Statute of Limitations for Car Accidents in California
If you’ve been in a car accident in California, you generally have two years from the date of the crash to file a personal injury lawsuit, and three years to file a claim for vehicle or property damage, under California Code of Civil Procedure §§ 335.1 and 338. Miss the deadline, and California courts will almost certainly dismiss your case, no matter how strong it is.
But the “two-year rule” isn’t the whole story; the clock can start on a different date, pause entirely, or shrink to just six months depending on who’s at fault. Below, Sacramento car accident attorney Brooks Cutter breaks down exactly how the statute of limitations applies to your situation, and what to do if you’re worried time is running out.
- You generally have two years from the date of the accident to file a personal injury lawsuit in California (Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 335.1).
- You have three years to file a lawsuit for vehicle or property damage (Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 338).
- If a government entity or vehicle is involved (a city bus, a CalTrans truck, a police cruiser), you must file an administrative claim within six months of the accident (Gov. Code § 911.2) — a separate, earlier deadline from the standard lawsuit window.
- The clock generally starts on the date of the accident, or the date of death in wrongful death cases, if that's later.
- These deadlines can be paused ("tolled") in certain situations — most commonly when the injured person was a minor at the time of the accident. Other exceptions apply too; we cover them below.
- Your insurance claim deadline isn't the same as your lawsuit deadline. Insurers set their own reporting windows, so don't wait until the statute of limitations is close to start your claim.
How long after a car accident can I file a claim in California?
According to the California Code of Civil Procedure section 340, you have two years to file a lawsuit for personal injury related to a car accident. You have three years to file a claim for property damage from a car accident. However, these time limits don’t apply to government entities. The statute of limitations (SOL) for personal injury involving a government vehicle is just six months, and the SOL for property damage is one year.
There are a few exceptions, as explained within California Government Code section 905 and section 911.2. The California Court suggests speaking with a lawyer to clarify your claim to avoid missing your filing deadline. Car accident lawsuits with government entities may occur with defendants like city police departments, the California Highway Patrol, local trash trucks, and public vehicles like trains and buses.
What if a government vehicle or public entity is involved in my accident?
Accidents involving a government vehicle or public entity, a city bus, a Caltrans truck, a police cruiser, or a pothole on a state highway don’t follow the standard car accident timeline at all. They fall under the California Government Claims Act, which imposes a much stricter, multi-step process:
- File an administrative claim within six months. Before you can sue a government entity, you must first present a formal claim directly to that entity (the city, county, school district, transit agency, or state agency involved) within six months of the accident (Gov. Code § 911.2). This is a hard deadline; miss it, and your right to sue is generally barred outright, regardless of how strong your case is.
- The entity has 45 days to respond. Once you file, the entity has 45 days to accept, reject, or ignore your claim (Gov. Code § 912.4). If they don’t respond, the claim is automatically treated as rejected.
- A second deadline starts once the claim is rejected. If you receive formal written notice of rejection, you then have six months from that notice to actually file your lawsuit (Gov. Code § 945.6(a)(1)). If the entity never sends formal notice, that window extends to two years from the date of the accident (Gov. Code § 945.6(a)(2)).
- Missed the six-month claim deadline? You may still be able to file a late-claim application within one year of the accident, but you’ll need to show a valid reason, mistake, excusable neglect, or a similar justification (Gov. Code § 911.4). If the entity denies that application, you can ask a court directly for relief (Gov. Code § 946.6).
Because this process has so many overlapping, short deadlines, and because identifying the correct government entity to name can itself be complicated, accidents involving a government vehicle or public property should be reviewed by an attorney immediately, not after the standard two-year personal injury clock would normally apply.
When does the car accident statute of limitations start in California?
In most car accident cases, the clock starts on the day of the crash; that’s the default rule and governs the vast majority of claims. For wrongful death cases, it starts from the date of death instead, if that’s different from the accident date.
But not every injury is obvious the day it happens. California’s “delayed discovery rule” can push the start date later, to whenever you discovered, or reasonably should have discovered, that you were injured, if the injury itself wasn’t apparent at the scene. This comes up most often with injuries that don’t show symptoms right away, like certain soft-tissue, spinal, or head injuries that aren’t diagnosed until follow-up care days or even weeks later.
Courts apply this exception narrowly, though. It generally won’t help if you knew you were hurt on the day of the accident but just didn’t realize how serious the injury was; the clock still starts once you’re aware of both the injury and its connection to the crash. This standard comes from the California Supreme Court’s decision in Jolly v. Eli Lilly & Co. (1988) 44 Cal.3d 1103.
Because pinpointing your actual filing deadline can get complicated fast, especially with an injury that wasn’t obvious right away, it’s worth having an attorney confirm your specific deadline early rather than assuming the accident date always applies.
What Happens if the Deadline Passes?
If you file your car accident lawsuit after the statute of limitations has expired, the defendant will almost certainly ask the court to dismiss your case, and courts grant these motions routinely, regardless of how strong your claim is. Missing the deadline doesn’t just weaken your case; in nearly all situations, it ends it.
There are a handful of narrow circumstances, however, where the law “tolls,” or pauses, the clock. Tolling generally applies to specific conditions that exist during the filing period, it isn’t a general excuse for filing late, so if you think one of these might apply to your situation, it’s worth getting your case reviewed right away rather than assuming you’re out of options:
- The injured person was a minor. The clock doesn’t start until they turn 18 (Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 352).
- The injured person lacked the legal capacity to make decisions, for example, due to a serious cognitive impairment at the time of the accident. The clock is paused for as long as that incapacity lasts (Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 352).
- The defendant left California or couldn’t be found in the state. The time the defendant spends outside California generally doesn’t count toward the deadline (Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 351).
- The injured person was imprisoned on a criminal charge when the claim arose. Up to two years of that imprisonment may not count toward the deadline (Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 352.1).
Because these exceptions are fact-specific and narrowly applied, don’t assume you’ve lost your right to sue just because time has passed; an attorney can review the details of your case and tell you definitively where you stand.
What is needed to file a car accident claim in California?
While your official filing deadline may be two or three years away, waiting until it approaches to start building your case can cost you evidence you’ll never get back. The following strengthens your claim, and the sooner you gather it, the more complete it will be:
- Photographs of the scene, vehicle damage, and any visible injuries
- Medical records and medical bills documenting your treatment
- Witness statements and contact information
- The police report from the accident
- Insurance policy information for you and the other driver
- Surveillance or dashcam footage, if available. Many businesses and vehicles overwrite this footage within days or weeks, so it often disappears long before your legal deadline does.
Filing a claim with an insurance company is a separate process from filing a lawsuit, and insurers often set their own reporting windows that are much shorter than California’s statute of limitations, sometimes just days after the accident. Because of that, and because evidence like witness memory and surveillance footage fades quickly, it’s worth contacting a personal injury lawyer soon after your accident rather than waiting until your statute of limitations deadline is close.
When is the right time to file a car accident claim?
There’s a real tension here. File too early, before your medical treatment is complete, and you risk settling for less than your injuries are actually worth, since the full scope of your medical needs may not be clear yet. Wait too long, and you risk running into your statute of limitations deadline before you’re ready.
In most cases, it’s best to wait until you’ve reached maximum medical improvement, the point where your condition has stabilized and your doctors have a clear picture of your prognosis, before filing a lawsuit or agreeing to a settlement. This lets your case account for the full scope of your medical bills, lost income, and ongoing care needs, rather than guessing at costs that haven’t materialized yet.
But if your treatment is still ongoing and your filing deadline is getting close, you don’t have to choose between finishing your recovery and protecting your legal rights. A car accident lawyer can file a “protective” lawsuit to preserve your claim before the statute of limitations expires, while settlement negotiations and medical treatment continue in the background. This is one of the most common reasons to contact a lawyer well before your deadline, even if you don’t expect to go to court right away.
Do I need a car accident lawyer to help file a claim?
Not every car accident requires a lawyer. When an accident has no injuries, the best course of action is often to let the insurance companies handle the details. Getting a car fixed after a mild fender bender is often as simple as making a phone call to a few insurance companies (yours and the other driver’s companies).
However, if you have any inkling that you might want to file a lawsuit because of your injuries, it’s essential to work with a lawyer on your case. Not only will your car accident attorney help you get the most compensation for your claim, but they’ll also know all the dates and deadlines for your case. Let us handle your California car accident lawsuit. Contact Cutter Law today to speak with a car accident lawyer.
Contact Cutter Law Today
California’s statute of limitations doesn’t bend for good reasons or bad ones; once your filing deadline passes, in almost every case, so does your right to recover compensation. Whether you’re confident you’re still within your two-year window, dealing with a government entity’s much shorter six-month deadline, or unsure whether a tolling exception might apply to your situation, the safest move is to get your case reviewed before the clock runs out, not after.
Cutter Law has been representing injured Californians since 2015, and you’ll work directly with our attorneys rather than a call center. Brooks Cutter and our team can tell you exactly where you stand and what your actual deadline is. Case reviews are free, and you pay nothing unless we win.
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Contact Cutter Law today to protect your right to file.
Understanding the laws regarding your obligations, such as reporting the crash, can help you make sure you meet all legal requirements.
After a car accident in California, you can file a claim by gathering evidence, contacting your insurer, and ensuring all necessary documentation is provided to support your case.
After a car accident in California, do report it to the police, seek medical treatment, and contact your insurance company, but don’t admit fault, accept a low settlement too soon, or post about the accident on social media.