# Cal. Code Civ. Proc. §§ 312-366 — Statutes of Limitation

- Citation: Cal. Code Civ. Proc., §§ 312-366
- Code: Code of Civil Procedure
- Subject: Statutes of limitation (Title 2 of Part 2)
- Source: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displayexpandedbranch.xhtml?tocCode=CCP
- Last verified: 2026-05-13

> Authored from canonical California statutory sources; verify
> against leginfo.legislature.ca.gov before relying.

## Overview

California's general statutes of limitation are codified at CCP
§§ 312-366. The most-cited sections for civil practice — and
particularly for consumer-debt defense — are § 337 (4-year SOL
on written contracts), § 339 (2-year SOL on oral contracts),
§ 360 (revival by acknowledgment / partial payment), and § 361
(borrowing statute).

## § 312 — Time of commencing actions

Civil actions can only be commenced within the periods
prescribed in this title, after the cause of action shall have
accrued, unless where, in special cases, a different limitation
is prescribed by statute.

## § 313 — Acquired rights not impaired

Statutes of limitation do not apply to actions brought to set
aside transactions of which the plaintiff was not aware until
the discovery rule operates (the discovery rule is statutory
in some contexts, judicially developed in others).

## § 318 — Real property — 5 years

No action for the recovery of real property, or for the
recovery of the possession thereof, can be maintained, unless
it appear that the plaintiff, his ancestor, predecessor, or
grantor, was seized or possessed of the property in question,
within five years before the commencement of the action.

## § 335.1 — Personal injury / wrongful death — 2 years

An action for assault, battery, or injury to, or for the death
of, an individual caused by the wrongful act or neglect of
another **must be commenced within two years**.

This 2-year SOL replaced the former 1-year SOL in 2002. The
discovery rule applies in many cases (cause of action accrues
when the plaintiff discovers or should have discovered the
injury and its cause).

## § 337 — Written contracts — 4 years

**(a)** An action upon any contract, obligation or liability
founded upon an instrument in writing, except as provided in
Section 2725 of the Commercial Code or subdivision (n) of
Section 17.50 of the Civil Code; an action to recover (1) upon
a book account, whether consisting of one or more entries; (2)
upon an account stated based upon an account in writing, but
the acknowledgment of the account stated need not be in writing;
(3) a balance due upon a mutual, open and current account, the
items of which are in writing; provided, however, that where an
account stated is based upon an account of one item, the time
shall begin to run from the date of said item, and where an
account stated is based upon an account of more than one item,
the time shall begin to run from the date of the last item.

**The 4-year SOL on written contracts is the single most-
litigated SOL in California consumer-debt defense.**

### Credit card debt

Credit card agreements are written contracts; the 4-year SOL
applies. The accrual date is the **date of last activity**
(payment or charge) on the account, NOT the original date the
account was opened. See *Hambrecht & Quist Venture Partners v.
American Medical International, Inc.* (1995) 38 Cal.App.4th
1532 (SOL accrual on contract breach).

### Account stated (open book account)

A claim that the debtor acknowledged a specific balance is an
"account stated"; if based on a written acknowledgment, the
4-year SOL runs from the date of the acknowledgment.

## § 337(a) — Open book account

(See § 337 above — the open-book-account subsection.) Time
runs from the **last entry** on the account.

## § 338 — 3-year actions

Within three years:

**(a)** An action upon a liability created by statute, other
than a penalty or forfeiture.

**(b)** An action for trespass upon or injury to real property.

**(c)** An action for taking, detaining, or injuring any goods
or chattels, including actions for the specific recovery of
personal property.

**(d) — FRAUD AND MISTAKE (DISCOVERY RULE)**: An action for
relief on the ground of fraud or mistake. The cause of action
in that case is not to be deemed to have accrued until the
discovery, by the aggrieved party, of the facts constituting
the fraud or mistake.

## § 339 — Oral contracts — 2 years

Within two years:

(1) An action upon a contract, obligation or liability not
founded upon an instrument of writing, except as provided in
Section 2725 of the Commercial Code, or subdivision (a) of
Section 339.5, or 2725.5 of the Commercial Code.

(2) An action against a sheriff, coroner, or constable upon a
liability incurred in the official capacity.

(3) An action based upon the rescission of a contract not in
writing. The time begins to run from the date upon which the
facts that entitle the aggrieved party to rescind occurred.

## § 340 — 1-year actions

Within one year (the list has been amended over the years; key
items include actions for forfeitures or penalties to the
people of the state).

## § 343 — Other actions — 4 years (catch-all)

An action for relief not hereinbefore provided for must be
commenced within four years after the cause of action shall
have accrued.

## § 360 — REVIVAL BY ACKNOWLEDGMENT OR PARTIAL PAYMENT

**No acknowledgment or promise is sufficient evidence of a new
or continuing contract, by which to take the case out of the
operation of this title, unless the same is contained in some
writing, signed by the party to be charged thereby**; provided
that any payment on account of principal or interest due on
the obligation by the party to be charged shall be deemed
sufficient evidence to make the case operate against him as
provided in Section 360.

### Practical implications

- A debtor's written acknowledgment of the debt **restarts the
  SOL clock** for an additional 4 years (or whatever the
  underlying SOL was).
- A debtor's partial payment also restarts the clock, but only
  if the payment is "referable to the specific debt" — a
  payment must be identifiable as being on the particular
  obligation.
- **Communications by phone alone do not revive** the SOL —
  CCP § 360 requires writing for acknowledgment.

### Leading case

***Western Coal & Mining Co. v. Jones*** (1946) 27 Cal.2d 819
— the writing requirement under CCP § 360 is strict; oral
acknowledgments do not revive an expired SOL.

## § 361 — BORROWING STATUTE

When a cause of action has arisen in another State, or in a
foreign country, and by the laws thereof an action thereon
cannot there be maintained against a person by reason of the
lapse of time, an action thereon shall not be maintained against
him in this State, except in favor of one who has been a
citizen of this State and who has held the cause of action from
the time it accrued.

### Practical implications

- If a cause of action arose in another state, California
  applies the **shorter of** California's SOL or the originating
  state's SOL.
- Exception: California citizens who held the cause of action
  from accrual.
- Used in debt-buyer cases where the original creditor was
  in another state.

## § 366 — Extensions

Generally provides that SOLs may be extended in particular
circumstances by other Code provisions.

## Specialty SOLs (cross-references)

The general SOLs at §§ 312-366 are supplemented by specialty
SOLs in other codes:

### Sale of goods (UCC Article 2)

- **Cal. Comm. Code § 2725** — 4 years from breach (for
  contracts for the sale of goods). Discovery rule does not
  apply to non-warranty breaches; for breach of warranty, the
  cause accrues when tender of delivery is made.

### Negotiable instruments (UCC Article 3)

- **Cal. Comm. Code § 3118** — 6 years on a note payable at a
  definite time; 6 years for unaccepted draft; 3 years for an
  unaccepted draft from date of dishonor or 10 years from issue
  for cashier's / teller's checks.

### Consumer protection

- **Cal. Civ. Code § 1788.30(f) — Rosenthal Act**: 1 year from
  violation
- **Cal. Civ. Code § 1788.62 — FDBPA**: 1 year from violation
- **Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 17208 — UCL**: 4 years
- **Cal. Civ. Code § 1783 — CLRA**: 3 years
- **15 U.S.C. § 1692k(d) — FDCPA**: 1 year from violation
- **15 U.S.C. § 1681p — FCRA**: 2 years from discovery; 5-year
  repose
- **15 U.S.C. § 1640(e) — TILA**: 1 year from violation
- **15 U.S.C. § 1691e(f) — ECOA**: 5 years from violation

## SOL summary table (most-used)

| Cause of action | SOL | Citation |
|---|---|---|
| Written contract (incl. credit card) | 4 years | CCP § 337 |
| Open book account | 4 years from last entry | CCP § 337(a) |
| Oral contract | 2 years | CCP § 339 |
| Statutory liability | 3 years | CCP § 338(a) |
| Fraud (discovery rule) | 3 years | CCP § 338(d) |
| Personal injury | 2 years | CCP § 335.1 |
| Real property (recovery) | 5 years | CCP § 318 |
| Catch-all | 4 years | CCP § 343 |
| Sale of goods (UCC) | 4 years from breach | Cal. Comm. Code § 2725 |
| Negotiable instrument | 6 years | Cal. Comm. Code § 3118 |
| UCL | 4 years | Bus. & Prof. Code § 17208 |
| CLRA | 3 years | Civ. Code § 1783 |
| Rosenthal Act | 1 year | Civ. Code § 1788.30(f) |
| FDBPA | 1 year | Civ. Code § 1788.62 |
| FDCPA | 1 year | 15 USC § 1692k(d) |
| FCRA | 2 yr discovery / 5 yr repose | 15 USC § 1681p |
| TILA | 1 year | 15 USC § 1640(e) |

## Pleading SOL as an affirmative defense

The SOL is an affirmative defense and **must be specifically
pleaded** in the answer to be preserved (CCP § 458):

"The defendant alleges that the action is barred by the
provisions of Section 337 of the Code of Civil Procedure
(action upon any contract founded upon an instrument in writing)."

If the SOL bar appears on the face of the complaint (e.g., the
complaint alleges a last-payment date more than 4 years before
filing), a general demurrer (CCP § 430.10(e)) may be appropriate.

## Cross-references

- `CivCode-Rosenthal.md` — Rosenthal Act SOL details
- `CivCode-FDBPA.md` — FDBPA SOL details
- `BPC-UCL.md` — UCL 4-year SOL details
- `CommCode-Art-2-Sales.md` — UCC Art. 2 SOL (§ 2725)
- `CommCode-Art-3-Negotiable.md` — UCC Art. 3 SOL (§ 3118)
- `../federal-debt-laws/FDCPA.md` — FDCPA 1-year SOL
- `../../../ca-consumer-debt/references/ca-statutes-of-limitations.md`
  — practitioner-facing SOL guidance for consumer-debt cases
- `../../../ca-deadlines/SKILL.md` — SOL-by-claim-type rules in
  `case-calendar.py`