Deadlines after a California crash

California sets hard time limits for acting after a crash. Miss one and the claim is generally gone regardless of its merits. These are the main ones.

Personal injury: two years

Two years from the date of injury (Code of Civil Procedure § 335.1). This is the deadline most people mean by "the statute of limitations."

Property damage: three years

Three years from the date the damage occurred (§ 338). Vehicle damage and injury therefore run on different clocks from the same crash.

Wrongful death: two years

Two years from the date of death (§ 335.1). Note that this runs from the death, which is not always the date of the crash.

Claims against a government agency: six months

This is the deadline that surprises people most. If a city, county, the state, a transit agency or any other public entity may be responsible — a defective roadway, a malfunctioning signal, a collision involving a government vehicle — you must file an administrative claim with that entity within six months of the incident (Government Code § 911.2). If the claim is rejected, a further six-month window applies for filing suit.

Six months is short. It can expire before an official collision report is even finalised in a complex case.

Minors: the clock is paused

For someone injured before their 18th birthday, the two-year injury period is generally tolled until they turn 18 (§ 352) — meaning they typically have until age 20. The six-month government-claim deadline is not tolled the same way.

Uninsured motorist claims run on your policy, not the statute

If you are claiming against your own uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage, the deadline comes from your policy contract and is often much shorter than two years. Read the policy.

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This is general information about California deadlines, not legal advice. How a deadline applies depends on the specific facts, and several exceptions can shorten or extend these periods. If a deadline may be close, do not rely on a web page — speak to a lawyer.