Updated September 3, 2026
In California you generally have two years from the date of a crash to file a personal injury lawsuit, three years to sue for damage to your vehicle or other property, and only six months to present a written claim if a government entity was involved. Those are the headline rules. The rest of this guide covers the exceptions and the separate clocks that catch people off guard.
The main deadlines
- Two years for injury. A lawsuit for injury caused by another person's negligence must be filed within two years of the date of injury (Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1). For a car accident, that is almost always the date of the crash.
- Three years for property damage. A claim for damage to your car or belongings, including a diminished value claim, must be filed within three years (Code of Civil Procedure section 338).
- Six months for a government claim. Before you can sue a public entity for injury or for damage to personal property, you must present a written claim to that entity within six months of the crash (Government Code section 911.2).
The deadline is to file the lawsuit, not to finish it. A case filed on the last day is timely. And filing a claim with an insurance company does nothing to stop the clock; only a lawsuit does, apart from the narrow tolling rules covered below.
When a public entity is involved
A public entity is any government body: the City of Long Beach, Los Angeles County, the State of California, a transit agency, a school district. A crash involves one if a city vehicle hit you, a Long Beach Transit or Metro bus was part of it, a police or public works vehicle was involved, or a dangerous road condition contributed, such as a missing sign, a malfunctioning signal, or a defect in the pavement. It is not always obvious, which is why the six-month rule causes so much trouble.
The written claim goes to the entity itself, on its own form if it has one. The entity then has a set period to accept or reject it. If it rejects the claim in writing, you have six months from the rejection notice to file suit (Government Code section 945.6). If you miss the initial six months, an application to present a late claim can be made within one year of the crash, but relief is not automatic and the grounds are limited.
Wrongful death
When a crash is fatal, the family's wrongful death claim has its own two-year period under Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1, and it runs from the date of death rather than the date of the crash. If the person survived for a time before passing, the two dates differ, and the later one governs the wrongful death claim.
The discovery rule
California's discovery rule delays the start of a limitations period until the injured person knew, or reasonably should have known, about the injury and its cause. It matters in cases where harm stays hidden for years. In a car accident, the injury and its cause are known the day it happens, so the rule rarely extends the deadline. Do not count on it.
Deadlines for minors
For a child injured in a crash, the two-year period for the lawsuit does not begin to run until the child turns eighteen (Code of Civil Procedure section 352). That is the general rule for a private defendant. Government claims are not handled the same way: the six-month claim requirement is not paused for a minor, and although late-claim relief is available for children, it has its own conditions and its own one-year limit. When a child is hurt and a public entity might be involved, get advice early rather than relying on the child's age.
Uninsured motorist claims
A claim under your own uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage runs on a separate track set by the policy and by Insurance Code section 11580.2. In general, within two years of the crash you must have either filed suit against the uninsured driver, reached a written agreement with your insurer on the amount, or formally demanded arbitration in writing sent by certified mail. Underinsured motorist claims have related timing that turns on when the at-fault driver's coverage is paid out. Because the requirement is specific and depends on the policy language, treat the uninsured motorist deadline as its own item rather than assuming the injury deadline covers it.
Your policy's notice requirements are separate
Every auto policy requires you to notify your own insurer of a crash promptly and to cooperate with its investigation. Those are contract terms, not statutes, and they run on a much shorter clock than any lawsuit deadline. Late notice can complicate, and if the delay harms the insurer's position can defeat, coverage under your own policy, including MedPay, collision, and uninsured motorist benefits, even when the lawsuit deadline is years away. Report the crash to your own company promptly, and keep a record of when you did.
What happens if you miss it
Missing the deadline generally ends the claim. The insurer has no reason to pay once you can no longer sue, and a lawsuit filed late will be dismissed on the defendant's motion regardless of how strong the case is. The exceptions, such as tolling while a defendant is out of the state or while a plaintiff is legally incapacitated, are narrow and contested. The practical rule is to treat two years as the outer edge, six months as the edge if any public entity might be involved, and to start well before either.
If you are unsure which deadline applies or whether a public entity was involved, a free consultation with a Long Beach personal injury attorney costs nothing and settles what your options are. Our guide on how long a settlement takes explains how these deadlines fit into the life of a claim.
This page is general information for Long Beach residents, not legal advice about any specific situation. Agency fees and procedures change; confirm details with the agency before you rely on them.
