The two rules that cover most cases
Every survivor who contacts us asks about the deadline, so here it is directly.
| If the abuse happened | The general deadline |
|---|---|
| When you were under 18 | Up to your 55th birthday, against the individual and against an institution that enabled it |
| When you were 18 or over | 20 years from the offence, for certain felony sexual offences |
| Other claims outside those definitions | Often much shorter, typically three years |
The two temporary lookback windows, the Child Victims Act revival period and the Adult
Survivors Act’s one year window, have both closed. Those closures are separate from the
rules above, and confusing the two is the single most common reason a survivor decides they are
out of time when they are not. If you were abused as a child and you are not yet 55,
the closed window may have no bearing on you at all.
Why the table is not the end of the answer
The deadline that applies to you turns on:
- your age at the time: claims for childhood abuse are treated differently
from claims for abuse suffered as an adult; - who was responsible: an individual, a private institution, or a public
body, each of which can carry different requirements; - which route the claim uses, since more than one may be available on the same
facts; - the facts themselves, including what was known and when.
Public bodies are the clearest example. A claim against a school district or a municipal
authority can carry early notice requirements measured in months, entirely separate from the
deadlines above, and missing one can end a claim that was otherwise well within time.
So the table tells you which rule you are probably under. It does not tell you whether your
particular claim is still live, and someone who reads a number on a web page and concludes they
are out of time may be giving up a claim they still have.
What has changed, and what has not
New York opened two temporary windows, one for childhood abuse and one for abuse suffered as
an adult, which allowed otherwise-expired claims to be revived. Both have closed.
What remains is the ordinary law, which was itself altered by those reforms, together with
other routes such as New York City’s Gender-Motivated Violence Protection Act. In practical
terms: the blanket revival is gone; the landscape it left behind is more favourable than the one
that preceded it.
Claims from decades ago are still brought
Regularly. Delayed disclosure is the norm in abuse cases rather than the exception, and the
law has moved considerably in recognition of that. The most common mistake we see is a survivor
deciding for themselves that too much time has passed, and never asking.
I am 40 and I was abused as a child. Have I missed it?
On the general rule, no. A childhood abuse claim in New York can usually be brought up to your 55th birthday, which would leave you fifteen years. The lookback window that closed was a separate thing, and it is the confusion between the two that stops people asking.
Can you just tell me my deadline?
The general rules are on this page. Whether yours has run is a different question, because it can turn on who was responsible and on notice requirements that apply to public bodies. That is a free conversation and it usually takes one call.
It happened in the 1980s. Is there any point?
Possibly a great deal of point. Claims from that period and earlier have been brought successfully in New York. It depends on who was responsible and on the facts.
Does reporting to the police change the deadline?
Criminal and civil timelines are separate. A police report is not required for a civil claim and its absence does not shorten anything.
What if I am not sure exactly when it happened?
Common, and not a barrier. Approximate timing is usually enough to start, and records often establish the rest.