California wrongful death statute of limitationsYou usually have two years from the death.

This page was checked against the statutes on November 9, 2026, and we update it when the law changes. In California, only the people named in Code of Civil Procedure section 377.60 can bring a wrongful death claim. They can file it themselves, or the personal representative of the estate can file it on their behalf. Our guide to who can file explains who they are, and the main wrongful death page explains how a case begins.

The wrongful death deadline

Most California wrongful death lawsuits must be filed within two years of the date of death (Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1). If a city, a county, the State, a school district, a transit agency or another public entity may be responsible, the family must first present a written claim to that entity within six months after the claim accrues, which is usually the date of death (Government Code section 911.2). The lawsuit against the entity then has its own deadline: six months after a written rejection notice is delivered or mailed, or two years from the date the claim accrued if no written notice is given (Government Code section 945.6). Some cases have different periods, including a death caused by a health care provider's professional negligence (Code of Civil Procedure section 340.5) and a claim against the United States (28 U.S.C. section 2401(b)). The dates in any one case should be calculated by a lawyer.

Every deadline and its start

Each row below is one deadline, the law that sets it, and the event that starts it. More than one can apply to the same death, and they do not all start on the same day. When they differ, the earliest one decides what has to happen first.

The date of death rule

Section 335.1 allows two years for an action "for the death of, an individual caused by the wrongful act or neglect of another." In Norgart v. Upjohn Co. (1999) 21 Cal.4th 383, the California Supreme Court held that "at least as a usual matter, the date of accrual of a cause of action for wrongful death is the date of death," because only then is the claim "complete with all of its elements." Accrual is the day a claim starts to run.

So when someone is hurt in a crash and dies days or weeks later, the family's two years usually run from the death, not the crash. Two other deadlines can still run from the crash: the uninsured motorist deadline, and a public entity claim for the losses the person suffered before death. Pages that say one year describe a former statute, the one Norgart applied.

The court self-help table

The California Courts self-help page on deadlines to sue lists personal injury and wrongful death together under section 335.1, with "2 years from the date of injury." That is a general table for many kinds of cases. The family's own wrongful death claim is not complete until the death, so under Norgart it usually starts on the date of death. The same court page notes that a case against a government agency first needs a claim "by a much earlier deadline," which is the six month claim described below. When the crash and the death fall on different days, each deadline should be counted from its own start.

Discovery of the cause

Sometimes a family learns only later that a death had a wrongful cause. Whether the general two years can start on that later discovery is not settled for wrongful death claims. In Norgart the Supreme Court assumed it "for purposes of discussion only," found the claim late either way, and left the broader question open.

A few statutes do write in a discovery rule. Section 340.8(b) covers a death from exposure to a hazardous material or toxic substance and allows two years from the death or from when the family was aware, or should have been, of the cause, whichever is later. Section 340.5, for medical negligence, uses discovery to shorten the time. Plan on the date of death, and let a lawyer decide whether a later date could apply. Do not count on a pending autopsy or toxicology report to move the date.

Deaths after medical care

A death caused by a health care provider's professional negligence follows a different statute. Section 340.5 allows "three years after the date of injury or one year after the plaintiff discovers, or through the use of reasonable diligence should have discovered, the injury, whichever occurs first." In a death case, the injury is the death itself, "with its allegedly wrongful cause" (Larcher v. Wanless (1976) 18 Cal.3d 646). A family that suspects a medical error at the time of death can have as little as one year.

Wise Law does not handle medical malpractice cases. If a death followed care in a hospital, a clinic or a doctor's office, call us and we will promptly refer you to a lawyer who does. Elder abuse claims have their own deadlines. Talk to a lawyer promptly, and see our guide to nursing home deaths.

A felony conviction

You do not have to wait for the criminal case. The wrongful death lawsuit is usually due within two years of the death. If the driver is convicted of a felony, the family can also sue that driver within one year after sentencing, when that ends later than the two years.

The extra year comes from section 340.3, which applies "[u]nless a longer period is prescribed" and allows an action against a defendant convicted of a felony "within one year after judgment is pronounced." It depends on a felony conviction, which may never come, so the two years from the death remain the date to plan around. Our guide to the criminal case and the civil claim explains how the two cases run side by side.

The estate's own claim

A survival action is the claim the person who died could have brought if they had lived. It is brought by the personal representative of the estate or, if there is none, by the successor in interest. A survival claim keeps the decedent's own limitations period, or six months after the death if that is later (Code of Civil Procedure section 366.1). Against a public entity, the claim for the decedent's own losses can accrue on the date of injury, which may be earlier than the date of death, so when a person survived for a time, count the six months from the injury to be safe.

Except in qualifying elder or dependent adult abuse cases, a survival action filed on or after January 1, 2026 cannot recover damages for the pain, suffering, or disfigurement the person experienced before death. Law checked November 8, 2026. Our guide to survival actions explains what the estate can still recover.

Death of the person responsible

If the person responsible also died, a shorter deadline can apply (Code of Civil Procedure section 366.2). Under section 366.2, a claim against a person who dies before the period runs out "may be commenced within one year after the date of death, and the limitations period that would have been applicable does not apply." That year runs from the responsible person's death, and it can end before two years from your family member's death.

Probate Code section 551 can add time for a claim limited to that person's insurance: where the usual period had not ended at the death, the action may be brought within one year after it would have ended. Which rule applies is a question for a lawyer, and it is worth asking early. Our guide to insurance after a fatal crash covers who pays when the at-fault driver also died.

Children among the heirs

If a child is among the heirs, have a lawyer confirm the deadline right away. Do not count on the child's age to extend it. Against a public entity the statute is explicit. Code of Civil Procedure section 352(b) provides that the rule pausing time for a minor does not apply to a case against a public entity that requires a government claim, so a child's age does not pause the claim deadline. Our guides to the death of a parent and the death of a child cover what else changes when children are involved.

Claims against public entities

If a public entity may be responsible, a written claim is due within six months after the claim accrues, usually the date of death (Government Code section 911.2), and the lawsuit deadline then follows Government Code section 945.6. After a written rejection notice, the lawsuit is due six months from the date the notice is delivered or mailed. Without one, it is due two years from the date the claim accrued. If the six months for the claim pass, a late claim application may be made within one year (Government Code section 911.4). It is not granted automatically. Our guide to claims against a city or county explains what the claim says, where it goes, and what happens next.

Uninsured motorist coverage

The uninsured motorist claim has its own deadline: within two years of the crash, not the death, you must sue the uninsured driver, reach a written agreement with your insurer, or start arbitration by certified mail. The rule is in Insurance Code section 11580.2(i), which counts "two years from the date of the accident." When a person dies days or weeks after the crash, this deadline comes before the wrongful death deadline. The insurance guide explains whose policy can pay.

Federal vehicles and employees

A death caused by a federal employee on the job, or by a federal vehicle, follows federal law. Under 28 U.S.C. section 2401(b), a tort claim against the United States "shall be forever barred unless it is presented in writing to the appropriate Federal agency within two years after such claim accrues or unless action is begun within six months after the date of mailing, by certified or registered mail, of notice of final denial of the claim by the agency to which it was presented." A lawsuit can follow a final written denial, or six months without a decision (28 U.S.C. section 2675(a)). The claims guide explains how the federal claim is made.

Protecting the dates

Three dates decide most of these deadlines: the day of the crash or injury, the day of the death, and the day any claim or notice is presented or mailed. The death certificate shows the date of death. The collision report shows the date of the crash and which agency investigated. The declarations page of each auto policy shows its uninsured motorist coverage. Write down whether a city vehicle, a bus, a school, a road condition or a public worker was involved, because that decides whether the six month claim applies.

Our documents checklist lists who holds each record, and the first 48 hours covers what to do first. Words such as accrual, heir and successor in interest are defined in the wrongful death glossary. Our guides to fatal car accidents and fatal pedestrian accidents cover the crash itself.

Sources cited

• Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1: California Legislative Information
• Norgart v. Upjohn Co. (1999) 21 Cal.4th 383: SCOCAL, Stanford Law School
• California Courts Self-Help Guide, deadlines to sue: selfhelp.courts.ca.gov
• Code of Civil Procedure section 340.8: California Legislative Information
• Code of Civil Procedure section 340.5: California Legislative Information
• Larcher v. Wanless (1976) 18 Cal.3d 646: CourtListener
• Code of Civil Procedure section 340.3: California Legislative Information
• Code of Civil Procedure section 366.1: California Legislative Information
• Code of Civil Procedure section 366.2: California Legislative Information
• Probate Code section 551: California Legislative Information
• Code of Civil Procedure section 352: California Legislative Information
• Government Code section 911.2: California Legislative Information
• Government Code section 945.6: California Legislative Information
• Insurance Code section 11580.2: California Legislative Information
• 28 U.S.C. section 2401, United States Code, 2024 edition: govinfo.gov
• Labor Code section 5406: California Legislative Information