California Deadline to Recover Real Property: Five Years Under CCP § 318
Reviewed and current as of August 31, 2026. California law can change; verify against the current statute before relying on any date.
No action for the recovery of real property, or for the recovery of the possession thereof, can be maintained unless it appears that the plaintiff, or their ancestor, predecessor, or grantor, was seized or possessed of the property within five years before commencement of the action.
Source: California Code of Civil Procedure section 318 (as of August 31, 2026).
What the statute says
Section 318 is framed as a condition on maintaining the action rather than as a conventional limitations period: the plaintiff must show seizin or possession within the five years preceding suit. It is the provision that gives California adverse possession its five-year character, since an adverse possessor who holds for the statutory period defeats the record owner's ability to satisfy section 318.
It governs actions to recover real property or its possession — ejectment and quiet title in its possessory form — rather than actions for damage to real property, which run on the three-year period in section 338(b).
When the clock starts
The measure is backward-looking from the date of filing: was the plaintiff or a predecessor seized or possessed at some point within the preceding five years? Possession by a predecessor in interest counts, so a chain of title can satisfy the requirement where the current owner never personally occupied the property.
Adverse possession additionally requires the possessor to satisfy separate statutory elements, including payment of taxes, so five years of occupation alone does not transfer title — but it can defeat the owner's action under section 318.
Key exceptions and tolling
- Damage claims run on three years.An action for trespass upon or injury to real property carries the three-year period in Code of Civil Procedure section 338(b), not the five-year rule in section 318.
- Predecessor possession counts.Seizin or possession by an ancestor, predecessor, or grantor within the five years satisfies the section, so the current owner need not have occupied personally.
- Adverse possession has further elements.Defeating the owner's section 318 action is not the same as acquiring title; adverse possession requires separate statutory elements including payment of taxes.
- Disability.Statutory disability provisions can affect the computation where the owner was a minor or lacked capacity.
- Public land.Property held by public entities is generally not subject to acquisition by adverse possession.
Frequently asked
How long do you have to bring an action to recover real property in California?
The action cannot be maintained unless the plaintiff, or an ancestor, predecessor, or grantor, was seized or possessed of the property within five years before the action was commenced, under Code of Civil Procedure section 318. This is general information, not legal advice.
Is that the same as the adverse possession period in California?
Section 318 supplies the five-year backbone, since an adverse possessor who holds for that period defeats the record owner's ability to satisfy it. Acquiring title by adverse possession requires additional statutory elements, including payment of taxes.
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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 318 and controlling case law. Using this page does not create an attorney-client relationship.
Statutory citations current as of August 31, 2026.