FEHA Statute of Limitations: CRD Filing, Right-to-Sue, and Tolling

Under California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act, the FEHA statute of limitations gives you three years from the date of a discriminatory, harassing, or retaliatory act to file an administrative complaint with the Civil Rights Department (CRD).¹ Once CRD closes its file and issues a right-to-sue notice, a second clock starts: you have one year from the date on that notice to file a lawsuit in court.² Miss either one and the claim is gone.

The Three-Year Deadline to File With CRD

Government Code § 12960 sets the administrative filing window at three years from the date the unlawful conduct occurred.¹ It covers every FEHA violation: discrimination, harassment, and retaliation across all protected categories.³

The three-year period is relatively new. Assembly Bill 9 took effect in January 2020 and tripled what had been a one-year deadline. There is no filing fee.

The clock runs from the date of the last unlawful act. If your employer denied you a promotion on March 15, 2024, because of your race, you have until March 15, 2027, to file with CRD.

Continuing Violations Can Reach Back Further

A single incident has a clear start date. Workplace harassment often does not. Under the continuing violation doctrine, an ongoing pattern of discriminatory conduct is treated as one violation, and older incidents can be included in a complaint as long as at least one act in the pattern falls within the three-year window.¹ A hostile work environment built on repeated offensive comments is a common example.

The doctrine does not stretch to discrete employment decisions. A firing, a demotion, or a denied transfer each carries its own three-year clock. If you were passed over for promotion in 2021 and again in 2025, the 2025 denial has its own deadline, and the 2021 denial may already be time-barred unless the events are part of a broader harassment pattern rather than separate personnel decisions.

Waiting on HR Does Not Buy You More Time

The three-year clock runs regardless of what your employer is doing internally. Sitting through a long HR investigation on the assumption that it pauses the deadline is one of the more costly mistakes people make. No amount of good faith, and no internal process, extends the statutory window.

The One-Year Deadline to File Suit After the Right-to-Sue Notice

Filing with CRD is only the first step. When CRD finishes with your case, it issues a right-to-sue notice. From the date on that notice, you have exactly one year to file a civil lawsuit in superior court.²

The two clocks run in sequence, not together. You could file with CRD on the last day of the three-year window, receive your right-to-sue notice months later, and still have a full year from that notice to get into court.

Two Ways to Get the Notice

If CRD does not file its own civil action within 150 days of your complaint, the department must notify you in writing that you can request a right-to-sue notice.⁴ At that point you can withdraw the complaint and proceed on your own.

You can also request an immediate right-to-sue notice up front and skip the CRD investigation entirely.⁴ People who already have an attorney and want to move straight to litigation often take this route. The one-year lawsuit clock starts the moment the notice is issued, so the litigation plan should be ready before the request goes in.

Courts Enforce the One Year Strictly

Missing the one-year window means losing the right to bring your FEHA claims in court. Filing on day 366 is the same as not filing at all.

When the FEHA Clocks Can Be Paused

Both FEHA deadlines can be tolled in specific circumstances. The exceptions are narrow, and relying on them without legal advice is risky, but they exist to prevent unfair outcomes.

Tolling of Related Claims During the CRD Investigation

Government Code § 12960 pauses any other statute of limitations that might apply to your claims while your CRD complaint is pending. The pause runs from the date you file with CRD until either the department files its own civil action, or one year after the department issues written notice that it has closed its investigation.¹ It applies retroactively but cannot revive claims that have already expired. If you have parallel claims under other California statutes with shorter deadlines, filing with CRD can freeze those clocks while the department investigates.

Tolling During Mediation or an Internal Appeal

The one-year lawsuit deadline under § 12965 is tolled during any mandatory or voluntary dispute resolution process that CRD refers your case to, such as mediation.² The pause begins when the department refers the case to its dispute resolution division and ends when it closes the mediation record. If you are appealing the closure of your complaint within CRD, the one-year clock pauses during that appeal as well.

Tolling When the Case Is Deferred to the EEOC

If your complaint is filed with both CRD and the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission at the same time and CRD defers its investigation to the EEOC, the one-year deadline from the CRD right-to-sue notice is tolled.² This prevents a premature state lawsuit while the federal agency is still investigating the same conduct.

Equitable Tolling and Estoppel

California courts have recognized that FEHA deadlines can be equitably tolled when you acted with reasonable diligence but were prevented from filing through no fault of your own. Common scenarios include situations where CRD itself misled you about filing requirements or made errors in processing your complaint. Courts will look at whether you had actual or constructive notice of the filing rules and whether you acted promptly once you understood your rights.

A related doctrine, equitable estoppel, applies when an employer actively misled you into missing a deadline. If the employer made promises about resolving the situation or finding you another position and you reasonably relied on those promises instead of filing, the employer may be blocked from raising the missed deadline as a defense.

Military Service

Under the federal Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, statutes of limitation are paused for the entire duration of a servicemember’s active duty.⁵ The period of military service is excluded when calculating any filing deadline, and this applies to career active-duty members, Reservists, and National Guard members alike.

The Federal EEOC Clock Runs Faster

If the same conduct also violates federal law (Title VII, the ADA, or the ADEA), a separate federal claim exists with its own, much shorter deadline. Because California has a state anti-discrimination agency, you get 300 days from the discriminatory act to file a charge with the EEOC rather than the default 180 days.⁶

The practical risk is easy to see. Three years feels comfortable, so people take their time. The 300-day federal window quietly expires in the meantime, and the federal claims are lost. If there is any chance the situation involves federal violations, treat 300 days as a hard deadline even while the FEHA clock is still running.

Dual Filing Between CRD and the EEOC

CRD and the EEOC have a worksharing agreement. When you file with CRD on conduct also covered by federal anti-discrimination law, CRD automatically cross-files a copy of your charge with the EEOC.⁷ Filing with the EEOC first triggers a cross-file to CRD. Dual filing preserves your rights under both state and federal law, and CRD usually keeps the case for investigation.

90 Days to Sue in Federal Court

If you pursue the federal claim through the EEOC, the lawsuit deadline is far shorter than the FEHA one-year window. You have 90 days from receiving the EEOC’s Notice of Right to Sue to file in federal court.⁸ Managing state and federal timelines together is where the process gets genuinely complicated.

Where to File the CRD Complaint

The CRD complaint is a verified document signed under penalty of perjury, so accuracy from the start matters. Before you begin, gather your employer’s legal name and mailing address, the names and job titles of everyone involved, the dates of adverse actions, the protected category involved, and contact information for any witnesses.⁹

FEHA’s protected categories are broad: race, color, ancestry, national origin, religion, age (40 and over), physical and mental disability, sex, gender, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, military or veteran status, and reproductive health decisionmaking.¹⁰

The fastest way to file is through the California Civil Rights System, CRD’s online portal. You create an account, submit your information, and receive a confirmation number with a digital timestamp. Paper filings go to CRD headquarters at 651 Bannon Street, Suite 200, Sacramento, CA 95811.¹¹ Certified mail is not required, but delivery confirmation gives you proof of when your paperwork arrived if a deadline dispute ever comes up. Once the complaint is in the system, CRD sends an acknowledgment. That acknowledgment is your confirmation that the administrative clock has been satisfied.

1
California Legislative Information. California Code Government Code 12960 – Unlawful Practices
2
California Legislative Information. California Code Government Code 12965 – Enforcement and Hearing Procedures
3
California Legislative Information. AB 9 – Employment Discrimination Limitation of Actions
4
Legal Information Institute. Cal. Code Regs. Tit. 2, 10005 – Obtaining a Right-to-Sue Notice
5
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 50 USC 3936 – Statute of Limitations
6
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Time Limits for Filing a Complaint
7
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Fair Employment Practices Agencies (FEPAs) and Dual Filing
8
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Filing a Lawsuit
9
Legal Information Institute. Cal. Code Regs. Tit. 2, 10007 – Intake
10
California Civil Rights Department. Employment Discrimination
11
California Civil Rights Department. How to File a Complaint