California Conversion Statute of Limitations: Three Years Under CCP § 338(c)
Reviewed and current as of August 31, 2026. California law can change; verify against the current statute before relying on any date.
An action for taking, detaining, or injuring goods or chattels, including an action for the specific recovery of personal property, must generally be brought within three years.
Source: California Code of Civil Procedure section 338(c) (as of August 31, 2026).
What the statute says
Conversion has no limitations statute of its own. It falls within section 338(c), which covers actions for taking, detaining, or injuring any goods or chattels, including actions for the specific recovery of personal property, and carries the same three-year period as the other subdivisions of section 338.
The same subdivision contains a separate and materially different rule for actions to recover stolen fine art, applying an extended six-year period measured on a discovery basis.
When the clock starts
A conversion claim generally accrues at the time of the wrongful taking or the wrongful exercise of dominion, not when the owner learns of it — conversion is a strict-liability tort and does not require the defendant to have known the taking was wrongful.
Where the property was taken by fraud, the discovery accrual in section 338(d) may govern a parallel fraud count even though the conversion count itself accrues on the taking, which can leave the two theories with different deadlines on identical facts.
Key exceptions and tolling
- Stolen fine art.Section 338(c) applies an extended six-year discovery-based period to actions to recover stolen fine art, displacing the ordinary three-year rule.
- Parallel fraud count.Where the taking was procured by fraud, a fraud claim under section 338(d) accrues on discovery, potentially outliving the conversion count arising from the same facts.
- Demand and refusal.Where possession was initially lawful, the conversion may not occur until demand for return is refused, moving accrual to the refusal rather than the original transfer.
- Minors and incapacity.Code of Civil Procedure section 352 generally excludes the period of a plaintiff's minority or lack of legal capacity at accrual.
- Public entity defendants.A claim for injury to personal property against a public entity requires presentation within six months under Government Code section 911.2.
Frequently asked
How long do you have to sue for conversion in California?
Generally three years under Code of Civil Procedure section 338(c), which covers taking, detaining, or injuring goods or chattels and actions for the specific recovery of personal property. This is general information, not legal advice.
Does the conversion clock run from the taking or from discovery in California?
Generally from the wrongful taking or exercise of dominion rather than from discovery. Where possession was initially lawful, accrual may instead run from refusal of a demand for return. A parallel fraud count under section 338(d) accrues on discovery and may outlive the conversion claim.
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Not legal advice. This page is general information for licensed attorneys and is not a substitute for independent legal research or professional judgment. It does not address the facts of any specific matter. Statutes, case law, and court rules change; tolling, the discovery rule, equitable estoppel, and claims involving minors, government entities, or out-of-state defendants can all change the applicable deadline. Confirm every date against the current text of California Code of Civil Procedure section 338 and controlling case law. Using this page does not create an attorney-client relationship.
Statutory citations current as of August 31, 2026.