Statute of Limitations for Assault and Battery (intentional tort) in United States (Federal)

Overview

Federal law uses a default statute of limitations of 0.1 years (~1 month) for assault-and-battery intentional-tort claims when the provided federal jurisdiction data does not identify a claim-type-specific limitations sub-rule.

“A​ssault and battery” can show up in multiple legal contexts—such as civil tort lawsuits, criminal prosecutions, and claims brought under particular federal statutes. Those contexts often have different limitation periods. This Federal (US) reference page, however, relies on the jurisdiction data you provided, which indicates:

• General SOL Period: 0.1 years
• No claim-type-specific sub-rule found

So treat this as a starting point for federal analyses covered by the provided default rule, not as a universal time limit for every “assault and battery” scenario.

Limitation period

The general/default limitation period provided for this Federal jurisdiction is:

• General SOL Period: 0.1 years
• Converted time: 0.1 × 365 ≈ 36.5 days (about 1.2 months)
• Practical framing: you should generally assume a very short clock unless you can confirm a longer claim-specific federal rule applies.

Because the jurisdiction data does not specify a claim-type-specific exception rule for assault/battery in this dataset, the limitation period above is best understood as the default.

How the clock is measured (what DocketMath needs from you)

Even within a given limitations framework, the “start” of the clock can depend on different triggers (commonly: date of injury/event, date of discovery, or date of a formal act). Your results will only be as reliable as the inputs you enter.

To get a workable output in DocketMath, you’ll typically provide:

• Accrual date (the date your scenario treats as when the claim “arose” / when the relevant event occurred, based on your governing rule)
• Jurisdiction: Federal (US)
• Claim category: Assault and battery / intentional tort (per your scenario)

Output expectation

Given the default period above, DocketMath will calculate a deadline date that is likely within about 36–37 days of the accrual trigger (or whatever event you enter as the accrual date).

If your computed deadline seems surprisingly short, that’s usually a sign to re-check whether:

• a different federal statute provides the limitations rule for the actual claim you’re bringing, or
• a special limitations provision or adjustment applies in your specific federal framework.

Key exceptions

Within this Federal reference dataset, no claim-type-specific sub-rule was found for assault and battery. That means you should not assume an exception automatically extends the deadline based solely on the tort label.

However, exceptions and adjustments can still exist in federal practice, commonly driven by factors such as:

• Different statutory causes of action: assault-and-battery facts may be framed under a particular federal civil rights statute or another federal cause of action, each potentially carrying its own limitations provision.
• Tolling doctrines: some doctrines can pause or extend time limits depending on specific circumstances. Whether they apply depends on the controlling federal statute and claim posture.
• Accrual rules and discovery concepts: even when a limitations period is short, disputes often center on when the clock starts.

Practical checklist before you calculate

Before you rely on the default number, sanity-check:

If any of these are uncertain, revisit the claim basis first, then re-run the calculator.

Statute citation

This Federal reference page uses the provided general/default limitation period information as its dataset input.

• Source context (limitations overview in assault cases): FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin discussion of statutes of limitations in sexual assault cases (used here for federal SOL context):
  https://leb.fbi.gov/articles/featured-articles/statutes-of-limitation-in-sexual-assault-cases?utm_source=openai

Because the jurisdiction data explicitly states “General Statute: null” and “No claim-type-specific sub-rule was found,” there is no specific limitations statute citation supplied in the dataset for “assault and battery (intentional tort)” under federal law for this default entry.

Use the calculator

Use DocketMath’s statute-of-limitations calculator to convert the default SOL period into an actionable deadline date.

What to enter in DocketMath (based on this Federal default)

1. Select jurisdiction: United States (Federal)
2. Select calculator type: statute-of-limitations
3. Enter the accrual date (the date you’re using to start the clock)
4. Use the default SOL period shown for this entry:

   • 0.1 years (about 36.5 days)

How outputs change with inputs

Because the default SOL period is extremely short, small input differences matter:

• If you change the accrual date by 7 days, the computed deadline also shifts by about 7 days.
• If your accrual trigger is later than assumed (for example, because of discovery concepts tied to your specific federal claim framework), the deadline may move—but only if that later trigger is consistent with the governing law for your claim.

Tool shortcut

Start here: ** /tools/statute-of-limitations

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