An action for relief not hereinbefore provided for must be commenced within four years after the cause of action shall have accrued.
§ 343.Action For Relief Not Provided
Title 2. Of the Time of Commencing Civil Actions · Chapter 3. The Time of Commencing Actions Other Than for the Recovery of Real Property · Enacted 1872 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 343 sets a four-year residual deadline for any cause of action not otherwise assigned a specific period elsewhere in the code.
Full Text of § 343
Plain-English Summary
Section 343 is the catch-all at the end of the chapter. It gives four years to commence “an action for relief not hereinbefore provided for” — meaning any claim that isn’t assigned its own specific limitations period by one of the sections that precede it in this chapter, or elsewhere in the code.
Because so many specific categories of claim already have their own dedicated period — contract, tort, fraud, property, and the many statutory claims scattered through §§ 335 through 349.4 — § 343 tends to come up for less common or novel causes of action that don’t fit neatly into those categories.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the default statute of limitations in California if no other statute applies?
Four years under § 343, for any cause of action not given its own specific limitations period elsewhere in the code.
When would a court apply § 343 instead of another deadline?
Only after concluding that no other statute — in this chapter or elsewhere in the code — already assigns the claim its own specific limitations period.
Amendment History
Enacted 1872.
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 catch-all statute of limitationsfour year residual statute of limitations California