California Government Claim Deadline: Gov. Code 911.2
By Alex (J.D. candidate, not a lawyer)
Under California Government Code section 911.2, a claim against a public entity for death or for injury to a person or personal property must be presented not later than six months after the claim accrues. The date a claim accrues can differ from the date of the incident, and other deadlines may apply.
This page walks through the steps the Government Code sets out, in the statutes' own words. It is general information about the law.
The short version
- Section 911.2 sets six months after accrual for claims for death or for injury to a person, personal property, or growing crops.
- Section 911.2 sets one year after accrual for claims relating to any other cause of action.
- The board generally has 45 days to act on a claim (912.4).
- If the board does not act in time, the claim is deemed rejected (912.4(c)). The time can be extended by written agreement.
- A late-claim application must be made within a reasonable time, and no later than one year after accrual (911.4).
- Section 945.6 then sets separate time limits for filing suit.
What Government Code section 911.2 says
What the law says. Section 911.2(a) reads:
"A claim relating to a cause of action for death or for injury to person or to personal property or growing crops shall be presented as provided in Article 2 (commencing with Section 915) not later than six months after the accrual of the cause of action. A claim relating to any other cause of action shall be presented as provided in Article 2 (commencing with Section 915) not later than one year after the accrual of the cause of action."
For claims presented to the Department of General Services, section 911.2(b) sets the date a claim counts as presented. That date depends on when the claim is submitted with the filing fee or with a request to waive it.
What it means in general. The statute sets two time limits. Claims for death, injury to a person, or damage to personal property or growing crops have six months. Claims relating to any other cause of action have one year.
Both limits run from "the accrual of the cause of action." In general terms, accrual is the point at which the law treats a cause of action as having arisen. The date a claim accrues can differ from the date of the incident, and other deadlines may apply.
Which claims the rule covers
What the law says. Section 905 says claims "for money or damages against local public entities" must be presented under the claim statutes, "except any of the following." It then lists specific categories in subdivisions (a) through (o). Examples include claims "for which the workers' compensation authorized by Division 4 (commencing with Section 3200) of the Labor Code is the exclusive remedy" (905(d)) and claims "by public employees for fees, salaries, wages, mileage, or other expenses and allowances" (905(c)).
What it means in general. Section 905 addresses claims against local public entities, such as cities and counties. The presentation requirement is the starting rule. The exceptions are specific categories written into the statute, and the full list is in the official text.
Claims against the State that are filed with the Department of General Services are addressed in a separate section, section 905.2. Read the official text
What a claim must contain
What the law says. Section 910 says a claim "shall show all of the following," and then lists the required items. Subdivisions (a) through (e) cover these topics:
- The claimant's name and post office address.
- The post office address where the person presenting the claim wants notices sent.
- The date, place, and other circumstances of the occurrence or transaction.
- A general description of the injury, damage, or loss, as far as it is known.
- The names of the public employees involved, if known.
Section 910 lists one more required item, in subdivision (f). Read the official text.
What it means in general. The statute sets out the information a claim must show. The list covers who is presenting the claim, where notices go, what happened, and who was involved.
Section 910.2 covers who signs the claim. A change to that section takes effect January 1, 2027 (see below).
What changes in 2027 (AB 2529)
AB 2529 (Stats. 2026, ch. 618) amends section 910.2. The Governor approved it on September 27, 2026, and it takes effect January 1, 2027. Beginning January 1, 2027, section 910.2 will say the claim "shall be signed by the claimant or by some person on the claimant's behalf declaring that, upon information and belief, the contents of the claim are true and correct". Until then, the current section requires the claim to be signed by the claimant or by some person on the claimant's behalf. Both versions keep an exception for certain supply and service claims against local public entities. Read the bill text
The 45-day response rule
What the law says. Section 912.4(a) says the board "shall act on a claim in the manner provided in Section 912.6, 912.7, or 912.8 within 45 days after the claim has been presented." Under section 912.4(b), the claimant and the board "may extend the period within which the board is required to act on the claim by written agreement." Section 912.4(c) reads in part:
"If the board fails or refuses to act on a claim within the time prescribed by this section, the claim shall be deemed to have been rejected by the board on the last day of the period within which the board was required to act upon the claim."
What it means in general. The public entity's board has 45 days to act on a claim. The two sides can agree in writing to extend that time. If the board does not act in time, the law treats the claim as rejected on the last day of the period. Section 913(a) refers to this as "rejection by operation of law."
Late-claim applications (Section 911.4)
What the law says. Section 911.4 reads in part:
"(a) When a claim that is required by Section 911.2 to be presented not later than six months after the accrual of the cause of action is not presented within that time, a written application may be made to the public entity for leave to present that claim.
(b) The application shall be presented to the public entity as provided in Article 2 (commencing with Section 915) within a reasonable time not to exceed one year after the accrual of the cause of action and shall state the reason for the delay in presenting the claim. The proposed claim shall be attached to the application."
What it means in general. Section 911.4 applies to claims that carry the six-month limit. When such a claim was not presented in time, the statute allows a written application asking for permission to present it late. The application has three parts in the statute:
- It is made "within a reasonable time not to exceed one year after the accrual of the cause of action."
- It states the reason for the delay.
- It has the proposed claim attached.
Section 911.4 also has rules on how certain time periods are counted. Those are in the official text.
How the board decides (Section 911.6)
What the law says. Section 911.6(a) says the board "shall grant or deny the application within 45 days after it is presented to the board." Section 911.6(b) says the board "shall grant the application if one or more of the following is applicable," and lists six grounds:
"(1) The failure to present the claim was through mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect and the public entity was not prejudiced in its defense of the claim by the failure to present the claim within the time specified in Section 911.2.
(2) The person who sustained the alleged injury, damage, or loss was a minor during all of the time specified in Section 911.2 for the presentation of the claim.
(3) The person who sustained the alleged injury, damage, or loss was a minor during any of the time specified in Section 911.2 for the presentation of the claim, provided the application is presented within six months of the person turning 18 years of age or a year after the claim accrues, whichever occurs first.
(4) The person who sustained the alleged injury, damage, or loss was physically or mentally incapacitated during all of the time specified in Section 911.2 for the presentation of the claim and by reason of that disability failed to present a claim during that time.
(5) The person who sustained the alleged injury, damage, or loss was physically or mentally incapacitated during any of the time specified in Section 911.2 for the presentation of the claim and by reason of that disability failed to present a claim during that time, provided the application is presented within six months of the person no longer being physically or mentally incapacitated, or a year after the claim accrues, whichever occurs first.
(6) The person who sustained the alleged injury, damage, or loss died before the expiration of the time specified in Section 911.2 for the presentation of the claim."
Section 911.6(c) says that if the board does not act in time, the application "shall be deemed to have been denied on the 45th day," or on the last day of any period extended by agreement.
What it means in general. The board has 45 days to decide an application. The statute lists the situations in which the board must grant it. In general terms, they cover mistake or excusable neglect without prejudice to the public entity, minority, physical or mental incapacity, and death before the deadline. Grounds (3) and (5) each carry their own built-in time limit, whichever of the two listed dates comes first. Silence from the board counts as a denial on the 45th day, unless the period was extended by agreement.
If an application is denied (Section 946.6)
What the law says. Section 946.6(a) says that if an application "is denied or deemed to be denied pursuant to Section 911.6, a petition may be made to the court for an order relieving the petitioner from Section 945.4." Under section 946.6(b), "The petition shall be filed within six months after the application to the board is denied or deemed to be denied pursuant to Section 911.6." Section 946.6(f) reads:
"If the court makes an order relieving the petitioner from Section 945.4, suit on the cause of action to which the claim relates shall be filed with the court within 30 days thereafter."
What it means in general. After a denial, the statute provides a court petition in the superior court. The petition has its own six-month time limit. Section 946.6(c) lists the grounds on which the court grants relief. Several of them track the grounds in section 911.6. The full list is in the official text. If the court grants relief, the statute sets 30 days to file the suit.
After a claim is acted on: section 945.6
What the law says. Section 945.4 says no suit for money or damages may be brought against a public entity on a claim that must be presented "until a written claim therefor has been presented to the public entity and has been acted upon by the board, or has been deemed to have been rejected by the board."
Section 945.6(a) then says a suit "must be commenced":
"(1) If written notice is given in accordance with Section 913, not later than six months after the date such notice is personally delivered or deposited in the mail.
(2) If written notice is not given in accordance with Section 913, within two years from the accrual of the cause of action. If the period within which the public entity is required to act is extended pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 912.4, the period of such extension is not part of the time limited for the commencement of the action under this paragraph."
Section 913(b) says a notice rejecting a claim, in whole or in part, must include a warning in substantially the form the statute sets out. The warning refers to the six-month time limit in section 945.6, subject to certain exceptions.
What it means in general. The claim comes first, and a suit waits until the board acts or the claim is deemed rejected. The time limit for the suit then depends on whether written notice under section 913 was given:
- With written notice, the limit is six months after the notice is personally delivered or mailed.
- Without written notice, the limit is two years from accrual, and any agreed extension under section 912.4(b) does not count toward it.
Section 945.6 also has exceptions, including rules in subdivision (b) for people sentenced to imprisonment in a state prison. Those are in the official text.
How this fits with other deadlines
Code of Civil Procedure section 352(a) says that, for the actions it covers, the time a person is a minor or lacks legal capacity is not counted toward the filing deadline. Section 352(b) says that rule "shall not apply to an action against a public entity or public employee upon a cause of action for which a claim is required to be presented" under the government claim statutes.
In general, this means the section 352(a) rule for minority and lack of legal capacity does not apply to those actions. The government claim statutes have their own rules for minors and for incapacity, in sections 911.6 and 946.6.
Design immunity for public roads is a separate legal question from the timing rules on this page.
Official resources
- The California courts' self-help page on government claims: selfhelp.courts.ca.gov.
- The California Department of General Services page on the Government Claims Program, for claims against the State: DGS Government Claims Program.
Sources
- Government Code section 905 (claims that must be presented to local public entities, and exceptions).
- Government Code section 905.2 (claims against the State filed with the Department of General Services).
- Government Code section 910 (contents of a claim).
- Gov. Code section 910.2 (current text).
- AB 2529 (Stats. 2026, ch. 618), leginfo bill text.
- Government Code section 911.2 (time to present a claim).
- Government Code section 911.4 (late-claim applications).
- Government Code section 911.6 (board action on late-claim applications).
- Government Code section 912.4 (45 days to act on a claim).
- Government Code section 913 (written notice of action on a claim).
- Government Code section 945.4 (claim required before suit).
- Government Code section 945.6 (time limits for suit).
- Government Code section 946.6 (court petition after a denied application).
- Code of Civil Procedure section 352 (minority and incapacity tolling, and the government claim exclusion).
SentryHall publishes general legal information for educational purposes. It is not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. The author is a law student, not a lawyer. Laws change and apply differently to different facts. For advice about your situation, talk with a lawyer licensed in California. You can look up a lawyer's license status at calbar.ca.gov.
Official California resources: Self-Help Guide to the California Courts, State Bar attorney license search, and the State Bar list of certified lawyer referral services.