How Long Do You Have to File a Sexual Abuse Lawsuit in Michigan?

If you are reading this to find out whether you waited too long, it may not be too late. Michigan lengthened its civil deadlines for sexual abuse in 2018, and federal claims and claims against institutions run on separate clocks. Some older claims are past every deadline that exists today, because the Michigan Supreme Court has held that the 2018 changes do not revive a claim that had already expired before June 12, 2018. Putting your dates side by side shows which group you are in.

Sexual abuse attorneys at Vahdat Weisman Law represent survivors of sexual abuse and assault across Michigan. Call (734) 469-4994 for a free, confidential consultation. No attorney fee unless we recover for you.

Michigan’s Civil Deadlines at a Glance

“Criminal sexual conduct” means first- through fourth-degree CSC or assault with intent to commit CSC (MCL 600.5805(16)(b)). Under both rules, nobody has to have been charged or convicted (MCL 600.5805(6); MCL 600.5851b(2)).

If You Were Abused as a Child

You can sue until you turn 28, or within three years after you discover, or reasonably should have discovered, both your injury and its connection to the abuse, whichever date is later (MCL 600.5851b(1)). Discovery means connecting the harm to the abuse, not only remembering it. The statute uses a “reasonable diligence” standard, so a defendant can argue you should have made that connection sooner.

If your claim was still alive on June 12, 2018, the age-28 rule covers it. The Court of Appeals held that the age-28 extension applies to a minor’s claim that had not yet expired when the statute took effect, and that applying it does not revive anything (MI v Grace Christian Reformed Church of Grand Rapids, Docket No. 373022 (Mich Ct App, July 14, 2026)).

If your claim had already expired before June 12, 2018, the 2018 law does not bring it back. The Michigan Supreme Court held that the discovery rule in MCL 600.5851b(1)(b) “does not apply retroactively to resuscitate lapsed claims” (McLain v Roman Catholic Diocese of Lansing, 514 Mich 1 (2024)). Before 2018, a childhood abuse claim often ran out within a year or a few years after the survivor turned 18 (MCL 600.5851(1)). So if you are now in your thirties or older, your state-law claim against the abuser may be barred, and the sections below on institutions, federal claims, and concealment matter more.

The 2018 law also opened a one-time 90-day revival window, limited to survivors of a perpetrator convicted of criminal sexual conduct committed under the pretext of medical treatment (MCL 600.5851b(3)). That window has closed.

If You Were Abused as an Adult

You have 10 years to bring a claim for damages sustained because of criminal sexual conduct (MCL 600.5805(6)). You do not need a police report, a charge, or a conviction to file. The prosecutor decides whether to bring a criminal case, and your civil claim stands on its own.

If what happened was harassment or a battery that does not meet the CSC definitions, the shorter two-year assault-and-battery period may govern instead (MCL 600.5805(3)).

The School, Church or Employer Knew. How Long Do You Have Against Them?

An organization is usually sued for its own failures, such as ignoring complaints or keeping someone it should have removed. Those negligence claims have a general three-year period (MCL 600.5805(2)). Whether the longer 10-year or age-28 periods reach an institution’s negligence, as opposed to the abuser’s own conduct, is argued case by case. Grace Christian applied the minor provision to claims against church entities.

Public schools, public universities, and other government bodies add their own rules. A claim against the State of Michigan or one of its arms, which includes state universities, requires a written, sworn notice filed with the Court of Claims within six months of the event for personal injury (MCL 600.6431(4)), and that requirement applies even when the case is filed in circuit court (Christie v Wayne State University, 511 Mich 39 (2023)). Governmental agencies are generally immune from tort liability while performing a governmental function (MCL 691.1407). Still, individual employees can be liable for gross negligence that proximately caused your injury (MCL 691.1407(2)) and are not immune for intentional torts committed in bad faith (Odom v. Wayne County, 482 Mich. 459 (2008)).

Federal claims against a school run on a different clock. Title IX has no limitations period of its own, so federal courts borrow the state’s personal injury period (Lillard v. Shelby County Board of Education, 76 F3d 716 (6th Cir 1996)), which in Michigan is generally three years. In the Sixth Circuit, which covers Michigan, a Title IX claim may not begin running until you knew or had reason to know the institution’s role, such as a cover-up (Snyder-Hill v. Ohio State University, 48 F4th 686 (6th Cir 2022)). Read more on our school and teacher sexual abuse and clergy and church abuse pages.

Federal Claims That Can Run Longer

Child sexual exploitation offenses. If you were a minor victim of certain federal crimes, such as production of child sexual abuse images or transporting a minor across state lines for sex, federal law lets you sue with “no time limit” (18 USC 2255(b)). The 2022 change covers claims not already barred under the old deadline on September 16, 2022, and later claims (Public Law 117-176). The statute provides $150,000 in liquidated damages as an alternative to actual damages. It requires one of the listed federal offenses.

Trafficking. You must file a civil trafficking claim within 10 years after it arose or 10 years after you turn 18, whichever is later (18 USC 1595(c)). See our page on human trafficking survivor claims.

What Can Pause or Extend the Clock

Michigan courts cannot invent a discovery rule where the Legislature has not written one (Trentadue v Buckler Automatic Lawn Sprinkler Co, 479 Mich 378 (2007)). Outside it, extensions come from statute:

• Fraudulent concealment. If someone liable hid the claim or the identity of a responsible party, you have two years after you discovered, or should have discovered, it, even if the regular period has run (MCL 600.5855). This can matter when an institution buried prior reports.
• Insanity at the time of the abuse. If a survivor was legally “insane” when the claim accrued, meaning a mental derangement that prevented understanding of legal rights, the statute allows one year after that condition ends (MCL 600.5851(1)-(3)). It must exist when the claim arises.
• Repressed memory. For claims outside MCL 600.5851b, the Michigan Supreme Court has held that neither a discovery rule nor the insanity provision extends the deadline for memories repressed and later recovered (Lemmerman v Fealk, 449 Mich 56 (1995)). For abuse suffered as a minor, the 2018 discovery provision now does that work, subject to McLain.

Criminal Deadlines Are Separate

No time limit exists to charge first-degree criminal sexual conduct (MCL 767.24(1)). For second- and third-degree CSC committed on or after April 2, 2025, a charge may be filed within 15 years or by the survivor’s 42nd birthday, whichever is later; fourth-degree CSC carries 10 years or the 21st birthday (MCL 767.24(3)-(4)). Older offenses follow earlier versions, and DNA evidence or the accused’s absence from Michigan can extend these periods. A criminal deadline does not change your civil one.

Is a Law Extending These Deadlines Coming?

Not yet. As of October 2026, none of the “Justice for Survivors” bills have become law. Senate Bills 257 to 261 passed the Senate on May 20, 2025, and have sat in the House Committee on Government Operations since that day. A House package introduced June 4, 2026, including House Bill 6047, would extend the deadlines in MCL 600.5851b and add a grace period for past abuse; it has sat in the House Judiciary Committee with no action since June 9, 2026. Earlier versions passed the Senate and died without a House vote.

A bill can change before it passes, or not pass at all. If your claim is open today, its current deadline keeps running while bills are debated.

Your Privacy

You decide whether to go forward, and a consultation does not commit you to anything. What you tell us is confidential. If you file, civil cases allow you to ask the court to protect a survivor’s identity, including by filing under initials.

Why Choose Vahdat Weisman Law?

The abuser’s clock, the institution’s clock, any government notice, and a possible federal claim can each run from a different date. We build that timeline with you from records and the dates you know, and we tell you what it shows.

From our Livonia office, we represent clients throughout Michigan. Founding partners Kara E. Weisman and Jordan S. Vahdat have each been honored as Super Lawyers Rising Stars. Our attorneys are members of the State Bar of Michigan and active in the Michigan Association for Justice. We advance case costs, we work in English and Spanish, and we are available 24/7.

Frequently Asked Questions

• I’m 35, and it happened when I was 12. Is it too late? Under Michigan’s state statutes, a claim against the abuser from that era likely expired before June 12, 2018, and McLain holds that the 2018 law does not revive it. That is not always the whole answer. A federal claim under 18 USC 2255, a fraudulent concealment argument against an institution, or a Title IX claim that started running only when you learned of a school’s role may still be available, and a revival bill would change the analysis if it passes.
• Do I need a police report to sue? You don’t need a police report, charge, or conviction for a civil claim based on criminal sexual conduct (MCL 600.5805(6); MCL 600.5851b(2)). A report can still help as evidence, and you can choose whether to make one.
• What if the person who abused me has died? Claims survive death (MCL 600.2921), so you can bring a case against the estate. Probate law sets short deadlines for claims against an estate, often four months after notice to creditors is published (MCL 700.3803(1)). However, those limits do not bar a claim to the extent it is covered by liability insurance (MCL 700.3803(3)(b)). Claims against an institution are not affected by the abuser’s death.

About the Author

Kara E. Weisman is a founding partner of Vahdat Weisman Law in Livonia and handles medical malpractice, wrongful death, civil rights, and personal injury claims. She clerked at the Ingham County Probate Court and the Federal Defender’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan and is admitted to all Michigan state courts, as well as the Eastern and Western Districts of Michigan.

Talk to a Michigan Sexual Abuse Lawyer About Your Deadline

If you are unsure whether you can still file, call Vahdat Weisman Law at (734) 469-4994 or contact us online. The conversation is free and confidential. Available 24/7, serving all of Michigan, with Spanish-speaking staff. See also our child sexual abuse page.

Dedicated to Justice. Devoted to You. Winning for Your Future.

Reviewed by Kara E. Weisman, Vahdat Weisman Law. Last reviewed October 2026.

This information is for educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Every case is unique, and prior results do not guarantee future success.