When must a California injury government claim be presented?

Legally established accrual of the covered cause of action

Section 901 uses accrual under the otherwise applicable limitation law, with a distinct complaint-service rule for equitable indemnity. The incident date is not automatically the legally correct accrual date.

Responsible actor. The claimant or a person presenting the claim on the claimant’s behalf. Use a cause of action actually subject to the six-month claim requirement. Establish legal accrual, the public entity, authorized recipient and presentation method. Agency holiday treatment is not automated.

1. Legally established accrual of the covered cause of action
2. Section 901 uses accrual under the otherwise applicable limitation law, with a distinct complaint-service rule for equitable indemnity. The incident date is not automatically the legally correct accrual date.
3. Resolve the required presentation method, recipient, applicable agency holidays and stated comparisons. No final date is computed.
4. Identify the actual public entity and its statutory recipient. Section 915 distinguishes local entities, the state, judicial branch entities and California State University. Properly addressed prepaid US mail is deemed presented and received at deposit under section 915.2(a). Electronic presentation to a local entity requires express ordinance or resolution authorization and the specified method. An email to an employee or a court complaint is not automatically claim presentation.

Government Code 6800, 6700, 6706 and 6707 govern the identified agency-time and holiday questions. The agency calendar is not interchangeable with CCP 135 judicial holidays. Section 6700 specifies local-adoption qualifications, while section 6707 separately protects state-agency filing on Saturday or a holiday. Agency presentation requires the actual recipient and method under section 915. The current preset does not identify the entity or implement its agency calendar. The presentation and board-action guides therefore compute no final agency date.

Claim presentation, ordinary claim rejection and late-application denial are different events. Section 915.2(a) deems proper mail presented and received at deposit. Its subsection (b) provides specified mail-response additions but excludes the section 945.6 notice and post-denial complaint filing. Section 915.4 separately permits identified electronic notice. The six-month notice preset accepts only the qualified personal-delivery or mail-deposit branch; it does not resolve electronic notice. The petition preset accepts the independently established actual or deemed application-denial date, not a later notice-receipt date.

Official sections were reviewed. The three court-filing presets require triggers on or after January 1, 2024 and final dates within the retained 2026 or 2027 judicial calendar. The unchanged section 945.6 text and the current section 946.6 edition are retained. Every other referenced requirement must still apply to the actual facts. Earlier editions, later amendments, emergency orders, additional closures, disputed accrual, excluded intervals and relief branches require separate review. These software coverage limits do not establish that an actual filing is late.

Fictitious claims with the same legally established accrual can require different presentation checks for a local entity and a state agency. A state-agency document falling on Admission Day encounters Government Code 6707, while Admission Day is excluded from judicial holidays by CCP 135. One judicial-calendar preset does not determine both final presentation dates.

Government Code 6800 excludes the first day and includes the last unless it is a holiday. Sections 6700 and 6706 address agency holidays and the next business day. Section 6707 separately protects documents filed with a state agency on Saturday or a holiday. The agency calendar can include days excluded from judicial holidays by CCP 135, and section 6700 specifies local-adoption qualifications. This preset has no entity or agency-calendar input. Its judicial rollover cannot determine the final agency presentation date.

Claim requirement and exclusions

Section 905 lists exclusions for local entities, including the specified childhood sexual-assault claim. Do not impose this six-month procedure on every dispute involving government.

Required contents

Section 910 requires claimant and notice addresses, occurrence facts, loss, known responsible employees and the applicable amount or limited-case information. Timely delivery does not establish adequate contents.

Late six-month claim

Section 911.4 permits a written late-claim application for this category, within a reasonable time and its separately computed one-year limit. An application is not an automatically accepted claim.

Agency calendar

Government Code 6800 excludes the first day and includes the last unless it is a holiday. Sections 6700 and 6706 address agency holidays and the next business day. Section 6707 separately protects documents filed with a state agency on Saturday or a holiday. The agency calendar can include days excluded from judicial holidays by CCP 135, and section 6700 specifies local-adoption qualifications. This preset has no entity or agency-calendar input. Its judicial rollover cannot determine the final agency presentation date.

Presentation and notice methods

Claim presentation, ordinary claim rejection and late-application denial are different events. Section 915.2(a) deems proper mail presented and received at deposit. Its subsection (b) provides specified mail-response additions but excludes the section 945.6 notice and post-denial complaint filing. Section 915.4 separately permits identified electronic notice. The six-month notice preset accepts only the qualified personal-delivery or mail-deposit branch; it does not resolve electronic notice. The petition preset accepts the independently established actual or deemed application-denial date, not a later notice-receipt date.

Edition and judicial-calendar coverage

Official sections were reviewed. The three court-filing presets require triggers on or after January 1, 2024 and final dates within the retained 2026 or 2027 judicial calendar. The unchanged section 945.6 text and the current section 946.6 edition are retained. Every other referenced requirement must still apply to the actual facts. Earlier editions, later amendments, emergency orders, additional closures, disputed accrual, excluded intervals and relief branches require separate review. These software coverage limits do not establish that an actual filing is late.

• Use a cause of action actually subject to the six-month claim requirement. Establish legal accrual, the public entity, authorized recipient and presentation method. Agency holiday treatment is not automated.
• Government Code 6800 excludes the first day and includes the last unless it is a holiday. Sections 6700 and 6706 address agency holidays and the next business day. Section 6707 separately protects documents filed with a state agency on Saturday or a holiday. The agency calendar can include days excluded from judicial holidays by CCP 135, and section 6700 specifies local-adoption qualifications. This preset has no entity or agency-calendar input. Its judicial rollover cannot determine the final agency presentation date.

• Legally established accrual of the covered cause of action
• Section 901 uses accrual under the otherwise applicable limitation law, with a distinct complaint-service rule for equitable indemnity. The incident date is not automatically the legally correct accrual date.
• Section 905 lists exclusions for local entities, including the specified childhood sexual-assault claim. Do not impose this six-month procedure on every dispute involving government.
• Section 910 requires claimant and notice addresses, occurrence facts, loss, known responsible employees and the applicable amount or limited-case information. Timely delivery does not establish adequate contents.
• Section 911.4 permits a written late-claim application for this category, within a reasonable time and its separately computed one-year limit. An application is not an automatically accepted claim.
• Government Code 6800 excludes the first day and includes the last unless it is a holiday. Sections 6700 and 6706 address agency holidays and the next business day. Section 6707 separately protects documents filed with a state agency on Saturday or a holiday. The agency calendar can include days excluded from judicial holidays by CCP 135, and section 6700 specifies local-adoption qualifications. This preset has no entity or agency-calendar input. Its judicial rollover cannot determine the final agency presentation date.
• Identify the actual public entity and its statutory recipient. Section 915 distinguishes local entities, the state, judicial branch entities and California State University. Properly addressed prepaid US mail is deemed presented and received at deposit under section 915.2(a). Electronic presentation to a local entity requires express ordinance or resolution authorization and the specified method. An email to an employee or a court complaint is not automatically claim presentation.
• Preserve the correct recipient, permitted method, contents and legally effective agency presentation or board act. This is separate from filing an action or petition in court.