California Adult Sexual Abuse Lawsuit: The AB 250 Revival Window (Open Now)

What California's AB 250 changed

On January 1, 2026, California's AB 250 took effect, opening a two-year revival window for adult survivors of sexual abuse. Amending Code of Civil Procedure § 340.16, the law lets survivors who were 18 or older at the time of the assault file civil claims that had already expired under the old statute of limitations. Those revived claims must be filed between January 1, 2026 and December 31, 2027. This is a significant expansion: California's earlier reforms — the AB 218 lookback and the elimination of the deadline for childhood abuse — focused on people abused as minors. AB 250 reopens the courthouse for survivors abused as adults, regardless of how long ago the abuse occurred.

Who qualifies to file during the revival window

The revival window is for adult survivors whose claims had already expired under the old deadline. Because the window revives time-barred claims, how long ago the abuse happened does not automatically disqualify you — survivors whose claims expired decades ago may file. The single most important fact is the December 31, 2027 deadline: revived claims must be filed before the window closes.

• You were sexually assaulted in California on or after your 18th birthday — AB 250 covers abuse suffered as an adult, while a separate set of laws governs childhood abuse.
• Your claim had already expired under the previous statute of limitations.
• You are filing between January 1, 2026 and December 31, 2027, the two-year revival window.
• To reach an institution, you can allege that an entity — such as an employer, business, religious organization, or other private organization — engaged in or attempted to cover up a prior instance or allegation of sexual assault. Claims against the individual perpetrator can also proceed.

The going-forward statute of limitations

AB 250 also reshaped the deadline for future adult sexual-assault claims. Going forward, a survivor generally has until the later of 10 years from the date of the last assault, or 3 years from the date they discover — or reasonably should have discovered — that an injury or illness resulted from the assault. This discovery rule recognizes what researchers have long documented: survivors often do not connect their injuries to the assault until years later.

Who can be held accountable

The revival window is built around institutional accountability. It reaches the private organizations that enabled or concealed abuse — employers, businesses, religious organizations, and other private institutions — as well as the individual perpetrator. Public entities and government agencies are excluded from AB 250's revival window; claims against them follow different rules. California courts routinely permit survivors of sexual assault to proceed under a pseudonym ('Jane Doe' or 'John Doe'), keeping your name out of the public record.

How AB 250 fits California's other abuse laws

AB 250 is separate from the laws covering childhood sexual abuse. If you were abused as a minor in California, a different framework applies: AB 218 (effective 2020) created a lookback window that ran from 2020 through 2022 and extended the deadline for childhood claims to the later of age 40 or five years from discovery, and a later reform, AB 452, eliminated the deadline entirely for childhood abuse occurring on or after January 1, 2024. AB 250 is the window for survivors abused as adults. A confidential review can help identify which law fits your situation.

What a confidential case review involves

People's Justice is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice. A free, confidential review is a short, plain-language conversation about what happened and whether the AB 250 revival window may apply to you. If it does, you can be connected with an attorney who handles California adult sexual-abuse claims. There is no obligation, your information is never sold, and outcomes vary — no one can guarantee a result, and any reported settlement ranges are not promises. If you need to talk to someone right now, the RAINN National Sexual Assault Hotline is 1-800-656-4673 — free, confidential, and available 24/7.