Updated October 2026 | The Bulldog Law | California Criminal Defense

California's criminal statute of limitations gives the prosecution one year to file a misdemeanor, three years for most felonies, and six years for felonies punishable by eight years or more in prison. Crimes punishable by life imprisonment or death, which include murder, and a list of other offenses, embezzlement of public funds, and most felony sex crimes committed since 2017, have no limitation period at all. Fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, and certain crimes against children start the clock at discovery rather than at the offense, DNA matches can revive expired periods for sex crimes, and the period pauses while a defendant is out of state. The clock stops when a complaint is filed, an indictment is returned, or an arrest warrant issues. A prosecution filed after the period has run is dismissed, and the defense cannot be lost by delay in raising it.

The Bulldog Law's attorneys see the statute of limitations decide cases in two directions. In one, a client is charged with conduct from years earlier, an old fraud, a decades-old allegation, a 2019 incident filed in 2026, and the first question is whether the prosecution was still allowed to file. In the other, a client who believes an old matter is safely behind them learns that the offense carries no limitation, or that the period began when an investigator opened a file rather than when the conduct occurred. The rules are in Penal Code 799 through 805, they are more detailed than most people expect, and the exceptions matter more than the general periods. What follows is the structure, the offense-by-offense periods, the discovery and tolling rules, the sex-offense timeline, and how the defense is raised. Call (888) 928-1609 or message our team if you have been charged with something from the past. The civil deadlines for suing, which are different, are covered on our pages on the civil statute of limitations and the personal injury deadlines.

The structure: Penal Code 799 to 805

California organizes the limitation periods by the punishment the offense carries, with a list of specific exceptions layered on top. The general rule under Penal Code 801 is three years for a felony and, under 802, one year for a misdemeanor or infraction. Penal Code 800 lengthens the period to six years for felonies punishable by eight years or more. Penal Code 799 eliminates the period for offenses punishable by death or life imprisonment, for embezzlement of public money, and, since 2017, for the listed sex offenses. Penal Code 803 adds the discovery rules, the tolling rules, and the extensions. Penal Code 804 defines when a prosecution is commenced, and 805 explains how to classify a wobbler.

Wobblers are classified by their maximum felony punishment under Penal Code 805, regardless of how the prosecutor files them: a wobbler with a three-year maximum has a three-year period even if filed as a misdemeanor, and a misdemeanor-only offense has one year even if the conduct was serious. The felony vs. misdemeanor distinction and the list of California felonies show where each offense sits.

When the clock starts late: discovery offenses

For most crimes, the period runs from the date of the offense. Penal Code 803(c) creates the major exception: for offenses a material element of which is fraud or breach of a fiduciary obligation, the basis of which is misconduct in office by a public official, or which are listed in the subdivision, the period does not begin until the offense is discovered, or should have been discovered with reasonable diligence, by the victim or by law enforcement, and it then runs for four years. The listed offenses include grand theft by false pretense, embezzlement, forgery, welfare fraud, insurance fraud, Medi-Cal fraud, securities fraud, money laundering, elder financial abuse, and identity theft, among others.

The discovery rule is the reason fraud prosecutions reach back further than any other. An embezzlement that ran from 2015 to 2019 and was discovered in a 2024 audit may be prosecuted until 2028. The defense litigates discovery: when the victim or the agency actually learned of the conduct, or had enough information that a reasonable inquiry would have revealed it. A bank that received a suspicious activity report in 2020 and did nothing has discovered the offense in 2020, not when it finally referred the matter. Our page on theft by false pretenses explains how that rule applies to the most common discovery-offense charge.

Sex offenses: the 2017 line and the extensions

The limitation rules for sex crimes have been rewritten repeatedly, and the applicable rule depends on when the offense was committed, because the Supreme Court held in Stogner v. California in 2003 that the Legislature may not revive a limitation period that has already expired; a new, longer period applies only to offenses whose period had not yet run when the new law took effect.

Offenses on or after January 1, 2017. Senate Bill 813 eliminated the limitation period for rape, sodomy, lewd acts on a child under 14, continuous sexual abuse of a child, oral copulation, and sexual penetration, when committed on or after that date. Those offenses may be prosecuted at any time.

Offenses before 2017. Felony sex offenses requiring registration generally carried a ten-year period under Penal Code 801.1(b). For offenses against victims under 18 committed on or after January 1, 2015, Penal Code 801.1(a) allows prosecution until the victim's 40th birthday. For earlier offenses, Penal Code 803(f) permits prosecution within one year of a report to law enforcement by a victim who was under 18 at the time, if the offense involved substantial sexual conduct and there is independent corroborating evidence; the provision has been applied to allegations decades old. Our page on lewd acts under Penal Code 288 addresses the charges this rule most often reaches.

DNA. Penal Code 803(g) permits prosecution of a listed sex offense within one year of the date on which the identity of the suspect is conclusively established by DNA testing, if the biological evidence was analyzed within two years of the offense for offenses after 2000, and with further conditions for earlier offenses. Cold-case prosecutions from database matches rest on this subdivision, and the defense examines the testing dates and the chain of custody.

Tolling: when the clock stops

Out of state. Under Penal Code 803(d), the period does not run while the defendant is outside California, up to a maximum of three years of tolling. A person who committed a three-year felony and lived in Nevada for two years faces a five-year period. The prosecution must prove the absence.

Commencement. Under Penal Code 804, a prosecution is commenced, and the period stops, when an indictment or information is filed, a misdemeanor complaint is filed, a felony complaint is filed in a court with jurisdiction, a case is certified to the superior court, or an arrest warrant or bench warrant is issued, provided the warrant names or describes the defendant with the same particularity an indictment would. A John Doe warrant describing a suspect by DNA profile has been held sufficient. Issuance of the warrant is enough; the defendant need not be arrested within the period.

Dismissal and refiling. If a case is dismissed and refiled, the time during which the first case was pending is generally excluded under Penal Code 803(b), and the refiled case must still be within the period as extended. Our page on dismissals with and without prejudice covers the refiling rules.

Common offenses, in plain terms

Murder: no limit, under Penal Code 187. Voluntary manslaughter: six years. Involuntary manslaughter: three. DUI: one year for a misdemeanor; three for a felony DUI with injury or priors; six for gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated. Domestic violence: one year for misdemeanor battery on a partner; three years for corporal injury under 273.5; the five-year period in Penal Code 803.6 for certain domestic violence offenses where the victim's report came later. Theft: one year for petty theft; three for grand theft; four from discovery for theft by false pretense and embezzlement. Hit and run: one year for property damage; three for injury. Robbery and first-degree burglary: six years. Drug sales: three or six depending on the statute's maximum. Federal crimes, covered on our page on what makes a crime federal, carry a five-year default under 18 U.S.C. 3282, with longer periods for bank fraud, tax, and sex offenses against children, and none for capital crimes and terrorism.

Raising the defense

The statute of limitations in a criminal case is jurisdictional in California, which means a prosecution filed outside the period is void, the defect cannot be waived by the defendant's silence, and it can be raised at any stage, including after a plea and on appeal, though a defendant may knowingly waive it to accept a plea to a time-barred lesser offense. The defense is raised by motion to dismiss, or by demurrer where the complaint shows on its face that the period has run; where the question depends on facts, discovery dates, absence from the state, the date a warrant issued, the prosecution bears the burden of proving by a preponderance that the action was timely, and the issue may be tried to the jury. Our attorneys check the dates in every case involving old conduct, because the question is not whether the client did it but whether the state still has the power to ask.

Frequently asked questions

What is the statute of limitations for a felony in California?

Three years for most felonies, under Penal Code 801. Felonies punishable by eight years or more in prison have a six-year period under Penal Code 800. Crimes punishable by life or death, and a list of serious offenses including murder, embezzlement of public money, and most felony sex crimes against children, have no limitation at all under Penal Code 799. Fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, and certain sex offenses have periods that start at discovery rather than at the offense.

What is the statute of limitations for a misdemeanor in California?

One year from the offense, under Penal Code 802(a). A few misdemeanors have longer periods: two years for misdemeanor sex offenses against minors under 14 and for certain building code and elder abuse offenses, three years for misdemeanor violations by professionals against patients and for some vehicle code offenses. Infractions also carry one year. The prosecution must file the complaint, not merely investigate, within the period.

Is there a statute of limitations on murder in California?

No. Penal Code 799 provides that prosecution for an offense punishable by death or life imprisonment, with or without parole, may be commenced at any time. That covers first and second degree murder, which carry life terms, and the other life offenses. Voluntary manslaughter, which carries up to 11 years, has a six-year period; involuntary manslaughter has three.

What is the statute of limitations for sexual assault in California?

For most felony sex offenses committed on or after January 1, 2017, there is none: Senate Bill 813 eliminated the limitation for rape, sodomy, oral copulation, sexual penetration, and continuous sexual abuse of a child committed after that date. Offenses committed before 2017 are governed by the law in effect at the time, generally ten years under Penal Code 801.1 or until the victim's 40th birthday for child victims, with DNA-based extensions. Misdemeanor sexual battery carries one year.

How long after a crime can you be charged in California?

Until the limitation period for that offense expires, measured from when the crime was committed, or, for fraud and some other offenses, from when it was discovered. The period stops running when a complaint is filed, an indictment is returned, or an arrest warrant issues, and it is paused while the defendant is outside California, for up to three years. A case filed after the period has run is dismissed on motion, and the defendant cannot waive the defense by failing to raise it early; it can be raised at any time.

Related reading from our attorneys

• Dismissed with prejudice vs. without prejudice
• Theft by false pretenses and the discovery rule
• The civil statute of limitations in California

Charged with something from years ago? The first question is whether the state waited too long

The Bulldog Law's defense attorneys litigate statute of limitations defenses in fraud, sex offense, and cold-case prosecutions across California, with the discovery date, the tolling facts, and the commencement date examined in every case involving old conduct. Visit our criminal defense page, call (888) 928-1609, or reach us online.