What is the criminal statute of limitations in Texas?
It depends entirely on the crime. Under Tex. Code Crim. Proc. art. 12.01, most felonies must be indicted within 3 years, but named offenses get longer: 5 years for theft, robbery and family violence assault, 7 years for most fraud and money laundering, 10 years for arson and forgery, and no limit at all for murder, most sexual offenses against children, and several trafficking offenses. Misdemeanors get 2 years under art. 12.02. Time out of state does not count.
- The default is 3 years for felonies and 2 years for misdemeanors. Everything else is an exception, and the exception list is long.
- Murder, manslaughter and most child sexual offenses have no limitation period at all.
- Child-victim clocks often start at the victim's 18th birthday, not the offense date.
- Leaving Texas pauses the clock, and so does a pending indictment, under art. 12.05.
- Limitations is a real defense, but it is claimed, not automatic. Old conduct needs a lawyer's read of the current list.
Two opposite mistakes bring people to this page: assuming an old allegation is safely dead, and assuming the State can charge anything forever. Both are wrong often enough to matter. Here is the actual structure of Texas limitations law, current text. Peter M. Barrett has been licensed in Texas since 1994, has tried more than 150 jury trials, and is a Past President of the Dallas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association (2005).
The deadlines, by offense
| Limitation period | Offenses (selected from the statute) |
|---|---|
| No limitation | Murder and manslaughter; sexual assault of a child and aggravated sexual assault of a child; continuous sexual abuse; indecency with a child; sexual assault with untested or unmatched DNA, or five or more victims; sex trafficking under §20A.02(a)(7) or (8); continuous trafficking; fatal hit and run |
| 10 years | Arson; forgery and passing forged instruments; theft by a fiduciary or public servant; first degree injury to an elderly or disabled individual; adult sexual assault not in the no-limit list; labor trafficking |
| 7 years | Most Penal Code chapter 32 fraud; money laundering; health care fraud; bigamy; certain tax offenses |
| 5 years | Theft and robbery; most burglary and kidnapping; family violence assault; continuous violence against the family; aggravated assault; insurance fraud; abandoning or endangering an elderly or disabled individual |
| Victim-based clocks | For several offenses against children, 20 years from the victim's 18th birthday (child kidnapping, certain burglaries, child trafficking under §20A.02(a)(5) or (6), sexual performance by a child) |
| 3 years | All other felonies, the catch-all |
| 2 years | All misdemeanors, under art. 12.02 |
The table is selected, not exhaustive: the no-limit and 10 year lists in the statute run to more entries than any table should. If your situation is in the neighbourhood of any of these lines, read the statute linked in Sources, or better, have counsel read it against your facts. The sex offense clocks have enough special rules that they carry their own guide.
How the clock actually runs
- It starts at the offense date for most crimes, and at the victim's 18th birthday for the listed child offenses.
- It stops when an indictment or information is presented, not when police open a file, not at arrest. Investigation time counts against the State.
- Absence from Texas does not count. Under art. 12.05(a), time spent out of state is excluded, so moving away holds the clock open rather than running it out.
- A pending charge freezes it. Under art. 12.05(b), the period while an indictment, information or complaint is pending is excluded, even if that charging instrument is later thrown out and refiled.
- Expiry is a defense to assert. A time-barred charge can still be filed; it dies when the defense pleads limitations and makes the State prove timeliness. Nobody asserts it for you.
Why the periods differ so much
The pattern in the table is not random. Offenses proved by documents (fraud, forgery, laundering) get long periods because paper keeps. Offenses proved by testimony about a moment (assault, theft) get short ones because memory does not. And offenses against children get victim-based or unlimited periods because the Legislature has repeatedly extended them, which is why old cases that were once time-barred are sometimes charged under newer, longer periods, a transition question that is itself litigable and turns on when the old period expired.
What this means in practice
- Being investigated is not being charged. If the period is short and the file is old, silence from the State may mean the clock won, but confirm before assuming: charging databases and warrant checks answer it.
- An old allegation resurfacing deserves an immediate limitations read. The answer decides whether the right response is a limitations motion or a defense on the merits.
- Never measure the period yourself from a blog table, including this one. The lists change nearly every session. The current statute, read against your dates and any absences from the state, is the only measurement that counts.
Common questions
What is the statute of limitations for a felony in Texas?
Three years for felonies not otherwise listed, under article 12.01(8). But the listed exceptions swallow much of the rule: theft and robbery get 5 years, most fraud 7, arson and forgery 10, and murder and most child sexual offenses have no limit.
What crimes have no statute of limitations in Texas?
Murder and manslaughter, most sexual offenses against children including continuous sexual abuse and indecency, sexual assault with unmatched DNA evidence or five or more victims, sex trafficking of children, continuous trafficking, and fatal hit and run, among others in article 12.01(1).
Does the clock stop if I leave Texas?
Yes. Article 12.05(a) excludes time the accused is absent from the state, so years spent elsewhere do not run the period. Moving away is not a strategy; it is a pause button held down against you.
Can I be arrested for something from ten years ago?
Depends on the offense and your movements. A ten year old theft is normally time-barred; a ten year old arson or sexual assault may not be, and a warrant issued back then never expires. The offense, the list it falls under, and any out-of-state years decide it.
If the deadline passed, is the case automatically over?
No. Limitations is an affirmative defense: the charge must be answered with a limitations plea, and the State then has to prove the prosecution is timely, including any tolling. Asserted properly, it ends the case; ignored, it is waived.
The law this article describes, at the source. Every period above can be checked against it.
This article is general legal information about Texas law, not legal advice about your case. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Limitations lists change almost every legislative session, so confirm the current rule with a licensed criminal defense attorney about your specific facts and dates. Request a free, confidential case review.