Most sexual abuse survivors begin researching their legal options years, sometimes decades, after the abuse occurred. By the time they are ready to ask whether they can still file, many assume the deadline passed long ago. In many states, that assumption is wrong.

Laws governing civil statutes of limitations for sexual abuse have shifted dramatically across the country since 2019. A single court ruling or new bill can open or close a survivor’s options almost overnight. This guide catalogs where things stand as of June 2026, listing every currently open lookback window, every state that has permanently eliminated its deadline for childhood sexual abuse claims, and what survivors in each state should know before concluding that time has run out. Constant Legal Group operates nationally and we ensure this information is updated.

A Few Definitions Worth Noting

A “lookback window,” sometimes called a “revival window,” is a temporary period during which a legislature reopens the courthouse doors for survivors whose claims would otherwise be time-barred. Windows may last one year, two years, three years, or longer, and may cover childhood claims, adult assault claims, or both.

A “statute of limitations” is the standard filing deadline. For sexual abuse, it varies by state and is typically tied to the survivor’s age, the date of the abuse, or the date the survivor connected a psychological injury to what happened.

A “permanent elimination” is the strongest reform when the legislature abolishes the civil deadline entirely for sexual abuse claims, sometimes retroactively, so there is no window to miss.

According to CHILD USA, the average survivor of childhood sexual abuse does not disclose what happened until age 52. That single statistic explains why the older, shorter deadlines failed so many people, and why the reform movement has been so urgent.

The Big Picture as of June 2026

States that have permanently eliminated the civil statute of limitations for childhood sexual abuse include Maryland (retroactive), Vermont (retroactive), Utah (retroactive), Montana, Alaska, New Hampshire, Minnesota, Nevada (retroactive, and uniquely extended to adult survivors as well), Texas (retroactive as of September 1, 2025), Washington (prospective, for abuse on or after June 9, 2022), Colorado (prospective, for abuse on or after January 1, 2022), and several others with prospective-only elimination tied to a specific effective date.

Lookback windows currently open as of June 2026 include California’s AB 2777 window (through December 31, 2026), California’s AB 250 cover-up window (through December 31, 2027), Louisiana (through June 14, 2027), Mississippi (through June 30, 2027), and New York City’s Gender-Motivated Violence Act window (through approximately July 29, 2027). Narrow Boy Scouts of America bankruptcy carve-outs remain in effect in Iowa, Ohio, Indiana, and Alabama for claims tied to the Scouting Settlement Trust.

Two notable recent court strikedowns survivors should know about – the Arkansas Court of Appeals ruling in H.C. v. Nesmith (February 5, 2025), which invalidated the Arkansas revival window on vested-rights grounds, and the Maine Supreme Judicial Court ruling in Dupuis v. Roman Catholic Bishop of Portland (January 28, 2025), which struck down the retroactive application of Maine’s 2021 elimination. One major ruling that went the other way was when the Louisiana Supreme Court reversed itself on rehearing in June 2024 and upheld the Louisiana lookback window as constitutional after initially striking it down in March 2024.

The State-by-State Reference

The states most frequently searched are covered first, followed by the remaining states in a condensed format. Every state has nuances, including discovery rules and special institutional-defendant provisions. Consult an attorney before relying on any deadline.

Arkansas – The Arkansas Court of Appeals ruled on February 5, 2025 in H.C. v. Nesmith that the legislature cannot revive expired claims, even for child sexual abuse. The 2021 revival window under Act 1036 was effectively invalidated. Act 49 of 2025 provides a narrow protection for awards already obtained from the Boy Scouts of America Scouting Settlement Trust, but does not revive the broader window. The current civil deadline for new childhood claims is three years from age 21.

California – California has one of the most survivor-favorable frameworks in the country. For childhood abuse on or after January 1, 2024, there is no civil statute of limitations. For older childhood claims, survivors may file until age 40, or within five years of discovering a psychological injury linked to the abuse, whichever is later. For adult sexual assault, the AB 2777 revival window runs through December 31, 2026 for assaults on or after January 1, 2009. AB 250, signed on October 13, 2025 and effective January 1, 2026, opens a separate two-year cover-up window through December 31, 2027 for adult survivors whose claims were previously barred and whose assault involved an institutional cover-up.

Colorado – The Colorado Supreme Court struck down the three-year retroactive lookback window in Aurora Public Schools v. A.S. on June 20, 2023, holding it violated Colorado’s prohibition on retrospective legislation. The prospective elimination of the civil deadline for childhood abuse on or after January 1, 2022 remains in effect.

Delaware – Delaware’s 2019 law eliminated the civil statute of limitations for childhood sexual abuse retroactively. House Bill 75, pending as of mid-2026, would expand the law further. Adult sexual assault claims retain a two-year deadline.

Louisiana – The Louisiana Child Victims Act lookback window was upheld by the Louisiana Supreme Court on rehearing in June 2024, after the court initially struck it down in March 2024. The legislature unanimously extended the window through June 14, 2027.

Maine – Maine’s 2021 law eliminated the civil statute of limitations for childhood sexual abuse, including retroactively. However, on January 28, 2025, the Maine Supreme Judicial Court ruled 5-2 in Dupuis v. Roman Catholic Bishop of Portland that the retroactive revival provision violates the Maine Constitution. Only claims that were not already barred when the 2021 law took effect may proceed without a time limit. Claims that had already expired remain barred.

Maryland – The Maryland Child Victims Act of 2023 eliminated the civil statute of limitations for childhood sexual abuse retroactively. Maryland survivors may file at any time. The law is currently surviving a constitutional challenge before the Maryland Supreme Court.

Mississippi – Senate Bill 2318 and House Bill 1162 of 2024 created a lookback window from July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2027 for childhood sexual abuse and trafficking claims. The new permanent statute of limitations for future childhood claims extends to ten years after the survivor’s 21st birthday.

Nevada – Senate Bill 203 of 2021 eliminated the civil statute of limitations for childhood sexual abuse retroactively. Senate Bill 129 of 2023 extended that elimination to adult sexual assault claims, also retroactively. Nevada is one of the very few states where adult survivors have no civil deadline at all.

New York – The Child Victims Act permanently raised the civil deadline for childhood sexual abuse claims to a survivor’s 55th birthday. The CVA revival window closed August 14, 2021. The Adult Survivors Act revival window for adult claims closed November 23, 2023. The most important currently open window in New York is the New York City Gender-Motivated Violence Act (GMVA) window, enacted after the City Council overrode the mayor’s veto on January 29, 2026, which allows survivors of gender-motivated violence committed in the five boroughs to file civil claims regardless of when the assault occurred, through approximately July 29, 2027.

Pennsylvania – Pennsylvania extended the civil statute of limitations for childhood sexual abuse to age 30 under Act 87 of 2019, prospectively only. A constitutional amendment to open a lookback window has been pending since 2018, derailed by a Department of State advertising error in 2021, and has repeatedly stalled in the Pennsylvania Senate. No lookback window is in effect as of June 2026.

Rhode Island – On June 11, 2026, Governor Daniel McKee signed legislation sponsored by Rep. Carol Hagan McEntee and Sen. Mark McKenney opening a two-year revival window for previously expired civil claims against institutions and supervisors who enabled or covered up childhood sexual abuse. The window opens July 1, 2026 and closes June 30, 2028. The law is retroactive up to 35 years from the survivor’s 18th birthday. It was passed by the House 68-4 and the Senate 37-0, driven in large part by a 282-page report issued in March 2026 by Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha documenting decades of abuse and cover-ups within the Diocese of Providence.

Texas – Senate Bill 1167, effective September 1, 2025, eliminated the civil statute of limitations retroactively for civil claims arising from serious sexual offenses against children, including sexual assault of a child, aggravated sexual assault of a child, continuous sexual abuse of a young child, sex trafficking of a child, and indecency with a child. Claims previously time-barred under the prior 30-year deadline are revived. For adult sexual assault, Texas retains a five-year civil deadline.

Vermont – Vermont’s 2019 law eliminated the civil statute of limitations for childhood sexual abuse retroactively. Vermont survivors may file at any time.

The Remaining States

Alabama – Age 25 for childhood claims; Boy Scouts carve-out only; no general lookback window.

Alaska – No civil statute of limitations for childhood sexual abuse, codified since 2001.

Arizona – Age 30 for childhood claims; the two-year lookback window closed December 30, 2020.

Connecticut – Age 51 for survivors abused on or after October 1, 2019; age 48 for abuse before that date.

Florida – No civil statute of limitations for sexual battery of a victim under age 16; seven years from age 18 for other childhood claims.

Georgia – Age 23 for childhood claims under the Hidden Predator Act. Georgia’s lookback window closed in 2017.

Hawaii – Eight years from age 18 for childhood claims; most recent lookback window closed in April 2020.

Idaho – Five years from age 18; no lookback window.

Illinois – No civil statute of limitations for childhood claims arising on or after January 1, 2014; twenty years from age 18 for abuse before that date.

Indiana – Seven years from age 18; Boy Scouts carve-out only.

Iowa – Four years from age 18, or within four years of discovery; Boy Scouts carve-out under Senate File 2431 of 2024.

Kansas – Three years from age 18, or three years from discovery.

Kentucky – Ten years from age 18, ten years from discovery, or five years from a criminal conviction, whichever is later.

Massachusetts – Age 53 for childhood claims, or seven years from discovery; no lookback window.

Michigan – Age 28, extended to age 48 under the repressed memory provision; Senate Bills 257-261 passed the Michigan Senate on May 20, 2025 and would open a one-year revival window, but remain pending in the Michigan House.

Minnesota – No civil statute of limitations for childhood sexual abuse under the 2013 Child Victims Act, retroactive.

Missouri – Age 31, or three years from a perpetrator’s conviction.

Montana – No civil statute of limitations for childhood sexual abuse.

Nebraska – Twelve years from age 21 for childhood claims.

New Hampshire – No civil statute of limitations for sexual assault claims after the survivor reaches majority.

New Jersey – Age 55 for childhood claims, or seven years from discovery; lookback window closed December 1, 2021.

New Mexico – Three years from age 18, or three years from discovery.

North Carolina – Ten years from age 18 under the SAFE Child Act of 2019; lookback window closed January 2022.

North Dakota – Ten years from age 18, or ten years from discovery.

Ohio – Twelve years from age 18; Boy Scouts carve-out only.

Oklahoma – Age 45 for childhood claims.

Oregon – Age 40, or five years from discovery.

South Carolina – Age 27, or three years from discovery; Senate Bill 148 of 2025 would extend the deadline and open a one-year revival window if enacted.

South Dakota – Three years from age 18 or discovery, with a special institutional-defendant rule.

Tennessee – One year from age 18, with a discovery-rule extension; no lookback window.

Utah – No civil statute of limitations for childhood sexual abuse, retroactive.

Virginia – Twenty years from age 18.

Washington – No civil statute of limitations for childhood abuse on or after June 9, 2022.

West Virginia – Four years from age 18, with a discovery rule.

Wisconsin – Age 35 for childhood claims.

Wyoming – Eight years from age 18, or three years from discovery, whichever is later.

The Federal Layer

The Eliminating Limits to Justice for Child Sex Abuse Victims Act of 2022 (Public Law 117-176) eliminated the federal civil statute of limitations under 18 U.S.C. section 2255 for claims arising from federal offenses including child sex trafficking, aggravated sexual abuse of a child, and child sexual exploitation. The law is prospective only: claims that were already time-barred before September 16, 2022 are not revived. A federal jurisdictional hook is required, such as abuse on federal land, abuse that crossed state lines, or a federal trafficking nexus.

The TVPRA (Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act) provides a separate ten-year civil statute of limitations for trafficking claims, tolled to age 18 for minor victims. Federal and state claims can often be pursued alongside each other.

Multi-State Jurisdiction Can Open Doors

A survivor whose home state has a closed window is not always out of options. Civil litigation often involves a choice-of-law analysis that considers where the abuse occurred, where the survivor lived, where the institution is headquartered, and where the relevant negligence took place. National institutional defendants may be sued in multiple potential forums. Federal court may be available even when state court is not. A multi-state firm can run that analysis for a survivor’s specific facts.

Five Things Worth Knowing Before Concluding the Door Is Closed

The statute of limitations clock often starts at the survivor’s 18th birthday, not the date of the abuse. Many states have a discovery rule that starts the clock at the point the survivor connected a psychological injury to what happened. A claim against an individual perpetrator may be barred while a claim against an institution that knew or should have known remains timely. Federal law may apply even when state law does not. And choice-of-law analysis may open a forum the survivor was not aware of.

Even if one door is closed, others may still be open.

We Are Here to Hear Your Story

Not sure about your state? Constant Legal Group operates nationally and will advise regarding your specific options at no cost. We offer free, confidential consultations with no obligation and no upfront payment. We only get paid if we recover compensation for you.

Call us at 855-906-2561

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Contact Constant Legal Group for a confidential evaluation specific to your circumstances. Lookback window laws change frequently. This guide reflects what was current at the time of publication. CLG reviews this page quarterly.