California Car Accident Statute of Limitations (2026)

The general rule: 2 years

California Code of Civil Procedure §335.1 sets a two-year deadline for "an action for assault, battery, or injury to, or for the death of, an individual caused by the wrongful act or neglect of another." Checked against the official California Legislative Information text on 27 September 2026, this is the operative deadline for essentially every car-accident personal-injury or wrongful-death claim in the state.

The clock generally starts on the date of the accident itself, not the date treatment ends or the date an insurance claim is denied.

Property damage has a separate, longer clock

A claim for damage to your car falls under Cal. Code Civ. Proc. §338(c)(1), which gives 3 years for "an action for taking, detaining, or injuring goods or chattels." If your accident involved any personal injury at all, treat the 2-year injury deadline as the one that controls your overall claim.

The exception that trips people up: government vehicles

If the other vehicle involved in your crash was owned by a city, county, state agency, school district, or another public entity, a police cruiser, a public bus, a municipal maintenance truck, the 2-year rule above does not stand alone. California's Government Claims Act requires you to present a formal written claim to the public entity within a much shorter window:

"A claim relating to a cause of action for death or for injury to person or to personal property or growing crops shall be presented... not later than six months after the accrual of the cause of action.", Cal. Gov't Code §911.2 (checked against the official text, 27 Sep 2026)

That's 6 months, not 2 years. If you miss this notice deadline, you can be barred from suing the government entity even though the general statute of limitations hasn't run out yet. There are procedures for requesting a late-claim exception in narrow circumstances, but you should not count on one being available.

If the injured person was a minor

California generally pauses ("tolls") the statute of limitations while the injured person is under 18, under Cal. Code Civ. Proc. §352(a), checked against the official text on 27 September 2026. Other rules, such as the discovery rule, can move the start date in narrow cases; confirm how they apply to you with a licensed attorney. Once the minor turns 18, the standard 2-year clock generally begins.

There's an important carve-out: §352(b) states this tolling does not apply to claims against a public entity or public employee that require compliance with the Government Claims Act notice procedure. In practice, this means the 6-month notice deadline for a government-vehicle claim can still apply to a child's claim, even though the general 2-year deadline would otherwise be paused. If a minor was hurt in a crash involving a government vehicle, don't assume you have until the child turns 18, confirm the notice requirement immediately.

What this means for your claim

If you're unsure which category your accident falls into, treat the shorter deadline as the one that governs and confirm your specific situation as soon as possible, this is not a place to guess.

Wondering if you still have time to file? Check my claim, free

See every state's deadline on our car accident claim deadline by state page.

Settlement Scout is not a law firm, and this page is general information, not legal advice. Confirm your deadline with a licensed attorney in California.