You likely have more time than you were told.
If you were told years ago that it was too late to file, that may have been true then. But for many, it isn’t anymore. New York has reopened old claims several times since 2019. This page lays out every deadline plainly so you can see where you stand before you decide whether to reach out.
The most urgent deadline in New York right now is the city’s Gender-Motivated Violence Act lookback window. It closes July 29, 2027. How the GMVA window works →
Four deadlines that can apply to you.
Each has exceptions. If a date here matters to you, talk to our lawyers instead of doing the math alone. We are here to help.
See how much time each law gives you.
Most deadlines start on the day it happened. Move the two sliders and the chart shows which are still open today. Nothing you choose is sent anywhere.
Likely passed does not mean no, and the GMVA window above may still apply. For abuse before 2019, the longer deadlines reach only claims that were still open when the law changed. Bars are drawn on a compressed axis so ninety days and fifty years fit together. A lawyer confirms all of this in one free conversation.
Each window changed who could still file, and against whom.
A revival window is a set period when claims that had already expired can be filed anyway.
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2019 to 2021 Closed
The Child Victims Act window
For two years, anyone abused before 18 could file no matter how long ago it happened. The law also let survivors sue until age 55 from then on, and the window was extended by a year during the pandemic.
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2022 to 2023 Closed
The Adult Survivors Act window
For one year, survivors who were 18 or older could file regardless of when the abuse happened, against the people who harmed them and the institutions that enabled it.
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2023 to 2025 Closed
The first New York City GMVA window
A two-year window for gender-motivated violence in the five boroughs. In 2025 a court ruled it did not clearly reach institutions, and more than 450 claims against the city were dismissed.
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2026 to 2027 Open now · 283 days left
The current GMVA window
The City Council reopened the window in January 2026, named institutions that enabled the violence as defendants, and let survivors refile claims that had been dismissed. It closes July 29, 2027.
Time does not heal all wounds. Justice and accountability matter.Iliana Konidaris · On the Ethical Culture Fieldston School case, 2025
One case can have two deadlines at once.
A student assaulted at a Bronx school at sixteen has a Child Victims Act claim that runs until age 55. Because it happened in New York City, they may also have a claim under the Gender-Motivated Violence Act, with its own, separate deadline. An employee harassed at a Manhattan bank may have a state Human Rights Law claim with one deadline and a GMVA claim with another. Which one leads depends on what each can reach.
That’s why we look at deadlines and defendants together. In an institutional case, the claim that matters is often against the school or the employer, which usually still exists and still has insurance, even where the individual has died or disappeared. Deadline questions are really questions about who can be held accountable.
What we can tell you before you tell us anything.
You do not need to describe what happened to get an answer about time. These four questions are enough.
- Where did it happen? Inside the five boroughs or elsewhere in New York State. The GMVA is a city law. Everything else on this page is statewide.
- How old were you? Under 18 points to the Child Victims Act and age 55. An adult points to the twenty-year rule for certain offenses, the GMVA, or both.
- Roughly when? A decade is precise enough to start. We do not need a date to tell you which law applies.
- Was an institution involved? A school, a hospital, an employer, an agency, a platform. This changes the deadline and it changes the case.
What a deadline does not tell you.
Your story is evidence.
People assume a decades-old claim needs documents that no longer exist. Your own account counts. So do the people you told about it, your medical and school records, and other survivors who come forward. We have built cases from far less than most people might expect.
Twenty years later is not too late.
Our Fieldston client filed in Bronx Supreme Court in 2025 over abuse that began in 2004, when she was 17. The case is ongoing, and it is the kind of claim these laws were written to serve.
Olympias Iliana Konidaris
Iliana has spent more than a decade in New York City representing survivors of gender-based violence. She represented survivors of child sex trafficking in the litigation against Backpage.com, and she is lead counsel for the plaintiff in the Ethical Culture Fieldston School litigation.
More for New York survivors.
Frequently asked questions
Is it too late for me to file?
Often not, and one conversation will give you a clear answer. If you were under 18 at the time, the Child Victims Act gives you until age 55 anywhere in New York, for claims that were still open when it took effect in 2019. If it happened in New York City and it was violence motivated by gender, including sexual assault, the GMVA lookback window is open until July 29, 2027, however long ago it happened, and it reaches claims that were already dismissed. Other rules apply to adults and to trafficking. Please do not decide you are out of time without asking us first.
What is the difference between a statute of limitations and a lookback window?
A statute of limitations is the deadline for filing a claim. A lookback window is a temporary period when the legislature lets claims that are past that deadline be filed anyway. New York City’s GMVA window is open now. The Child Victims Act and Adult Survivors Act windows have closed, but the Child Victims Act also gave survivors of childhood abuse until age 55 going forward.
Does the GMVA apply if it happened outside New York City?
Usually not. The Gender-Motivated Violence Act is a New York City law that generally applies to acts within the five boroughs, though a claim with a close enough connection to the city may still qualify. Elsewhere in the state, the Child Victims Act and the ordinary filing deadlines apply. If you are not sure which side of that line you are on, tell us where it happened and we will tell you.
A lawyer told me years ago that I missed the deadline. Should I ask again?
Yes. The Child Victims Act, the Adult Survivors Act, and the city's two GMVA windows each reopened claims that a lawyer would have correctly called too late a few years earlier. Asking now costs you nothing.
What is a notice of claim, and does it apply to me?
A notice of claim is written notice you must serve on a public body, such as a city, a public school district, or a state agency, usually within 90 days, before you are allowed to sue it. Missing it can end a case regardless of the statute of limitations. The Child Victims Act removed this requirement for abuse that happened before 18. For other claims against public institutions, it can be the first deadline you face, so ask about it right away.
I was harassed or assaulted at work. Which deadline applies?
Often more than one. A claim under New York’s Human Rights Law generally has three years in court, and a complaint to the State Division of Human Rights now has three years as well. A federal charge with the EEOC usually has to be filed within 300 days. Filing with an agency first can close the door to a lawsuit on the same claim, so ask before you file anywhere. Claims against a public school district generally must be filed within one year.
My child was abused. Can I file a case on their behalf?
Yes. While your child is under 18, a parent with custody can file the case on their behalf, and a judge must approve any settlement. The claim belongs to your child, and the Child Victims Act can give them until age 55 to bring it, so we can talk through whether to file now or later.
Tell us where and roughly when it happened. We will tell you where you stand.
It usually takes one free, confidential conversation, and you do not have to describe what happened or decide anything.
Free and confidential. Contacting us does not create an attorney-client relationship.
- New York State Domestic and Sexual Violence Hotline, confidential, 24/71-800-942-6906
- RAINN National Sexual Assault Hotline, 24/7800-656-HOPE
- Safe Horizon, New York City, 24 hours800-621-HOPE
- National Human Trafficking Hotline1-888-373-7888
If you are in danger right now, call 911. The New York State Office of Victim Services may help cover counseling and medical costs.
Deadlines described here reflect New York and federal law as verified for this page and are subject to change by legislation and court decision, including pending litigation over how the GMVA amendment interacts with the state revival statutes.
This page is attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. It is general information about New York and federal law as of October 19, 2026, rather than legal advice about your situation, and the law changes. Please do not send confidential information until an attorney-client relationship is established in writing.