving a minor, or for any felony involving the sexual exploitation of children, sexual abuse, or sex trafficking.⁶ For federal offenses involving sexual or physical abuse of a child under 18 outside those no-limitation categories, prosecutors can bring charges during the life of the child or within ten years after the offense, whichever is longer.⁷ Federal charges are less common in typical child abuse cases but can arise when the conduct crosses state lines, involves the internet, or occurs on federal property.

What Happens if the Deadline Has Passed

An expired statute of limitations is almost always fatal. Prosecutors cannot file criminal charges, and any filed after the deadline will be dismissed. In a civil case, the defendant will raise the expiration as a defense, and the court will throw the case out regardless of how strong the evidence is. A valid, provable claim becomes worthless once the clock runs out.

The defendant doesn’t need to prove the claim lacks merit. The passage of the deadline alone is enough to end the case. Before anything else, confirm which deadline applies to your situation and whether it has passed. That threshold question governs everything that follows.

1
State of Texas. Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Article 12.01 – Felonies
2
State of Texas. Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code 16.0045 – Limitations Period for Claims Arising From Certain Offenses
3
State of Texas. Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code 16.001 – Effect of Disability
4
Texas Legislature Online. HB 3809 Enrolled Text, 86th Legislature
5
State of Texas. Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code 16.003 – Two-Year Limitations Period
6
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 3299 – Child Abduction and Sex Offenses
7
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 3283 – Offenses Against Children