No person can avail himself of a disability, unless it existed when his right of action accrued.
§ 357.Disability
Title 2. Of the Time of Commencing Civil Actions · Chapter 4. General Provisions as to the Time of Commencing Actions · Enacted 1872 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 357 limits disability-based tolling to a disability that already existed when the plaintiff's right of action accrued, so a disability arising afterward cannot be used to toll the limitations period.
Full Text of § 357
Plain-English Summary
Section 357 is a limiting principle that governs how the disability tolling provisions in this chapter — minority, incapacity, imprisonment, and the like — operate. A person can rely on a disability to toll a limitations period only if that disability existed at the moment the right of action accrued.
A disability that arises after the claim has already accrued does not qualify. This keeps a plaintiff from stopping an already-running limitations clock by later becoming disabled, and it channels the benefit of tolling to those who were unable to act from the outset.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I toll a filing deadline based on a disability that started after my claim arose?
No. Section 357 limits disability-based tolling to a disability that existed when the right of action accrued; a later disability does not toll an already-running period.
How does § 357 relate to §§ 352 and 352.1?
Section 357 states the general rule that those specific disability provisions operate under: the disability must have existed at the time the cause of action accrued.
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: disability must exist at time of accrual californiawhen disability tolling applies