Within six years:
§ 336a.Bonds, Notes Or Debentures; Mortgage, Trust Deed Or Other Agreement On Bonds, Notes Or Debentures
Title 2. Of the Time of Commencing Civil Actions · Chapter 3. The Time of Commencing Actions Other Than for the Recovery of Real Property · Last amended 2023 · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 336a sets a six-year deadline for actions on publicly held corporate bonds, notes, or debentures and on the mortgages or trust deeds securing them, carving these instruments out of the ordinary four-year written-contract period in § 337.
Full Text of § 336a
(a) An action upon any bonds, notes, or debentures issued by any corporation or pursuant to permit of the Commissioner of Financial Protection and Innovation, or upon any coupons issued with the bonds, notes, or debentures, if those bonds, notes, or debentures shall have been issued to or held by the public.
(b) An action upon any mortgage, trust deed, or other agreement pursuant to which the bonds, notes, or debentures were issued. This section does not apply to bonds or other evidences of indebtedness of a public district or corporation.
Plain-English Summary
Most written contract claims run four years under § 337, but Section 336a pulls out a narrow category and gives it two extra years. If a corporation, or an entity acting under a permit from the Commissioner of Financial Protection and Innovation, issues bonds, notes, or debentures to or held by the public, an action on those instruments — or on the coupons attached to them — has six years to be filed.
The same six-year period covers an action on the mortgage, trust deed, or other agreement that secured those bonds, notes, or debentures. The section carves out one exception: it doesn’t reach bonds or other debt instruments issued by a public district or corporation, which are governed elsewhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the statute of limitations on corporate bonds in California?
Six years under § 336a, for bonds, notes, or debentures issued to or held by the public, and for the mortgage or trust deed securing them.
Why does § 336a give six years instead of the four years in § 337?
Section 337 expressly excepts instruments covered by § 336a, so publicly held corporate bonds and their securing agreements get their own, longer period instead of the ordinary written-contract deadline.
Amendment History
Amended by Stats 2022 ch 452 (SB 1498),s 37, eff. 1/1/2023. Amended by Stats 2020 ch 370 (SB 1371),s 33, eff. 1/1/2021. Amended by Stats 2019 ch 143 (SB 251),s 18, eff. 1/1/2020.
Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from
the Deering's California Codes Annotated / vLex. Enacted by the California Legislature.
Last verified July 28, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: statute of limitations corporate bonds Californiadebenture statute of limitations