How Long Do Survivors Have to File a Childhood Sexual Abuse Claim in California?

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If a child is in immediate danger, call 911. To report suspected child abuse in Orange County, contact Orange County Child Protective Services, which the County’s Social Services Agency lists as a 24-hour hotline, 7 days a week. The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline can be reached by call or text at 988.

You can read this guide in pieces. You do not have to decide anything today.

Abuse on or after January 1, 2024: no deadline

AB 452 (Stats. 2023, ch. 655) removed the time limit for childhood sexual assault, the term the statute uses, that occurs on or after January 1, 2024. Under Code of Civil Procedure § 340.1, a survivor can sue at any age: the person who committed the abuse, a person or organization that owed the child a duty of care and whose wrongful or negligent act was a legal cause of the abuse, or one whose intentional act was a legal cause.

SB 577 keeps that rule. From January 1, 2027, it adds that a claim against someone other than the abuser that is dismissed without prejudice cannot be refiled once five years have passed since it was first filed (§ 340.1(s), as amended by SB 577).

Abuse before 2024: age 40 or the discovery rule

Code of Civil Procedure § 340.11 covers abuse that happened before January 1, 2024; for later abuse there is no deadline (§ 340.1). For earlier abuse, a claim must be filed by the time the survivor turns 40 (22 years after turning 18) or by the end of the discovery period, which runs from when the survivor discovers, or reasonably should have discovered, that a psychological injury or illness that began in adulthood was caused by the abuse, whichever is later (§ 340.11). The discovery period is five years through December 31, 2026, and three years from January 1, 2027.

When the discovery comes well before the age-based date, that date usually ends later. The discovery rule matters most to survivors near or past that age who connected their injuries to the abuse later in life. Three more rules apply:

• Claims against an organization at age 40 or older. A survivor who sues an organization or other third party at that age must also show that it knew, had reason to know, or was on notice of misconduct creating a risk of abuse, or that it failed to take reasonable steps or safeguards (§ 340.11(c)).
• Images and recordings. When the abuse involved obscene images or recordings, the discovery period is 10 years from discovering that the material exists (§ 340.11(a)(2)). SB 577 does not change it.
• Earlier law. Before 2020, most claims had to be filed by age 26 or within three years of discovery. AB 218 (Stats. 2019, ch. 861) lengthened those periods and revived expired claims from January 1, 2020, through December 31, 2022 (§ 340.11(q)). That revival window has closed.

What SB 577 changes on January 1, 2027

SB 577 was approved by the Governor on September 30, 2026 (Stats. 2026, ch. 971). It is not an urgency measure, so it takes effect January 1, 2027 (California Constitution, article IV, § 8(c)). For childhood sexual abuse claims, it:

• Shortens the discovery period for abuse before 2024 from five years to three (§ 340.11(a)(1)). The age-40 rule does not change.
• Raises the burden of proof against public entities. In a case filed on or after January 1, 2026 against a public entity over abuse before 2024, a survivor who is 40 or older must prove by clear and convincing evidence that the entity knew of misconduct that resulted in the abuse by an employee, volunteer, representative, or agent and failed to take reasonable steps or safeguards, and that it negligently discharged a mandatory duty (new § 340.12(a)). This does not apply once a judgment has been entered or the case is subject to a final settlement. Courts must also weigh listed factors on a motion to reduce a verdict, and a public entity may elect to pay damages over time (§ 340.12(b)–(d)).
• Requires certificates of merit at filing. For survivors 40 or older, the certificates from the attorney and from a licensed mental health practitioner must be filed with the complaint, and the clerk may not accept a complaint without them (§§ 340.1(k), 340.11(k)). For abuse before 2024, a 60-day period to file them remains when a deadline would otherwise run before the consultation can happen (§ 340.11(g)).
• Bars treble damages against public entities. Up to three times the damages remain available against a private defendant proven to have covered up abuse, but not against a public entity (§§ 340.1(b)(3), 340.11(b)(3)). The California Supreme Court had already reached that result in Los Angeles Unified School Dist. v. Superior Court (2023).
• Makes other changes. In injury, property-damage, and wrongful-death cases against a public entity filed on or after January 1, 2027, an entity found 15% or less at fault is liable for economic damages only in proportion to its share (Civil Code § 1431.2), and an attorney found to have brought a childhood sexual assault claim in bad faith faces a $25,000 civil penalty per violation (Business and Professions Code § 6095.2).

Who SB 577 may affect most

SB 577 may matter most to survivors who were abused before 2024, are 40 or older or close to it, and whose claim depends on when they connected the abuse to a psychological injury in adulthood, especially if that was more than three years ago; to survivors 40 or older whose claim involves a public school district, city, county, or other public agency; and to anyone who has spoken with a lawyer before but has not filed.

None of this is a reason to make a decision you are not ready for. It is a reason to have your dates reviewed. A consultation is confidential and does not commit you to filing, and no one can promise how a court will apply the new rules.

What is still uncertain

SB 577 leaves questions that no court has decided yet. This guide will be updated as courts address them.

• No transition rule. SB 577 does not say what happens to a survivor whose five-year discovery period is still open on January 1, 2027, but whose three-year period would already have closed. Do not assume there will be a grace period.
• Cases filed in 2026. The higher burden of proof reaches public-entity cases filed on or after January 1, 2026, before the law takes effect. Whether it can apply to cases already pending is likely to be argued in court.
• New wording. The public-entity standard requires proof that the entity “knew of misconduct,” while the general rule for claims at age 40 or older also covers organizations that had “reason to know” or were “on notice.” How courts treat that difference is not yet known.

Claims against public schools and agencies

Most injury claims against a public entity require a written government claim within six months (Government Code § 911.2). Childhood sexual abuse claims are an exception: no government claim is required before suing (Government Code § 905(m); Code of Civil Procedure §§ 340.1, 340.11(s)).

School districts have argued that waiving the claim requirement for older, revived claims is an unconstitutional gift of public funds. Published Court of Appeal decisions have rejected that argument, including Doe R.L. v. Merced City School Dist. (2025). Punitive damages are not available against a public entity (Government Code § 818), and in Los Angeles Unified School Dist. v. Superior Court (2023) the California Supreme Court held that treble damages under § 340.1 are not available against one either.

If the abuse happened at 18 or older

Sexual assault of an adult falls under Code of Civil Procedure § 340.16: generally the later of 10 years from the last act or three years from discovering the injury. Two revival windows apply:

• Through December 31, 2027 (AB 250, Stats. 2025, ch. 682). An otherwise-expired claim may be filed from January 1, 2026, through December 31, 2027, when an entity covered up, or tried to cover up, an earlier instance or allegation of sexual assault by the same perpetrator (§ 340.16(e)). It does not revive claims against public entities.
• Through December 31, 2026. A separate revival, for claims based on conduct on or after January 1, 2009, runs only through December 31, 2026 (§ 340.16(b)(3)).

Next steps, at your own pace

You do not need documents for a first conversation; approximate dates and the people and institution involved are enough to start. A civil case does not require a police report or a conviction. It is separate from any criminal case.

• Privacy. A survivor can ask the court for permission to proceed under a pseudonym such as “Jane Doe” or “John Doe,” and a parent acting for a child can ask to serve as guardian ad litem under a pseudonym (Code of Civil Procedure § 372.5). Permission is not automatic, and defendants generally still know who you are.
• A child’s claim is brought through a parent or other guardian ad litem (Code of Civil Procedure § 372), and a settlement for a child generally needs court approval (Probate Code § 3500).