Statute of limitations for sexual assault in Washington

Rule or statute summary

In Washington, the statute of limitations (SOL) for sexual assault claims is generally tied to the state’s 5-year limitation period for most felony prosecutions under RCW 9A.04.080. For this entry, there is no separate, claim-type-specific SOL sub-rule identified, so the 5-year period is treated as the default rule.

In practical terms, RCW 9A.04.080 provides a baseline timeline: if the required criminal process is started after the SOL expires, the prosecution may be time-barred—depending on the charge, how the relevant dates are determined, and whether any exceptions or tolling rules apply.

Citations

Use these sources to confirm the authoritative text before finalizing the calculation.

• RCW 4.16.080

When rules change, rerun the calculation with updated inputs and store the revision in the matter record.

If an assumption is uncertain, document it alongside the calculation so the result can be re-run later.

Washington general felony SOL (default rule)

• RCW 9A.04.080 — sets the general statute of limitations of 5 years for felony prosecutions.

Default SOL period used in this calculator entry: 5 years
General statute relied on: RCW 9A.04.080

Because the jurisdiction brief indicates that no claim-type-specific sub-rule was found, this snapshot does not list separate SOL timeframes by offense label. If you later need a more granular analysis for a specific charge classification, you would typically check whether another Washington SOL provision or a tolling statute applies based on the exact facts and procedural posture.

Key idea to track in your facts

To use any SOL calculator meaningfully, you need at least one anchor date:

• Alleged offense date (or the first date of continuing conduct, if applicable)
• Often, a separate filing/charging date is used to evaluate whether the SOL has elapsed

Your inputs determine the output—especially whether the case is started within the 5-year window.

Use the calculator

DocketMath’s statute-of-limitations calculator helps you model the timeline using Washington’s default SOL.

Primary CTA: Go to DocketMath Statute of Limitations Calculator

Run the Statute Of Limitations calculation in DocketMath, then save the output so it can be audited later: Open the calculator.

What you’ll enter (and what it changes)

Use these inputs to generate a time-window result:

• Jurisdiction: Washington (US-WA)
• Offense date (start date): the date the alleged conduct occurred (or the first date in a series, if the case treats it that way)
• Comparison date: typically the filing date or charging date you want to evaluate

How the calculator output behaves

With the Washington default rule:

• If Comparison date ≤ Offense date + 5 years, the matter typically falls within the general SOL window (as a baseline using RCW 9A.04.080).
• If Comparison date > Offense date + 5 years, the matter typically falls outside the general SOL window.

Worked example (timeline math)

Assume:

• Offense date: March 1, 2016
• Charging date: March 10, 2021

Under the general 5-year baseline:

• Offense date + 5 years = March 1, 2021
• Charging date (March 10, 2021) is after March 1, 2021

Result: likely outside the default 5-year period tied to RCW 9A.04.080.

Practical checklist before you rely on the result

Before treating the output as definitive, consider:

Related reading

• Choosing the right statute of limitations tool for Vermont — How to choose the right calculator
• Statute of limitations in Singapore: how to estimate the deadline — Full how-to guide with jurisdiction-specific rules
• Choosing the right statute of limitations tool for Connecticut — How to choose the right calculator