Missed the Six-Month Deadline? How to File a Late Claim Against the City of Los Angeles (Updated November 2026)

By Michael Shemtoub, trial attorney, Beverly Law. Updated November 2026.

The application for leave to present a late claim

A late-claim application is for claims with the six-month deadline: death, personal injury and damage to personal property (Gov. Code § 911.2). The application must be presented to the City “within a reasonable time not to exceed one year after the accrual of the cause of action and shall state the reason for the delay in presenting the claim. The proposed claim shall be attached to the application” (Gov. Code § 911.4(b)).

One year is the outer limit. “Reasonable time” can be shorter, so every week of delay after you learn of the deadline should be explained. In counting the year, time spent as a minor is generally counted. Time when the injured person was mentally incapacitated and had no guardian or conservator is not counted, and neither is time when a child was a dependent of the juvenile court without a guardian ad litem or conservator for filing civil actions (§ 911.4(c)). The application is presented the same way as a claim, to the City Clerk. See how to file and the claim form.

When the City must grant the application

The City must grant the application if any one of these six grounds applies (Gov. Code § 911.6(b)):

1. The late filing was through mistake, inadvertence, surprise or excusable neglect, and the City was not prejudiced.
2. The injured person was a minor during all of the six-month claim period.
3. The injured person was a minor during any of that period, and the application is presented within six months after turning 18 or one year after the claim accrued, whichever comes first.
4. The person was physically or mentally incapacitated during all of the claim period and did not present a claim because of it.
5. The person was incapacitated during any of the period, and the application is presented within six months after the incapacity ended or one year after accrual, whichever comes first.
6. The person died before the claim period ran out.

Ground 1 is the one most adults rely on. “I didn’t know there was a six-month rule” is a weak reason by itself. Specific facts, like time in the hospital or a lawyer’s error, are stronger.

The City’s 45 days and the denial notice

The City must grant or deny the application within 45 days after it is presented. If it does nothing, the application is deemed denied on the 45th day (Gov. Code § 911.6(a), (c)). A written denial must carry this warning (Gov. Code § 911.8):

“If you wish to file a court action on this matter, you must first petition the appropriate court for an order relieving you from the provisions of Government Code Section 945.4 (claims presentation requirement). See Government Code Section 946.6. Such petition must be filed with the court within six (6) months from the date your application for leave to present a late claim was denied.”

The court petition after a denial

The petition to the Superior Court must be filed within six months after the application is denied or deemed denied (Gov. Code § 946.6(b)). The court must grant relief if the application to the City was made within a reasonable time, no more than one year, and one of the same six grounds applies (§ 946.6(c)). On the excusable-neglect ground, the burden shifts in court: relief is granted unless the City shows it would be prejudiced.

If the court grants the petition, the lawsuit itself must be filed within 30 days (§ 946.6(f)). That is a short window. Have the complaint ready when you file the petition.

Minors: strong protection, strict deadlines

Children get extra protection, and the rules are still unforgiving on timing. In J.M. v. Huntington Beach Union High School Dist. (2017), a minor applied for leave to file late within the one-year window. The school district never acted, so the application was deemed denied after 45 days. The minor’s lawyer then missed the six-month deadline to petition the court, and the California Supreme Court held nothing could save the claim. The court said that “A minor is ordinarily entitled to relief upon a timely application under section 911.6(b)(2),” but that this does not override the deemed-denial rule or the six-month petition deadline.

Being a minor does not by itself stop the one-year clock for the application, though time as a juvenile court dependent without a guardian ad litem or conservator is not counted (§ 911.4(c)). See claims for minors for the rest of the rules.

If the City doesn’t return a late claim within 45 days

Sometimes a person files a late six-month claim without an application. The City may return it within 45 days with a written notice that it was not filed on time, and that notice must say: “Your only recourse at this time is to apply without delay to (name of public entity) for leave to present a late claim.” If the City fails to send that notice within 45 days, it waives the defense that the claim was late (Gov. Code § 911.3). The waiver does not apply if the claim gave no address for the claimant or for notices. Keep proof of the date you filed.

The claim deadline is separate from the statute of limitations

People often assume that if the two-year statute of limitations for injury cases has not run, they are fine. Against the City, the six-month claim deadline is its own requirement. The California Supreme Court said in Shirk v. Vista Unified School Dist. (2007) that “the government claim presentation deadline is not a statute of limitations.” In that case, a 2002 law had revived old childhood sexual abuse lawsuits for the year 2003 where only the statute of limitations had run. The court held that the revival did not bring back a claim against a public school district when no timely government claim had been presented.

The Legislature later exempted childhood sexual assault claims under Code of Civil Procedure section 340.1 from the claim requirement (Gov. Code § 905(m)), so that part of Shirk no longer controls those claims. Its point that the claim deadline runs on its own, from accrual (Gov. Code § 901), still applies to every other claim. The law on childhood sexual assault claims against public entities changes again on January 1, 2027. If that is your situation, call us at (310) 552-6959 and see sexual abuse statute of limitations.

Missing the claim deadline against the City also generally bars a suit against the City employee who caused the injury (Gov. Code § 950.2).

Late-claim timeline

For the regular deadline and how to count it, see the City of LA claim deadline.

Related pages

• Claim against the City of Los Angeles: full guide
• City of LA claim deadline
• Claims for minors
• Claim denied: what to do
• How to file a claim
• Wrongful death claims against the City
• Do you have six months to claim against a city vehicle?
• Personal injury statute of limitations: CA, TX and WA

Common questions

Important: This page is general information, not legal or medical advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Every case is different; talk to a lawyer about yours. Texas cases are handled by the firm’s Texas-licensed attorneys, Joyce Ondich and John Efstathiou. Last reviewed: November 6, 2026.