Limitation period for rape: raped years ago, can I still report it?

Years have gone by, and what happened to you keeps coming back. Perhaps a meeting, a birth, a trial in the news. You wonder whether it is too late. Often it is not: the limitation period for rape in France runs in decades. A lawyer can work it out with you in confidence on Avocat20min.fr.

Speaking up late is nothing unusual. Many victims need years before they can put words to what happened. The law takes that into account.

If you are struggling right now

A memory can hurt as much as the event itself. You can talk about it straight away, free of charge:

• 3919: listening line for women facing violence, anonymous, 24/7.
• 116 006: victim support, 7 days a week.
• Police and gendarmerie chat on service-public.gouv.fr, open day and night, to get guidance from a trained officer.
• 17 or 112 if you are in danger, 114 by text if you cannot speak.

A doctor or a psychologist can also support you, whether or not you file a complaint.

The limitation period for rape at a glance

The limitation period is the time after which the courts can no longer prosecute the offender. Articles 7 and 8 of the Code of Criminal Procedure set the current periods:

Situation	Limitation period	Starting point
Rape of an adult	20 years	The day of the events
Rape of a minor	30 years	The victim's 18th birthday
Sexual assault of an adult	6 years	The day of the events
Sexual assault of a minor	10 years	The victim's 18th birthday
Sexual assault of a child under 15	20 years	The victim's 18th birthday
Civil claim for damages	10 years, 20 if the victim was a minor	Stabilisation of the injury

A victim who was a minor at the time can therefore file a complaint until the age of 48. An adult raped in 2010 can act until 2030, unless a step in the proceedings interrupts the period.

Why the date of the events matters

The rules on the limitation period for rape have changed several times. The law of 27 February 2017 raised the limitation period for crimes from 10 to 20 years. The law of 3 August 2018 raised it to 30 years after the age of majority for sexual crimes against minors.

One rule decides which law applies: a new limitation law only covers offences "where limitation has not already been reached" (article 112-2, 4° of the Criminal Code). In other words, a longer period benefits offences that could still be prosecuted on the day it came into force, not those already time-barred.

Two simple examples:

• Adult victim, rape in 2009. In 2017, the old 10-year period was still running. The new 20-year period applies: a complaint remains possible until 2029.
• Adult victim, rape in 2005. The old 10-year period ended in 2015, before the 2017 law. Without an interrupting step, the offence stays time-barred.

The calculation depends on your date of birth, the exact date of the events and any proceedings already opened. A lawyer redoes it with you, document by document.

What can extend or suspend the period

Several mechanisms stretch the limitation period for rape in victims' favour:

• Interruption. An investigative step, an act by the prosecutor or the investigating judge, a complaint as civil party: each one restarts a full period (article 9-2 of the Code of Criminal Procedure).
• The "sliding" limitation period. Since the law of 21 April 2021, if the same person rapes or assaults another minor before the period ends, the limitation period of the first rape is extended to that of the new offence (article 7).
• Interruption through another case. For the rape of a minor, proceedings against the same person for offences against another minor also interrupt the period (article 9-2).
• Suspension. An insurmountable obstacle comparable to force majeure suspends the period (article 9-3). It is applied rarely and case by case.

Your account can therefore matter for other victims, and theirs for you.

Reporting a rape years later

You can file a complaint at any police station or gendarmerie, or write to the public prosecutor. Officers must take the complaint (article 15-3 of the Code of Criminal Procedure). The receipt you get even states the limitation periods.

Gather what helps to date and establish the events:

1. A timeline: place, period, how old you were, who was there.
2. Written traces: diary, letters, messages, posts.
3. Disclosures: the people you told, and when.
4. Medical records: appointments, sick leave, psychological care.
5. Signs about the offender: other possible victims, admissions, even partial ones.

You can come with an adult of your choice and a lawyer (article 10-2). You do not need perfect evidence: the investigation looks for witnesses and cross-checks.

Old evidence is scarcer, and some complaints are dropped for lack of proof. You can then appeal to the principal public prosecutor, or go directly to an investigating judge with a complaint as civil party (article 85).

What if the limitation period has passed?

A complaint is still possible: officers record it, and the prosecutor notes that the limitation period for rape has run out. It will not lead to a trial for those events. But it leaves a record, useful if other victims of the same person come forward, especially for offences against minors, thanks to the sliding limitation period.

You can also look at other routes, carefully: therapy, a victim support association, sometimes steps within the institution concerned. Be careful about speaking out publicly: naming someone on social media can lead to a defamation complaint. Talk to a lawyer first.

Compensation and a lawyer's help

Before the criminal court, you can join as a civil party and claim damages. Separately, a civil claim for damages is time-barred 10 years after the injury has stabilised, and 20 years for sexual violence suffered as a minor (article 2226 of the Civil Code).

The victims' compensation board (CIVI) can cover the full loss caused by a rape (article 706-3 of the Code of Criminal Procedure). You normally apply within three years of the events; for a minor victim, the period only starts at 18. It is extended while criminal proceedings run, and the board can lift the time bar for a legitimate reason (article 706-5).

On cost, a victim of a crime such as rape gets legal aid without a means test, according to service-public. A criminal lawyer checks the limitation period for rape, prepares the complaint and represents you as civil party. They cannot promise an outcome, but they spare you a tricky calculation on your own.

What might change

Bills tabled in the National Assembly in 2026 aim to make sexual crimes against minors imprescriptible. As of 24 October 2026, none has been passed: the limitation period for rape in the table above still applies. In any case, a new law would only cover offences not yet time-barred when it comes into force.

Other situations

Other guides can help:

• Gang rape: what to do now? covers the first steps and the complaint.
• My partner forces me: marital rape deals with violence within a couple.

If the suspect is questioned, they may be held in police custody, with rights our article explains.

The official page on limitation periods in criminal justice (in French) completes this article.