Pennsylvania Sexual Abuse Settlement Calculator

Pennsylvania's current sexual abuse statute of limitations comes from a 2019 law, Act 87, which took effect November 26, 2019. Act 87 amended 42 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 5533(b)(2) to give childhood survivors — those under 18 at the time the cause of action accrued — a period of 37 years after turning 18 to sue, meaning survivors generally have until age 55 to file, regardless of whether a criminal complaint was ever filed. A narrower, separate rule covers survivors who were 18 to 24 years old at the time of qualifying forcible-compulsion sexual abuse: they have until age 30 to sue under 42 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 5533(b)(2)(i.1). Unlike states that have enacted temporary lookback windows, Pennsylvania has not passed a law that would allow survivors whose claims are already time-barred under the prior, shorter statute of limitations to bring a new civil action.

Whether you can still sue depends heavily on your age when the abuse occurred and, for adult survivors, on whether the conduct meets Pennsylvania's statutory definition of forcible-compulsion sexual abuse. Because this area of Pennsylvania law involves several overlapping provisions and remains the subject of active legislative debate, an attorney licensed in Pennsylvania is the most reliable source for how these rules apply to a specific set of facts. This page explains what current Pennsylvania law provides and what has not — at least not yet — changed.

Retroactivity note: The extended deadlines added by Act 87 do not revive claims that were already time-barred before the law took effect. Act 87 § 10(1) states that the amended statute of limitations "shall not be applied to revive an action which has been barred by an existing statute of limitations" as of the law's effective date, November 26, 2019. If your claim had already expired under the pre-2019 statute of limitations, the age-55 rule does not reopen it, and no separate Pennsylvania revival window currently exists to do so.

Childhood sexual abuse (under 18 at the time): A survivor who was under 18 years of age when the cause of action accrued has a period of 37 years after turning 18 to sue — in practice, until age 55 — "regardless of whether the individual files a criminal complaint regarding the sexual abuse." 42 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 5533(b)(2)(i). A narrower, separate rule applies to survivors who were 18 to 24 years old at the time of qualifying forcible-compulsion sexual abuse: they have until age 30 to sue under § 5533(b)(2)(i.1). This age-55 rule does not extend to survivors who were 25 or older at the time of the assault — those claims fall under the general adult rules described below.

Adult sexual assault (18+ at the time): Pennsylvania has no single statute of limitations for adult sexual-assault claims — the applicable period depends on the survivor's age at the time of the abuse. A survivor who was 18 to 24 years old at the time of qualifying forcible-compulsion sexual abuse has until age 30 to sue under 42 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 5533(b)(2)(i.1). A survivor who was 25 or older at the time of the assault, or whose claim does not meet the statutory forcible-compulsion definition, is generally subject to Pennsylvania's ordinary 2-year personal-injury limitations period under 42 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 5524(2) and (7).