Can the Statute of Limitations Be Extended for Criminal Charges? 

How long do the police have to arrest someone for a crime they may have committed? These legal time limits are referred to as “statutes of limitations.” As you may have seen on cold case crime TV shows, murder has no statute of limitations. When DNA technology became readily available, many decades-old unsolved crimes were finally seeing justice because there was no statute of limitations. For the deadlines that apply to each offense, see our overview of the statutes of limitations in Texas.

“Tolling” the Statute of Limitations

Tolling is a process by which a statute of limitations can indeed be extended under certain circumstances. These are the two most common ways the statute of limitation can be extended in Texas:

• Any time the suspect spends outside the state of Texas does not count towards the statute of limitations.
• The statute of limitations pauses when the suspect is charged or indicted for the same act in question. If the charges were dropped, the time would start running again.

Case law can also extend the time limit in very specific situations. To read the state laws discussing criminal statutes of limitations, see Ch. 12 of the Texas Code Of Criminal Procedure.

Two-Year Statute of Limitations

Class A, B, and C misdemeanors in Texas typically have a two-year statute of limitations. 

Three-Year Statute of Limitations

Felonies not listed below have a three-year statute of limitations. 

Five-Year Statute of Limitations

The following are felonies in Texas that have a five-year statute of limitations:

• Insurance fraud
• Robbery
• Kidnapping
• Injury to a disabled or elderly person (second or third-degree felony)
• Theft
• Burglary
• Endangering a child
• Abandoning a child

Seven-Year Statute of Limitations

The following are felonies in Texas that have a seven-year statute of limitations:

• Giving false statements to obtain property/credit
• Fraudulent use or possession of identifying information 
• Credit or debit card abuse 
• Executing a document by deception
• Misapplication of fiduciary property 
• Misapplication of a financial institution’s property
• Money laundering
• Medicaid fraud 
• Bigamy (being married to two different people at once)
• Certain felony tax violations 

Ten-Year Statute of Limitations

The following are felonies in Texas that have a ten-year statute of limitations:

• Injury to a disabled or elderly person (first-degree felony)
• Theft of government property for which a public servant was entrusted with or exercised control over
• Arson
• Human trafficking
• Theft of an estate by an executor or other fiduciary party with the intent to defraud a beneficiary or creditor
• Sexual assault (unless a forensic “rape kit” exam was conducted right after the assault and shows DNA not matching the victim’s)
• Compelling prostitution
• Forgery 
• Using, passing, or uttering forged instruments

Ten-Year Statute of Limitations (From the Victim’s 18th Birthday)

The following are felonies in Texas that have a ten-year statute of limitations from the date the victim reaches 18 years of age:

• Human trafficking (PC 20A(a)5 or 6)
• Injury to a child (PC 22.04)
• Bigamy in which the victim was under 18
• Compelling prostitution (PC 4305(a)2)

Twenty-Year Statute of Limitations

The following are felonies in Texas that have a 20-year statute of limitations. As above, if the victim was a minor (see PC 12.05(5), the 20-year period starts on the victim’s 18th birthday:

• Burglary (PC 0.02(d)
• Aggravated kidnapping if there was intent to sexually assault the victim
• Sexual performance by a child 

Felonies With No Prosecution Time Limit

The following are felonies in Texas without statutes of limitations:

• Sexual assault/rape (known or unknown perpetrator, aggravated or not)
• Continuous sexual abuse of young children (2+ incidences) 
• Indecency with a child
• Leaving the scene of an accident that resulted in a fatality
• Human trafficking (continuous or not – PC 20A.02(a)7 or 8)
• Manslaughter
• Murder

Twenty-Year Statute of Limitations (From the Victim’s 18th Birthday)

The following are felonies in Texas that have a 20-year statute of limitations from the date the underage victim reaches 18 years of age:

• Sexual performance by a child
• Kidnapping with the intent to sexually assault
• Aggravated burglary with the intent to sexually assault
• Human trafficking of a disabled person or minor

Need an Experienced Austin Criminal Defense Lawyer? 

Do you think the statute of limitations has run out on a crime you’ve been arrested for? David D. White is an experienced and knowledgeable Austin criminal defense lawyer. Book a free consultation with the Law Office of David D. White now.