Within one year:
§ 340.Penalty Or Forfeiture; Libel, Slander, False Imprisonment, Seduction, Payment On Forged Check, Neglect of Animal; Officer Seizing Property; Good Faith Improver
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 2003 · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 340 sets a one-year deadline for statutory penalty and forfeiture actions, for libel, slander, false imprisonment, and seduction claims, for suits over a forged or improperly endorsed check, for veterinary and animal-boarding neglect claims, for actions against officers over statutory property seizures, and for good-faith-improver relief claims.
Full Text of § 340
(a) An action upon a statute for a penalty or forfeiture, if the action is given to an individual, or to an individual and the state, except if the statute imposing it prescribes a different limitation.
(b) An action upon a statute for a forfeiture or penalty to the people of this state.
(c) An action for libel, slander, false imprisonment, seduction of a person below the age of legal consent, or by a depositor against a bank for the payment of a forged or raised check, or a check that bears a forged or unauthorized endorsement, or against any person who boards or feeds an animal or fowl or who engages in the practice of veterinary medicine as defined in Section 4826 of the Business and Professions Code, for that person's neglect resulting in injury or death to an animal or fowl in the course of boarding or feeding the animal or fowl or in the course of the practice of veterinary medicine on that animal or fowl.
(d) An action against an officer to recover damages for the seizure of any property for a statutory forfeiture to the state, or for the detention of, or injury to property so seized, or for damages done to any person in making that seizure.
(e) An action by a good faith improver for relief under Chapter 10 (commencing with Section 871.1) of Title 10 of Part 2. The time begins to run from the date upon which the good faith improver discovers that the good faith improver is not the owner of the land upon which the improvements have been made.
Plain-English Summary
Section 340 gathers a shorter, one-year list of claims. It covers an action on a statute imposing a penalty or forfeiture payable to an individual (unless that statute sets its own different period), and one payable to the people of California generally.
Subdivision (c) covers libel, slander, false imprisonment, and seduction of a person below the age of legal consent, along with two more specific claims: a depositor suing a bank over a forged, raised, or improperly endorsed check, and a suit against someone who boards, feeds, or provides veterinary care to an animal or fowl for neglect that injures or kills it.
The remaining categories are narrower still: an action against an officer for damages tied to a statutory property seizure, and a good-faith improver’s claim for relief under Chapter 10 of Title 10, Part 2 (commencing with § 871.1) — that last one running from when the improver discovers they don’t own the land they improved, rather than from the date of the improvement.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the statute of limitations for defamation (libel or slander) in California?
One year under § 340(c) — far shorter than the two years that applies to most personal injury claims under § 335.1.
What is the statute of limitations for false imprisonment in California?
One year under § 340(c), the same period that covers libel, slander, and seduction claims listed in the same subdivision.
What is the deadline for a good-faith improver’s claim under § 340?
One year, but the clock starts when the improver discovers they don’t own the land they improved, not from the date the improvements were made.
Amendment History
Amended by Stats 2002 ch 448 (SB 688),s 3, eff. 1/1/2003.
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: California statute of limitations defamationCalifornia statute of limitations libel slanderone year statute of limitations California