28 U.S.C. § 1658
Section 1658 · Time limitations on the commencement of civil actions arising under Acts of Congress
Amended 2 times on record
Applied in 825 court decisions — leading case Jones v. R. R. Donnelley & Sons Co. (2004)
Most recently applied in Vuoncino v. Forterra (June 2025)
Applied most in the First Circuit Circuit (42 decisions)
Cases citing this section usually also cite 42 U.S.C. § 1981 · 42 U.S.C. § 1983 · 28 U.S.C. § 1331
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year.Markers show enactment, consequential amendments, and circuit splits over this section — watch for a citation surge after a change or a disagreement. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
(a) Except as otherwise provided by law, a civil action arising under an Act of Congress enacted after the date of the enactment of this section may not be commenced later than 4 years after the cause of action accrues.
(b) Notwithstanding subsection (a), a private right of action that involves a claim of fraud, deceit, manipulation, or contrivance in contravention of a regulatory requirement concerning the securities laws, as defined in section 3(a)(47) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78c(a)(47)), may be brought not later than the earlier of—
(1) 2 years after the discovery of the facts constituting the violation; or
(2) 5 years after such violation.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
References in Text
The date of the enactment of this section, referred to in subsec. (a), is the date of enactment of Pub. L. 101–650, which was approved Dec. 1, 1990.
Amendments
2002—Pub. L. 107–204 designated existing provisions as subsec. (a) and added subsec. (b).
Effective Date of 2002 Amendment
Pub. L. 107–204, title VIII, §804(b), July 30, 2002, 116 Stat. 801, provided that: “The limitations period provided by section 1658(b) of title 28, United States Code, as added by this section, shall apply to all proceedings addressed by this section that are commenced on or after the date of enactment of this Act [July 30, 2002].”
Effective Date
Section 313(c) of Pub. L. 101–650 provided that: “The amendments made by this section [enacting this section] shall apply with respect to causes of action accruing on or after the date of the enactment of this Act [Dec. 1, 1990].”
No Creation of Actions
Pub. L. 107–204, title VIII, §804(c), July 30, 2002, 116 Stat. 801, provided that: “Nothing in this section [amending this section and enacting provisions set out as a note under this section] shall create a new, private right of action.”