28 U.S.C. § 2462
Section 2462 · Time for commencing proceedings
Amended 1 time on record
Applied in 419 court decisions — leading case Rex Trailer Company v. United States (1956)
Most recently applied in Oficina de Asuntos Monopolísticos del Departamento de Justicia y otro v. Abarca Health, LLC (March 2025)
Applied most in the District Circuit Circuit (31 decisions)
Cases citing this section usually also cite 33 U.S.C. § 1365 · 33 U.S.C. § 1251 · 33 U.S.C. § 1319
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.
Except as otherwise provided by Act of Congress, an action, suit or proceeding for the enforcement of any civil fine, penalty, or forfeiture, pecuniary or otherwise, shall not be entertained unless commenced within five years from the date when the claim first accrued if, within the same period, the offender or the property is found within the United States in order that proper service may be made thereon.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
Historical and Revision Notes
Based on title 28, U.S.C., 1940 ed., §791 (R.S. §1047).
Changes were made in phraseology.