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

5 min read

Published March 22, 2026 • By DocketMath Team

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Laws change frequently — verify all citations with current official sources.

Overview

In New York, the statute of limitations (SOL) sets a deadline for the state to file an indictment or otherwise begin a criminal prosecution for an offense. For a Class D felony / 4th degree felony, the baseline limitation period is typically 5 years.

This guide is written to help you understand how the clock generally works in New York for Class D (4th degree) felonies, what the most common exceptions can do to the timeline, and how to calculate a deadline using DocketMath’s SOL calculator. It’s not legal advice—use it as a practical reference when you’re evaluating timing questions.

Note: “Statute of limitations” rules are procedural and can turn on case-specific dates (like the alleged offense date and when charging occurred). Use the checklist below to document the timeline before you rely on any calculated deadline.

Limitation period

Baseline SOL for Class D / 4th degree felony in New York

For New York prosecutions, N.Y. Crim. Proc. Law § 30.10(2)(c) provides a 5-year SOL for certain felonies, including Class D offenses.

Practical takeaway: if the alleged conduct occurred on Day 0, then—absent an exception—the prosecution generally must be commenced within 5 years of that date.

What to track before running a calculation

To produce a meaningful output, the DocketMath calculator needs (at minimum) the key dates that drive the timeline. While courts can treat some timing nuances differently, this checklist captures the inputs most people use for a starting-point calculation:

How the output changes with exceptions

A baseline 5-year period can become longer when statutory exceptions apply. In the New York framework provided here, N.Y. CPLR § 214-g reflects an extended period—commonly cited as 20 years—through its own exception structure.

So your timeline may change in two ways:

Baseline case (no exception): SOL runs 5 years
Extended timeline due to an exception: SOL may run up to 20 years depending on the applicability of the exception under the relevant statute

Key exceptions

New York’s SOL scheme is statutory and exception-driven. The most practical approach is to treat “exception” as a fork in the road: either the case stays within 5 years, or it moves to an extended deadline under a different statutory rule.

Exception buckets called out in New York’s SOL structure

Based on the provided jurisdiction data for this topic:

N.Y. Crim. Proc. Law § 30.10(2)(c) — “exception V2”
- Baseline: 5 years
- Exception label: V2
- Why it matters: this identifies the 5-year rule as the controlling SOL in the Class D setting, including the specific exception profile associated with that subsection.
N.Y. CPLR § 214-g — “exception O2”
- Extended: 20 years
- Exception label: O2
- Why it matters: under the stated exception framework, the deadline may extend well beyond the standard 5-year felony SOL.

A timing-focused “what to ask” checklist

When reviewing documents or timelines, check whether any of the exception-triggering facts appear in the record. You’ll often see these issues tied to how the charge is framed or when legally significant events occurred.

Warning: An exception can dramatically change your deadline—from 5 years to 20 years in the provided framework. Don’t assume a “typical felony SOL” applies if the filing or the pleadings cite a different statutory timing rule.

Statute citation

The controlling New York provisions for this topic (as provided) are:

N.Y. Crim. Proc. Law § 30.10(2)(c)
- 5 years
- Link: https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/CPL/30.10
N.Y. CPLR § 214-g
- 20 years
- (Referenced in the provided exception data as “exception O2”)

For clarity, here’s the mapping in one place:

Provision	Label in provided data	SOL period	Where it shows up
N.Y. Crim. Proc. Law § 30.10(2)(c)	V2	5 years	Baseline SOL for the Class D / 4th degree felony framework
N.Y. CPLR § 214-g	O2	20 years	Extended SOL when the exception applies under that CPLR rule

Use the calculator

Use DocketMath to compute a practical SOL deadline based on the key dates in the file.

Primary CTA

Start here: DocketMath SOL calculator

Inputs you should provide

In the DocketMath SOL calculator, enter the dates that anchor the timeline:

Offense date (start of the SOL “clock” in your calculation)
Choose the felony category/sol basis relevant to Class D / 4th degree felony
Select exception rules if your case documents indicate N.Y. CPLR § 214-g applicability
Compare against the “prosecution start date” (the date charging commenced in your documents)

How outputs typically change as you flip options

You’ll likely see outputs update in two key steps:

If you rely only on N.Y. Crim. Proc. Law § 30.10(2)(c):
- calculated SOL window will be 5 years
If you activate/assume N.Y. CPLR § 214-g under the provided exception profile:
- calculated window may extend to 20 years

Note: DocketMath is designed for timeline calculation and scenario comparison. If you’re mapping legal arguments, confirm that the date assumptions match what the pleadings and statutes use as the SOL trigger.

Quick scenario example (date math)

If an alleged offense date is March 22, 2021:

5-year SOL (baseline): deadline lands around March 22, 2026
20-year SOL (extended exception scenario): deadline lands around March 22, 2041

Exact deadline computation can depend on how the system treats the last day and any procedural timing conventions, so treat the result as a calculated deadline rather than a guarantee.