Statute of Limitations for Class D / 4th Degree Felony in Minnesota

Overview

In Minnesota, a class D / 4th degree felony is subject to Minnesota’s general criminal statute of limitations (SOL) rules set out in Minnesota Statutes § 628.26. For this category, the general/default limitation period is 3 years.

DocketMath’s statute-of-limitations calculator is designed to help you translate the statutory timeline into a practical date range. You’ll enter the relevant “start” date (typically tied to when the offense occurred) and choose the event date you’re evaluating (such as a filing or charge date). The calculator then determines whether the SOL window would likely have run, based on the general rule described in § 628.26.

Because SOL rules can affect whether a case proceeds, people often ask two timing questions:

• When does the clock start?
• When does the prosecution have to begin (or charging occur) before the clock runs out?

Those are the core inputs DocketMath helps you work through.

Limitation period

General rule: 3 years (default SOL)

For a class D / 4th degree felony in Minnesota, the default limitation period is:

• 3 years under Minnesota Statutes § 628.26

That means the prosecution must be initiated within the statutory window measured from the relevant start date recognized by the SOL framework.

What “3 years” means in practice

When you use a calculator for SOL, you’re typically testing a scenario like:

• Offense date → start of timeline
• Charge/filing date → end of timeline you’re checking against

If the charge/filing date falls after the 3-year mark, the SOL issue becomes a potential defense topic. If it falls within the 3 years, the general SOL period would not have expired under the baseline rule.

Inputs that change the outcome

Even under the same 3-year baseline, outcomes change depending on your date inputs:

• Start date you select

  • If you use an earlier offense date, SOL expires sooner.
  • If you use a later offense date, SOL expires later.
• Target date you select

  • A charge/filing date just before the expiration is treated differently than one just after.
• Assumed baseline only vs. exception-aware calculation

  • If exceptions apply, the effective expiration can move (sometimes materially).

DocketMath’s calculator is most accurate when you use the offense “clock start” date you intend to test and the specific prosecution date you care about.

Quick reference table

Key exceptions

The general SOL period of 3 years under Minnesota Statutes § 628.26 is the baseline described above. At the same time, SOL timelines in criminal cases can be impacted by doctrines like:

• tolling (pausing the clock),
• interruption (resetting or changing the effect of time),
• jurisdictional events tied to prosecution steps.

Because this page is focused on the general/default period and you were provided no claim-type-specific sub-rule, this section stays practical rather than exhaustive: it highlights the types of events that commonly matter so you can decide whether a calculator-only baseline is sufficient for your use case.

Common SOL timing factors to consider (non-exhaustive)

When you’re checking whether the 3-year period has run, look for facts that may move the effective expiration date:

• Whether the prosecution took steps within the SOL window
  A filing or action taken within the 3 years may be relevant to timeliness.
• Whether there were periods that legally paused SOL
  Some circumstances can pause the running of limitations time.
• Whether the “clock start” date is disputed
  In some cases, the relevant starting point may be contested based on the offense timeline.

How to handle exceptions with DocketMath

If you suspect an exception could apply, treat DocketMath as a baseline screen:

• First, calculate using the general 3-year period to see whether expiration is near.
• Then, identify whether your situation includes an event that could pause or alter the SOL clock.
• Use that result to guide what you need to verify next (without treating the baseline output as a final legal determination).

Statute citation

• Minnesota Statutes § 628.26 — provides Minnesota’s general criminal statute of limitations framework, including the default 3-year SOL period described here for the general/default analysis.

This page uses § 628.26 as the controlling source for the general baseline 3-year period associated with the category discussed.

Use the calculator

To run a statute-of-limitations check with DocketMath, use the tool here: /tools/statute-of-limitations.

Step-by-step: what you enter

In a typical SOL calculation flow, you’ll provide inputs like:

• Clock start date: the offense date (or the date you are using as the clock start for the SOL analysis)
• Comparison date: the charge/filing date you want to test against the SOL window
• Jurisdiction: **Minnesota (US-MN)

How outputs change based on inputs

Use DocketMath to see the effect of changing dates:

• Change the clock start date

  • Later offense date → later expiration date → SOL more likely still open
  • Earlier offense date → earlier expiration date → SOL more likely expired
• Change the comparison date

  • Earlier charge date → more likely within SOL
  • Later charge date → more likely outside SOL

Interpreting the result (baseline-only)

Because this page’s baseline is the general/default 3-year SOL period, your DocketMath output should be read as:

• whether the comparison date falls within or beyond the 3-year window, absent special exception/tolling assumptions.

Sources and references

Start with the primary authority for Minnesota and confirm the effective date before relying on any output. If the rule has been amended, update the inputs and rerun the calculation.

• Minn. Stat. § 541.05

Related reading

• Choosing the right statute of limitations tool for Vermont — Tool comparison
• Statute of limitations in Singapore: how to estimate the deadline — How-to guide
• Choosing the right statute of limitations tool for Connecticut — Tool comparison