Cal. PEN § 799
This is the official text of Cal. PEN § 799, part of California’s Penal Code — defines crimes and sets criminal procedure in California.
Not legal advice. This page reproduces the official text of a government statute for reference only. Laws change, and how a statute applies depends on your specific facts. For advice about your situation, consult a licensed attorney in your state.
Official statutory text
(a) Prosecution for an offense punishable by death or by imprisonment in the state prison for life or for life without the possibility of parole, or for the embezzlement of public money, may be commenced at any time.
(b) (1) Prosecution for a felony offense described in paragraph (1), (2), (3), (4), (6), or (7) of subdivision (a) of Section 261, paragraph (1), (2), (3), (4), or (5) of subdivision (a) of former Section 262, Section 264.1, paragraph (2) or (3) of subdivision (c) of, or subdivision (d), (f), (g), (i), or (k) of, Section 286, paragraph (2) or (3) of subdivision (c) of, or subdivision (d), (f), (g), (i), or (k) of, Section 287 or former Section 288a, subdivision (a) of Section 288 involving substantial sexual conduct as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 1203.066, subdivision (b) of Section 288, Section 288.5, or subdivision (a), (b), (d), (e), or (g) of Section 289 may be commenced at any time.
(2) This subdivision applies to crimes that were committed on or after January 1, 2017, and to crimes for which the statute of limitations that was in effect prior to January 1, 2017, has not run as of January 1, 2017.
(c) This section applies when the defendant was a minor at the time of the commission of the offense and the prosecuting attorney could have petitioned the court for a fitness hearing pursuant to Section 707 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.
(b) (1) Prosecution for a felony offense described in paragraph (1), (2), (3), (4), (6), or (7) of subdivision (a) of Section 261, paragraph (1), (2), (3), (4), or (5) of subdivision (a) of former Section 262, Section 264.1, paragraph (2) or (3) of subdivision (c) of, or subdivision (d), (f), (g), (i), or (k) of, Section 286, paragraph (2) or (3) of subdivision (c) of, or subdivision (d), (f), (g), (i), or (k) of, Section 287 or former Section 288a, subdivision (a) of Section 288 involving substantial sexual conduct as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 1203.066, subdivision (b) of Section 288, Section 288.5, or subdivision (a), (b), (d), (e), or (g) of Section 289 may be commenced at any time.
(2) This subdivision applies to crimes that were committed on or after January 1, 2017, and to crimes for which the statute of limitations that was in effect prior to January 1, 2017, has not run as of January 1, 2017.
(c) This section applies when the defendant was a minor at the time of the commission of the offense and the prosecuting attorney could have petitioned the court for a fitness hearing pursuant to Section 707 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.
Status: in_force · Read it on the official government site
Dealing with a criminal defense matter in California?
See all California Criminal Defense lawyers
About this page: Statute text is reproduced from official government publishers via the
Open US Law dataset
(Vaquill AI, snapshot v2026.08, CC BY 4.0). Primary legislative text like this is public domain under the government-edicts doctrine
(Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). We link every section back to its official source so you can verify it independently.