Military Statute of Limitations: Deadlines, Exceptions, and Tolling

The military statute of limitations sets how long the government has to bring charges against a service member under the Uniform Code of Military Justice. The default is five years, but the real answer depends on the offense: murder, sexual assault, and several other serious crimes have no time limit at all, child abuse cases get an extended deadline, non-judicial punishment runs on a shorter two-year clock, and the clock pauses entirely in certain situations like going AWOL or being outside U.S. jurisdiction.

The Five-Year Default Under Article 43

Article 43 of the UCMJ sets a five-year window for most court-martial offenses. The period runs from the date the offense was committed, not the date the military found out about it.¹ To stop the clock, sworn charges and specifications must be received by an officer exercising summary court-martial jurisdiction over the accused’s command before the five years run out.

This is a hard cutoff. If the government files charges one day late, the prosecution is barred regardless of how strong the evidence is. That reality creates real pressure on investigators and trial counsel once an offense is approaching the five-year mark.

The Two-Year Deadline for Non-Judicial Punishment

Court-martial is not the only disciplinary track. Commanders often use non-judicial punishment under Article 15, known as “Captain’s Mast” in the Navy and simply an “Article 15” in the Army and Air Force. NJP has its own deadline: punishment cannot be imposed for an offense committed more than two years before the date of imposition.¹

A service member can waive the two-year limit, but the waiver has to be knowing and voluntary.² The same tolling rules that pause the court-martial clock also apply here, so going absent without leave is not a way to run out the NJP period.

Offenses With No Time Limit

Some crimes are serious enough that Article 43 removes any deadline. The government can charge these offenses at any point, even decades later. They are:

Murder, including premeditated and unpremeditated
Rape or sexual assault
Rape or sexual assault of a child
Maiming of a child
Kidnapping of a child
Any other offense punishable by death
Absence without leave or missing movement in time of war

The “punishable by death” category reaches further than it looks. Several UCMJ articles authorize the death penalty in specific circumstances, including spying under Article 106a and certain misbehavior before the enemy under Article 99. If any version of an offense carries a potential death sentence, the no-limitation rule covers it.¹

Extended Deadlines in Child Abuse Cases

Child abuse offenses that are not already in the no-limitation category get a longer window than the standard five years. The military can bring charges during the life of the child victim or within ten years after the offense, whichever period is longer.¹

“Child abuse offense” here covers acts against a victim under 16 that qualify as sexual offenses under Articles 120 through 120c or Article 130, aggravated assault, and assault with intent to commit certain offenses. For victims under 18, it also includes conduct that would violate federal child exploitation or trafficking statutes. In practice, this gives the government more than a decade in most cases, with the window often running for the victim’s entire lifetime.

When DNA Evidence Revives a Case

Article 43 includes a restart provision for DNA. When DNA testing implicates a specific person in an offense punishable by more than one year of confinement, the statute of limitations gets a second life even if it had already expired. The government receives an additional period equal to the original limitation, running from the date the DNA testing implicated the person.¹

For a standard offense with a five-year limitation, that means five more years from the date of the DNA match. The rule exists so that forensic breakthroughs in cold cases are not wasted when the original window has closed.

What Pauses the Clock

Several situations legally pause, or “toll,” the statute of limitations. Time that passes while the clock is tolled does not count against the deadline.

AWOL or Fleeing From Justice

When the accused is absent without authority or actively fleeing from justice, the entire period of absence is excluded. A service member who goes AWOL for two years cannot count those two years against the five-year deadline. The period resumes exactly where it left off when the person returns or is apprehended.¹

Outside U.S. Jurisdiction

The clock also stops during any period when the accused is outside territory where the United States has the authority to apprehend them, in the custody of civilian authorities, or in the hands of the enemy. The rule keeps service members from running out the deadline simply by being somewhere the military cannot physically reach them.¹

Wartime

During a time of war, the statute of limitations is suspended for certain offenses connected to the war effort, including fraud against the United States, crimes involving government property, and offenses tied to military contracts and procurement. For these, the clock stops entirely and does not restart until three years after hostilities are terminated by presidential proclamation or joint resolution of Congress.¹

A separate wartime provision allows the Secretary of the relevant military department to certify to the President that prosecuting a particular offense during wartime would be detrimental to the war effort or harmful to national security. When that certification is made, the limitation period is extended by an additional period to account for the delay.

Why Leaving the Military Doesn’t Always End Exposure

A common assumption is that separation from service closes the door on court-martial. It mostly does, but three exceptions matter for anyone counting on the statute of limitations.

Retired members of a regular component who are entitled to pay remain subject to the UCMJ indefinitely and can still face court-martial.³ A person who obtained their discharge through fraud can be recalled, tried for the fraudulent discharge itself, and then tried for any other UCMJ offenses committed before the fraudulent separation.⁴ Anyone who deserted cannot escape jurisdiction by later separating, and reserve component members do not shed UCMJ jurisdiction for offenses committed during active duty or inactive-duty training simply because that period of service ended.⁵

Administrative Separation Has No Deadline

One detail catches many service members off guard: there is no statute of limitations for administrative separation proceedings. The military can start separation based on misconduct no matter how long ago it happened, even if the deadline for court-martial or non-judicial punishment has already run.⁶

So a service member who believes they are in the clear because five years have passed could still face an administrative separation board. The consequences can be serious, including an other-than-honorable discharge that affects benefits eligibility for years. A missed criminal deadline does not shut off the administrative route.

1
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 10 U.S. Code 843 – Art. 43. Statute of Limitations
2
Joint Service Committee on Military Justice. Part V of the Manual for Courts-Martial
3
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 10 U.S. Code 802 – Art. 2. Persons Subject to This Chapter
4
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 10 U.S. Code 803 – Art. 3. Jurisdiction to Try Certain Personnel
5
GovInfo. 10 U.S. Code 803 – Art. 3. Jurisdiction to Try Certain Personnel
6
Marine Corps Air Station New River. Administrative Separations