OKLAHOMA CHILD SEX ABUSE SOLs

Historical CSA SOL Treatise

CHILD USA has diligently tracked SOL Reform in all 50 states for years! We have the answer to your state-specific SOL questions. Our Legal team has compiled your go-to resource book to get started on your SOL legal research, available in e-book or hard cover versions.

When you add CHILD USA’s CSA SOL History Treatise to our 2025 SOL Tracker, you have robust research to back up your investigation into the SOL for each client.

Current Civil SOL

The civil SOL for CSA, trafficking, and CSAM claims is age 45 against perpetrators and age 20 against all other defendants.

Civil SOL Snapshot

Age Cap

CSA: AGE 45

TRAFFICKING: AGE 45

CSAM: AGE 45

Revival Law NONE
Discovery Tolling NONE

Current Criminal SOL

CSA: The criminal SOL for CSA is age 45 with a DNA rule, and 3 years from the offense for other felonies and misdemeanors. 

Trafficking: The SOL for trafficking is age 45.

CSAM: The SOL for CSAM offenses is age 45.

Criminal SOL Snapshot

CSA AGE 45
Trafficking AGE 45
CSAM AGE 45

Current Oklahoma Civil Law

OKLA. STAT. ANN. § 95 - LIMITATION OF OTHER ACTIONS
A. Civil actions other than for the recovery of real property can only be brought within the following periods, after the cause of action shall have accrued, and not afterwards:
1. Within five (5) years: An action upon any contract, agreement, or promise in writing;
2. Within three (3) years: An action upon a contract express or implied not in writing; an action upon a liability created by statute other than a forfeiture or penalty; and an action on a foreign judgment;
3. Within two (2) years: An action for trespass upon real property; an action for taking, detaining, or injuring personal property, including actions for the specific recovery of personal property; an action for injury to the rights of another, not arising on contract, and not hereinafter enumerated; an action for relief on the ground of fraud–the cause of action in such case shall not be deemed to have accrued until the discovery of the fraud;
4. Within one (1) year: An action for libel, slander, assault, battery, malicious prosecution, or false imprisonment; an action upon a statute for penalty or forfeiture, except where the statute imposing it prescribes a different limitation;
5. An action upon the official bond or undertaking of an executor, administrator, guardian, sheriff, or any other officer, or upon the bond or undertaking given in attachment, injunction, arrest, or in any case whatever required by the statute, can only be brought within five (5) years after the cause of action shall have accrued;
6. An action based on intentional conduct brought by any person for recovery of damages for injury suffered as a result of childhood sexual abuse incidents or exploitation as defined by Section 1-1-105 of Title 10A of the Oklahoma Statutes or incest against the actual perpetrator shall be commenced by the forty-fifth birthday of the alleged victim. If the person committing the act of sexual abuse against a child was employed by an institution, agency, firm, business, corporation or other public or private legal entity that owed a duty of care to the victim, or the accused and the child were engaged in some activity over which the legal entity had some degree of responsibility or control, the action must be brought against such employer or legal entity within two (2) years; provided, that the time limit for commencement of an action pursuant to this paragraph is tolled for a child until the child reaches the age of eighteen (18) years. No action may be brought against the alleged perpetrator or the estate of the alleged perpetrator after the death of such alleged perpetrator, unless the perpetrator was convicted of a crime of sexual abuse involving the claimant. An action pursuant to this paragraph must be based upon objective verifiable evidence in order for the victim to recover damages for injuries suffered by reason of such sexual abuse, exploitation, or incest. The victim need not establish which act in a series of continuing sexual abuse incidents, exploitation incidents, or incest caused the injury complained of;
7. An action based on intentional conduct brought by any person for recovery of damages for injury suffered as a result of criminal actions, as defined by the Oklahoma Statutes, may be brought against any person incarcerated or under the supervision of a state, federal or local correctional facility on or after November 1, 2003:
a. at any time during the incarceration of the offender for the offense on which the action is based, or
b. within five (5) years after the perpetrator is released from the custody of a state, federal or local correctional facility, if the defendant was serving time for the offense on which the action is based;
8. An action to establish paternity and to enforce support obligations can be brought any time before the child reaches the age of eighteen (18);
9. An action to establish paternity can be brought by a child in accordance with Section 7700-606 of Title 10 of the Oklahoma Statutes;
10. Court-ordered child support is owed until it is paid in full and it is not subject to a statute of limitations;
11. All actions filed by an inmate or by a person based upon facts that occurred while the person was an inmate in the custody of one of the following:
a. the State of Oklahoma,
b. a contractor of the State of Oklahoma, or
c. a political subdivision of the State of Oklahoma,
to include, but not be limited to, the revocation of earned credits and claims for injury to the rights of another, shall be commenced within one (1) year after the cause of action shall have accrued; and
12. An action for relief, not hereinbefore provided for, can only be brought within five (5) years after the cause of action shall have accrued.
B. Collection of debts owed by inmates who have received damage awards pursuant to Section 566.1 of Title 57 of the Oklahoma Statutes shall be governed by the time limitations imposed by that section.
CASE LAW

Christ’s Legacy Church v. Trinity Grp. Architects, Inc., 417 P.3d 1223, 1228 (Okla. Civ. App. 2018) (refusing to apply discovery rule to a negligent construction case).

Current Oklahoma Criminal Law

OKLA. STAT. ANN. TIT. 22, § 152 - STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS
A. Prosecutions for the crimes of bribery, embezzlement of public money, bonds, securities, assets or property of the state or any county, school district, municipality or other subdivision thereof, or of any misappropriation of public money, bonds, securities, assets or property of the state or any county, school district, municipality or other subdivision thereof, falsification of public records of the state or any county, school district, municipality or other subdivision thereof, and conspiracy to defraud the State of Oklahoma or any county, school district, municipality or other subdivision thereof in any manner or for any purpose shall be commenced within seven (7) years after the discovery of the crime; provided, however, prosecutions for the crimes of embezzlement or misappropriation of public money, bonds, securities, assets or property of any school district, including those relating to student activity funds, or the crime of falsification of public records of any independent school district, the crime of criminal conspiracy, the crime of embezzlement pursuant to Sections 1451 through 1461 of Title 21 of the Oklahoma Statutes, the crime of False Personation or Identity Theft pursuant to Sections 1531 through 1533.3 of Title 21 of the Oklahoma Statutes, the financial exploitation of a vulnerable adult pursuant to Sections 843.1, 843.3 and 843.4 of Title 21 of the Oklahoma Statutes, or Medicaid fraud pursuant to Section 1005 of Title 56 of the Oklahoma Statutes, shall be commenced within five (5) years after the discovery of the crime.
B. Prosecutions for criminal violations of any state income tax laws shall be commenced within five (5) years after the commission of such violation.
C. 1. Prosecutions for sexual crimes against children, specifically rape or forcible sodomy, sodomy, lewd or indecent proposals or acts against children, involving minors in pornography pursuant to Section 886, 888, 1111, 1111.1, 1113, 1114, 1021.2, 1021.3, 1040.12a or 1123 of Title 21 of the Oklahoma Statutes, child abuse pursuant to Section 843.5 of Title 21 of the Oklahoma Statutes, and child trafficking pursuant to Section 866 of Title 21 of the Oklahoma Statutes shall be commenced by the forty-fifth birthday of the alleged victim. Prosecutions for such crimes committed against victims eighteen (18) years of age or older shall be commenced within twelve (12) years after the discovery of the crime. As used in this paragraph, “discovery” means the date that a physical or sexually related crime involving a victim eighteen (18) years of age or older is reported to a law enforcement agency.
2. However, prosecutions for the crimes listed in paragraph 1 of this subsection may be commenced at any time after the commission of the offense if:
a. physical evidence is collected and preserved that is capable of being tested to obtain a profile from deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), and
b. the identity of the offender is subsequently established through the use of a DNA profile using evidence listed in subparagraph a of this paragraph.
A prosecution under this exception must be commenced within three (3) years from the date on which the identity of the suspect is established by DNA testing.
3. No prosecution under this subsection shall be based upon the memory of the victim that has been recovered through psychotherapy unless there is some evidence independent of such repressed memory.
4. Any person who knowingly and willfully makes a false claim pursuant to this subsection or a claim that the person knows lacks factual foundation may be reported to local law enforcement for criminal investigation and, upon conviction, shall be guilty of a felony.
D. Prosecutions for criminal violations of any provision of the Oklahoma Wildlife Conservation Code1 shall be commenced within three (3) years after the commission of such offense.
E. Prosecutions for the crime of criminal fraud or workers’ compensation fraud pursuant to Section 1541.1, 1541.2, 1662 or 1663 of Title 21 of the Oklahoma Statutes shall commence within three (3) years after the discovery of the crime, but in no event greater than seven (7) years after the commission of the crime.
F. Prosecution for the crime of false or bogus check pursuant to Section 1541.1, 1541.2, 1541.3 or 1541.4 of Title 21 of the Oklahoma Statutes shall be commenced within five (5) years after the commission of such offense.
G. Prosecution for the crime of solicitation for murder in the first degree pursuant to Section 701.16 of Title 21 of the Oklahoma Statutes shall be commenced within seven (7) years after the discovery of the crime. For purposes of this subsection, “discovery” means the date upon which the crime is made known to anyone other than a person involved in the solicitation.
H. In all other cases a prosecution for a public offense must be commenced within three (3) years after its commission.
I. Prosecution for the crime of accessory after the fact must be commenced within the same statute of limitations as that of the felony for which the person acted as an accessory.
J. Prosecution for the crime of arson pursuant to Section 1401, 1402, 1403, 1404 or 1405 of Title 21 of the Oklahoma Statutes shall be commenced within seven (7) years after the commission of the crime.
K. Prosecutions for criminal violations in which a deadly weapon is used to commit a felony or prosecutions for criminal violations in which a deadly weapon is used in an attempt to commit a felony shall be commenced within seven (7) years after the commission of the crime.
L. Prosecutions for the crime of human trafficking pursuant to Section 748 of Title 21 of the Oklahoma Statutes shall be commenced within three (3) years after discovery of the crime. For purposes of this subsection, “discovery” means the date upon which the crime is reported to a law enforcement agency.
CASE LAW

The information provided is solely for informational purposes and is not legal advice. To determine the Oklahoma SOL in a particular case, contact a lawyer in the state.

Last Updated: November 15, 2023