The statute of limitations on threats runs one to three years for most misdemeanor threats and three to six years for felony threats under state law, with a five-year window under federal law for the main threat statutes. Terrorism-related threats stretch to eight years, and threats tied to a death or capital offense have no deadline at all. Which rule controls depends on how the threat is charged, who the target was, and how the threat was delivered.
Misdemeanor vs. Felony Threats Under State Law
State deadlines turn on whether prosecutors file the threat as a misdemeanor or a felony. That decision depends on the severity of the threat, who the victim was, and the method of delivery.
Misdemeanor threats carry the shorter window. In most states, prosecutors have one to three years from the date the threat was communicated. These charges typically cover threats that don’t involve serious bodily harm or death.
Felony threats get longer. A threat to kill, a threat made with a weapon, or a threat aimed at a protected person like a witness or public official is far more likely to be charged as a felony, and felony limitations periods commonly run three to six years at the state level. Exact timeframes vary by jurisdiction. In the rare case where a threat-related offense qualifies as a capital crime, there may be no time limit at all.
The Federal Five-Year Window
A threat becomes a federal crime when the communication crosses state lines or when the target is a certain federal official. The general federal statute of limitations for non-capital offenses is five years from the date the crime was committed.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 3282 – Offenses Not Capital That five-year clock applies to the main federal threat statutes, including threats transmitted through interstate communications and threats sent through the mail.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 875 – Interstate Communications
Three federal laws do most of the work:
- Interstate threats under 18 U.S.C. § 875 cover threats to kidnap or injure someone transmitted across state lines by phone, email, text, social media, or any other electronic means.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 875 – Interstate Communications
- Mailed threats under 18 U.S.C. § 876 cover threatening letters and documents sent through the postal system.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 876 – Mailing Threatening Communications
- Threats against the President under 18 U.S.C. § 871 criminalize threats to kill, kidnap, or injure the President, Vice President, President-elect, or the next person in the line of succession.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 871 – Threats Against President and Successors to the Presidency
All three fall under the standard five-year federal limitation period unless a specific exception applies.
Terrorism and Capital Offense Exceptions
Threats connected to terrorism get a longer window. Federal law extends the statute of limitations to eight years for noncapital offenses tied to certain terrorism-related crimes. If the terrorism offense resulted in death or created a foreseeable risk of death or serious bodily injury, there is no statute of limitations at all.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 3286 – Extension of Statute of Limitations for Certain Terrorism Offenses Capital offenses of any kind also have no time limit under federal law.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 3281 – Capital Offenses
When the Clock Starts
For a criminal threat, the statute of limitations begins the day the threat is communicated to the victim. That’s when the crime is complete. It doesn’t matter when the victim reports it to police or when an investigation begins. A threatening message received on January 15 starts the clock in January, even if nobody tells law enforcement until March.
Some criminal statutes use a discovery rule that delays the start of the clock until the crime is actually found out. That concept rarely applies to threats, because the victim knows about the threat the moment it arrives. The discovery rule shows up more often in offenses like fraud, where the harm can stay hidden for years.
When the Clock Pauses
The limitations period can be paused, or tolled, in specific situations. While tolling applies, time stops counting toward the deadline and resumes only when the tolling condition ends.
The strongest pause involves suspects who flee. Under federal law, the statute of limitations does not run against anyone fleeing from justice.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 3290 – Fugitives From Justice The language is absolute. If someone leaves the jurisdiction or goes into hiding to avoid arrest, the clock freezes entirely until they surface or are caught. Most states have similar fugitive tolling provisions.
States add other tolling scenarios. The clock may not start until a minor victim turns 18, and some jurisdictions pause the period when the accused holds a position of authority over the victim. The specifics vary considerably, so the effective window for prosecution can be much longer than the standard timeframe suggests.
Online and Social Media Threats
Threats sent through social media, email, or text message frequently fall under federal jurisdiction because the internet involves interstate communications by its nature. Federal law criminalizes any threat to kidnap or injure someone transmitted “in interstate or foreign commerce,” and courts have consistently held that internet-based communications meet that threshold.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 875 – Interstate Communications
An online threat can be prosecuted at the state level, the federal level, or both. The federal five-year window is often longer than the state misdemeanor deadline, so a case that might be time-barred under state law could still be viable federally. Digital evidence also tends to outlast witness memory, which can keep older cases prosecutable.
Civil Lawsuits Run on Their Own Clock
A threat victim can also sue in civil court, typically under theories like assault or intentional infliction of emotional distress. These civil claims operate on entirely separate statutes of limitations from criminal charges. In most states, the civil deadline for an intentional tort like assault falls in the one-to-three-year range.
The two timelines run independently. A criminal case can be time-barred while a civil claim is still alive, or vice versa. Someone who waits too long to report a threat to police may lose the chance for prosecution but still have time to pursue civil damages.
What Happens When the Deadline Expires
Once the statute of limitations runs out, prosecutors cannot file charges for that threat. If charges are filed after the deadline, the defense can move to dismiss and the court will throw the case out. That’s true even when the evidence of guilt is overwhelming. On the criminal side, the protection is absolute.
There are no exceptions for late-discovered evidence or for a victim’s change of heart about pressing charges. If the clock ran out while the suspect was living openly in the jurisdiction and no tolling rule applied, the chance to prosecute is gone for good. That’s one reason law enforcement agencies push for prompt reporting of threats, even when the immediate danger has passed.