In California, prosecutors have anywhere from three years to no deadline at all to file felony charges, and the felony statute of limitations in California depends almost entirely on the maximum sentence attached to the offense. Three years is the default. Six years applies to more serious felonies. A handful of crimes, including murder, have no deadline at all. Several rules can also delay when the clock starts or pause it while it runs.
The Default Three-Year Limit
Penal Code 801 sets three years as the general rule: prosecution for a felony punishable by imprisonment in state prison must begin within three years of when the offense was committed.1California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 801 This is the catch-all for felonies that don’t fall under a longer or shorter specific rule. Assault with a deadly weapon and second-degree burglary typically carry maximum sentences below eight years, so they land here.
Six Years for Serious Felonies
When a felony carries a potential sentence of eight or more years in state prison, prosecutors get six years to file charges under Penal Code 800.2California Legislative Information. California Code Penal Code 800 First-degree robbery and arson causing great bodily injury are common examples. Because sentence enhancements can push a crime that looks moderate on its face across the eight-year threshold, the six-year window applies more often than the raw offense description suggests.
Four Years for Fraud and Fiduciary Crimes
Felonies where fraud or breach of a fiduciary duty is a core element carry a four-year statute of limitations under Penal Code 801.5, and the four years runs from when the crime was discovered or completed, whichever comes later.3California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 801.5 Grand theft, embezzlement from an elder or dependent adult, and misconduct in public office all fall into this category.
Five Years for Elder and Dependent Adult Abuse
Penal Code 801.6 gives prosecutors five years to file charges for crimes against elder or dependent adults, so long as the offense does not involve theft or embezzlement. Where theft is involved, the four-year discovery-based rule under Penal Code 801.5 controls instead.
Sex Offense Time Limits
California’s time limits for sex crimes changed significantly in 2016, when the legislature passed the Justice for Victims Act (Senate Bill 813). That law eliminated the statute of limitations for several serious sex offenses committed on or after January 1, 2017, or where the prior deadline had not yet expired. Rape, rape in concert, and continuous sexual abuse of a child now have no time limit under Penal Code 799(b).4California Legislative Information. California Code Penal Code 799 For other sex offenses not covered by that provision, a 10-year statute of limitations generally applies under Penal Code 801.1.
Felonies With No Time Limit
Penal Code 799(a) removes the statute of limitations entirely for any offense punishable by death or life in prison.4California Legislative Information. California Code Penal Code 799 Murder is the obvious example, but the rule also covers aggravated kidnapping and other offenses where a life sentence is available. Charges can be filed decades after the crime.
Embezzlement of public money also has no deadline, regardless of the amount involved.4California Legislative Information. California Code Penal Code 799 Certain serious sex offenses added by the 2016 Justice for Victims Act round out this no-deadline category.
When the Clock Starts
For most felonies, the clock starts on the day the crime is committed. California has a significant exception in the discovery rule. Under Penal Code 803(c), when fraud, breach of a fiduciary obligation, or public-office misconduct is a core element of the crime, the limitation period does not begin until the offense is discovered or reasonably should have been discovered.5California Legislative Information. California Code Penal Code 803 Theft from and embezzlement of an elder or dependent adult also trigger this rule. The clock starts when the victim or law enforcement encounters facts that would alert a reasonable person that a crime occurred.
What Pauses the Clock
Leaving the State
If a defendant leaves California after committing a felony, time spent out of state does not count against the statute of limitations, up to a maximum pause of three years.5California Legislative Information. California Code Penal Code 803 Someone who commits a felony with a three-year deadline and immediately moves out of state for two years still faces nearly the full three years after returning. The tolling caps at three years of absence total, so leaving the state indefinitely won’t freeze the clock forever.
Sex Crimes Against Minors
Special tolling rules apply when the victim was under 18 at the time of a sex offense. Under Penal Code 803(f), even after the normal statute of limitations has expired, a criminal complaint can be filed within one year of the date a person of any age reports to California law enforcement that they were the victim of certain sex crimes while they were a minor.5California Legislative Information. California Code Penal Code 803 The window is not automatic. It applies only when the crime involved substantial sexual conduct and independent evidence corroborates the allegation. If the person making the report was 21 or older, the corroboration standard is higher.
DNA Identification
When DNA evidence identifies a suspect in a sex crime, Penal Code 803(g) allows prosecutors to file charges within one year of the date the suspect’s identity is conclusively established through DNA testing.6California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 803 The provision applies to offenses requiring sex-offender registration, and the biological evidence must have been analyzed within certain deadlines depending on when the crime was committed.
What Happens When Time Runs Out
Once the statute of limitations expires, prosecutors lose the legal authority to file charges for that offense. If charges are filed anyway, the defense can challenge them through a demurrer or motion to dismiss, and the court will throw the case out. This is a hard cutoff, not a judgment call for the judge. A defendant who is never charged within the applicable window walks away from that particular prosecution permanently.
The statute of limitations does not prevent an arrest, investigation, or grand jury proceeding that begins before the deadline. What matters is whether the formal prosecution, typically the filing of a complaint or indictment, happens in time.