"Statute of Limitations" for California Crimes

The California criminal statute of limitations is generally one year for misdemeanors and three years for felonies.

As the following chart shows, prosecutors have additional time to press charges in more serious cases. For the most serious crimes such as rape and murder, there is no statute of limitations at all.

California Offense	Criminal Statute of Limitations
Most misdemeanors (any crime not punishable by state prison) Infractions (which are “public offenses” rather than “crimes” since they carry no jail time)	1 year
Sexual exploitation by a therapist or physician	2 years
Most felony offenses (any crime punishable by state prison) Certain misdemeanors against minors under 14 years of age	3 years
Felony fraud Fraud, theft, breach of trust, or embezzlement against elderly or dependent adults Misconduct by a public officer/employee	4 years
Infliction of corporal injury against an intimate partner (current or former) Crimes against elderly or dependent adults (not including theft or embezzlement)	5 years
Most felonies with a maximum penalty of at least 8 years in state prison	6 years
Most felony sex crimes requiring sex offender registration Failing to register as a sex offender	10 years
Certain felony child sexual crimes	Until the victim’s 40th birthday
Felonies punishable by death or life in prison (with or without the possibility of parole), such as: Murder Treason Aggravated kidnapping Embezzlement of public funds Most rape crimes Aggravated sexual assault of a child	No time limit

In this article, our California criminal defense attorneys discuss the following topics re. statutes of limitations (SOLs):

1. What is a criminal SOL?

A statute of limitations (SOL) is the period of time in which the district attorney (D.A.) can file charges against you if they suspect you of committing the crime. Once this deadline passes, then the D.A. may no longer prosecute you.

Prosecution is when the D.A. either:

files an information or indictment;
files a complaint charging a misdemeanor;
you are arraigned on a felony complaint; or
the judge issues an arrest warrant or bench warrant for you.

The purpose of statutes of limitations is to motivate prosecutors to investigate matters quickly before memories fade and potential trial exhibits disappear.

Waiting a long time to bring criminal charges also unfairly prejudices you, especially if you no longer have access to evidence that could exonerate you.¹

Graphic that shows pros and cons of criminal statutes of limitations in California, such as quick prosecutions (pro) and lack of accountability of SOl passes (con)

2. Misdemeanors

California law generally imposes a one-year statute of limitations on misdemeanors, which are crimes not punishable by state prison. (Incarceration for misdemeanors is served in county jail instead of California state prison.)

Common examples of California misdemeanor crimes with a one-year statute of limitations include:

This one-year clock starts running once the alleged offense occurs. So if you shoplifted a candy bar from a bodega on January 1, 2023, then prosecutors would have until January 1, 2024 to prosecute you.

Misdemeanors with Different SOLs

California’s statute of limitations to prosecute misdemeanor charges of annoying children or child molestation (647.6 PC) is three years.

California’s statute of limitations to prosecute sexual exploitation by a therapist or physician under 729 PC is two years.

Plus certain Business and Professions Code crimes have statutes of limitations ranging from one to four years, depending on the offense.²

Judge in black robe with gavel and hourglass and law books on his desk to signify the statute of limitations running in California

The more serious the crime, the longer the statute of limitations.

3. Felonies

California law generally imposes a three-year statute of limitations on felonies, which are crimes punishable by state prison (as opposed to county jail). Though if the felony crime potentially carries at least eight years in prison, then the statute of limitations is six years.

Common examples of California felonies with a three-year statute of limitations include:

Examples of California felonies with a six-year statute of limitations include:

Arson of an inhabited structure (451 PC),
First-degree robbery (211 PC), and
Gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated (191.5(a)PC).

Note that if you commit crimes with different statutes of limitations as part of the same criminal transaction or against the same victim, the longer statute of limitation governs. So if you committed trespass and a robbery against the same person on January 1, 2022, then prosecutors would have until January 1, 2028 to bring both charges even though trespass ordinarily has only a one-year SOL.³

Felonies with Different SOLs

There is a four-year statute of limitations for these California crimes:

Misconduct by a public official or employee,
Fraud, and
Fraud, theft, breach of trust, or embezzlement against elderly or dependent adults.

Note that this four-year clock begins running after the crime is completed or discovered (whichever occurs later). This is because fraud often remains undetected for a while.⁴

There is a five-year statute of limitations for these California crimes:

Corporal injury on spouse or cohabitant (273.5 PC),
Mandated reporter failing to report sexual assault, and
Crimes against elderly or dependent adults (not including theft or embezzlement).⁵

There is a ten-year statute of limitations for these California crimes:

Most felony sex crimes requiring sex offender registration,
Use of a minor in producing child pornography (311.4(b) PC), and
Failing to register as a sex offender (290 PC).⁶

The deadline to prosecute for certain child sex offenses is the victim’s 40th birthday.⁷

Note that in certain sex offense cases where the statute of limitations has already run, prosecutors are given one year to bring charges if:

DNA evidence of the suspect emerges, or
The victim – who was under 18 at the time of the crime – reports the offense.⁸

4. Crimes with No SOL

The most serious California crimes have no statute of limitations, which means prosecutors can bring criminal charges no matter how much time has gone by. These crimes include (with some exceptions):

Crimes that carry the death penalty or life in prison with or without parole, such as murder (197 PC), aggravated kidnapping (209 PC), or treason (37 PC),
Embezzlement of public money,
Rape (261 PC),
Aiding or abetting rape (264.1 PC),
Sodomy (286 PC),
Oral copulation (287 PC),
Lewd or lascivious acts involving children (288 PC),
Continuous sexual abuse of a child (288.5 PC), and
Penetration by foreign object (289 PC).⁹

Woman in handcuffs following an arrest against a gray background

You may be prosecuted only while the statute of limitations is still running.

5. Wobblers

When a California crime can be prosecuted as either a felony or a misdemeanor – called a “wobbler” – the felony statute of limitation applies.

So if you are suspected of the wobbler stalking (646.9 PC), California prosecutors would have three years to file charges.¹⁰

6. Discovery Rule

Under California’s discovery rule, criminal statutes of limitations do not begin running until after the crime was discovered (or reasonably should have been discovered). This can be weeks, months, or longer after the crime actually allegedly occurred.

The discovery rule typically applies to theft and fraud cases since there is usually a lag time between when the crime occurs and when the authorities learn of it.¹¹

7. If You Are Out-of-State

When you are a suspect in a California criminal case and are out of state, the statute of limitations can “toll” (which means to pause or suspend) for up to three years. So for example if you leave California permanently after committing misdemeanor trespass, you can be prosecuted within four years (one-year SOL plus three years of tolling) instead of one year.¹²

8. When the SOL Passes

If the applicable statutory period has passed when you are charged with a California crime, your criminal defense lawyer would file a motion to dismiss in court. As long as the SOL passed, the judge should grant the motion.

9. Civil Cases

The statute of limitations to file a civil lawsuit ranges from one to ten years, depending on the specific cause of action. The deadlines can be found in the California Code of Civil Procedure, Title 2.

Defendant and criminal defense attorney at counsel's table during a court hearing re. criminal statute of limitations

If you are prosecuted after the applicable statute of limitations has run, you can file a motion to dismiss.

Additional Reading

For more in-depth information, refer to the following scholarly articles:

Statutes of Limitations: The Underlying Policies – University of Louisville Law Review.
Easing the Tension before Statutes of Limitations and the Continuing Offense Doctrine – Northwestern University Journal of Law & Social Policy.
Child Sexual Abuse and Criminal Statutes of Limitation: A Model for Reform – Washington Law Review.
Efficient Time Bars: A New Rationale for the Existence of Statutes of Limitations in Criminal Law – The Journal of Legal Studies.
Conflict of the Criminal Statute of Limitations with Lesser Offenses at Trial – William & Mary Law Review.

Legal References

Penal Code 804 PC – Commencement of prosecution.
802 PC – Time period for commencement of prosecution.
California Penal Code 801 PC – Offense punishable by imprisonment in state prison; 800 PC – Offenses punishable by imprisonment for eight years or more.
801.5 PC – False or fraudulent insurance claims.
801.6 PC – Limitations period governing prosecution for elder abuse or neglect that does not involve theft or embezzlement, or for failure of mandated reporter to report sexual assault; 803.7 PC – Time limitation for prosecution for offense described in Penal Code Section 273.5.
801.2 PC – Time limitation for prosecution of use of minor in production of pornography.
801.1 PC – Ten-year limitation for specified sex offenses; Exception for minor victims.
803 PC – Tolling or extension of time period generally; Tolling until discovery of certain offenses; Tolling where defendant is out of state; Time limits for certain crimes against children and certain other crimes. See also: People v. Brown (Cal. App. 1st Dist., 2018) 23 Cal. App. 5th 765; People v. Lewis (Cal. App. 1st Dist., 2015) 234 Cal. App. 4th 203.
799 PC – Offenses punishable by death or life imprisonment without parole; Embezzlement of public money; Certain felonies.
803.6 PC – What time period controls where more than one period applies; Applicability of change in time period; 805 PC – Determination of applicable limitation period.
See note 8. 803.5 PC – Commencement of time period for persons filing forged instruments and for unauthorized use of personal identifying information. See also People v. Experian Data Corp. (Cal.App. 2024) 106 Cal. App. 5th 799.
See note 8.

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“Statute of Limitations” for California Crimes – A Legal Guide