By Borna Houman, Esq., California State Bar #352339, Borna Houman Law, 2530 Wilshire Blvd, Santa Monica
The California Government Claims Act decides whether you can ever sue a city, county, transit agency, or the State for an injury. Before any lawsuit, you must file a written claim with the right agency, with the right contents, inside a short window. At Borna Houman Law in Santa Monica, we see good cases die on this paperwork, not on the facts.
Key Takeaway: To recover money from a California public entity for an injury, you must present a written claim to that entity within six months under Government Code section 911.2. The entity has 45 days to act. A written rejection gives you six months to sue; silence gives you up to two years from the injury.
This guide covers the filing itself: what goes in the claim, where it goes in Los Angeles County, how the response clock runs, and what to do if you are already late. For deadlines across every type of injury case, start with our California personal injury statute of limitations guide.
Hurt by a city bus, a broken sidewalk, or a county vehicle? The six-month clock is already running. We file government claims for injured people across the Westside and all of LA County, and we check every claim before it goes out so a defect does not cost you the case. Call (888) 42-BORNA for a free consultation. No fee unless we win.
What Is the California Government Claims Act?
The Government Claims Act is the set of statutes beginning at Government Code section 810 that controls when and how you can sue a California public entity for money. Its core rule: no claim, no lawsuit. Government Code section 945.4 bars any suit for money damages against a public entity until a written claim has been presented and rejected, or deemed rejected.
Many people still call it the California Tort Claims Act. It covers cities, counties, school districts, transit agencies like LA Metro and Big Blue Bus, special districts, and the State, including Caltrans and the CHP. It also reaches public employees acting within the scope of their jobs, so the driver of a city truck goes through the same process as the city.
In our experience, the Act surprises people because it runs on a different calendar from an ordinary injury case. A crash with a private driver gives you two years to sue. A crash with a Metro bus gives you six months just to file the claim, and the lawsuit deadline depends on what the agency does next.
What Must a California Government Claim Include?
A California government claim must state six things under Government Code section 910. Leave one out and you hand the agency an argument.
- Your name and mailing address.
- The address where you want notices sent (often your lawyer’s office).
- The date, place, and circumstances of the incident.
- A general description of the injury, damage, or loss, as far as it is known.
- The names of the public employees who caused it, if you know them.
- The amount claimed if it is under $10,000; if it is more, no dollar figure, only whether the case would be a limited civil case.
That last item trips people up. A California government claim over $10,000 must not state a dollar amount; it must say whether the case would be a limited civil case (up to $35,000) or an unlimited one. Writing “$750,000” on a city form is not fatal, but it gives the agency something to use later.
You or someone acting for you, such as your attorney, must sign the claim. Most agencies publish their own form, and you should use it when one exists. A letter containing every section 910 element can also qualify, but a completed form is harder to attack.
Where Do You File a Government Claim in Los Angeles?
You file the claim with the public entity that caused the injury, not with a court and not with one statewide office. Government Code section 915 requires delivery to the entity’s clerk, secretary, or auditor, or mailing to that officer or to the governing body.
Picking the right entity matters as much as the timing. A claim filed with the wrong agency does not stop the six-month clock against the right one. LA Metro, the City of Los Angeles, and the County of Los Angeles are three separate public entities, even when the injury happened at one intersection.
| Who caused the injury | Where the claim goes | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| City of Los Angeles (LADOT, LAPD, city sidewalks, city streets) | Office of the City Clerk, claims unit | City form available online; covers DASH buses run by LADOT. |
| County of Los Angeles (county roads, sheriff, county facilities) | Executive Office of the Board of Supervisors | Unincorporated areas like Marina del Rey fall here. |
| LA Metro (buses and Metro Rail) | Metro’s own claims office | Metro is its own entity; a City claim does not reach it. |
| City of Santa Monica (including Big Blue Bus) | Santa Monica City Clerk | Separate from the City of Los Angeles. |
| State of California (Caltrans, CHP, state agencies) | DGS Government Claims Program | $25 filing fee; online or by mail; fee waiver available. |
| School districts (such as LAUSD) | The district’s own claims office | Each district is a separate public entity. |
Claims against State agencies go through the Department of General Services Government Claims Program, which charges a $25 filing fee and accepts claims online or by mail. Local agencies generally charge nothing to file. When two entities might share fault, such as a Metro bus on a city street with a broken signal, we file with both.
How Long Do You Have to File a Government Claim in California?
You have six months from the date of injury to present a personal injury or wrongful death claim to a California public entity under Government Code section 911.2. Contract claims and damage to land get one year. The clock starts when the injury happens, not when you finish treatment or learn the full cost.
A mailed claim counts as presented on the date it goes into the mail, so send it certified and keep the receipt. In our experience, people who miss this deadline are rarely careless; they spent months in treatment and assumed the two-year rule applied. That is why our guides to LA bus accident claims and Metro Rail and train injuries lead with the six-month rule.
What Happens After You File the Claim?
After you file, the public entity has 45 days to accept, reject, or partly reject the claim under Government Code section 912.4. If it does nothing, the claim is deemed rejected on the 45th day. The parties can agree in writing to extend that window, which sometimes happens when an agency wants more medical records.
Two earlier deadlines bind the agency, and both help you. Under Government Code section 910.8, the entity has 20 days to send a notice of insufficiency if it thinks something is missing. If it skips that notice, Government Code section 911 treats most defects as waived, except a missing address. If the agency believes the claim was late, it must say so within 45 days, or it waives that defense too.
Most claims are rejected, and a rejection is what opens the door to a lawsuit. Agencies do settle some claims at this stage, usually small property claims. Serious injury claims are typically resolved after suit is filed.
How Long Do You Have to Sue After a Rejection?
If the agency mails or personally delivers a written notice of rejection, you have six months from that date to file your lawsuit under Government Code section 945.6. If the agency never sends a written notice, you have two years from the date of injury.
Most pages ranking for this topic skip one detail: a deemed rejection at day 45 does not start a six-month clock. Only a written notice does. People who hear nothing for 45 days often think they have six months left and file a rushed complaint. Others do the opposite and sit for two years on a written rejection they never opened. Read every letter the agency sends, because courts enforce the six-month window strictly. The California Courts self-help guide on government claims states the same two paths.
Worked Timeline: A Bus Crash on Wilshire Boulevard
Say a city bus sideswipes your car on Wilshire Boulevard on March 2, 2026. You break your wrist. Here is the clock.
| Event | Date | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Crash and injury | March 2, 2026 | Claim clock starts (Gov. Code 911.2) |
| Claim mailed by certified mail | April 15, 2026 | Presented on the mailing date |
| Agency deadline to flag defects | May 5, 2026 | 20 days (Gov. Code 910.8) |
| Written rejection mailed (day 35) | May 20, 2026 | Six-month suit clock starts |
| Agency deadline to act | May 30, 2026 | 45 days (Gov. Code 912.4) |
| Lawsuit deadline after written rejection | November 20, 2026 | Six months (Gov. Code 945.6(a)(1)) |
| Lawsuit deadline if no written notice | March 2, 2028 | Two years (Gov. Code 945.6(a)(2)) |
| Last day for a claim without a late application | September 2, 2026 | Six months from injury |
| Last day to apply to file a late claim | March 2, 2027 | One year (Gov. Code 911.4) |
On these facts, the lawsuit must be on file by November 20, 2026, under nine months after the crash, not two years. The same math applies to a pothole crash on a city street or a fall on a broken city sidewalk.
What If You Missed the Six-Month Deadline?
If you missed the six-month deadline, you can ask the agency for leave to present a late claim, but the application must be filed within one year of the injury under Government Code section 911.4. Attach the proposed claim and explain why it was late.
The agency has 45 days to decide. It must grant the application if the delay came from mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect and the agency was not prejudiced, or if the injured person was a minor, was physically or mentally incapacitated, or died during the claim period. If the agency denies it, you can petition the superior court within six months of the denial under Government Code section 946.6. If the court grants relief, the lawsuit must be filed within 30 days.
Courts read “excusable neglect” narrowly. Not knowing the rule usually does not qualify. Hospitalization, a head injury, or a lawyer’s documented error can. In our experience, the strongest late applications are filed within weeks of discovering the problem, not at day 364. If you are nearing the one-year mark after a sidewalk trip and fall or any other public-entity injury, act now.
Does California Have Sovereign Immunity?
Yes, by default. Under the Government Claims Act, a California public entity is not liable for an injury unless a statute makes it liable. In practice, a government defendant answers only when a specific code section applies, such as Government Code section 835 for dangerous conditions of public property or section 815.2 for an employee’s negligence on the job.
For most injured people, the practical questions are whether the facts fit one of those liability statutes and whether the claim was filed correctly. Comparative fault still applies, so a share of blame on you reduces the recovery but does not bar it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a lawyer to file a California government claim?
No. Anyone can file a claim, and the forms are short. The risk is in the details: the wrong entity, a missing element, or a misread rejection letter can end a valid case. A lawyer also keeps the claim from locking you into a weak description of your injuries.
Is there a fee to file a government claim in California?
Claims against State agencies through the DGS Government Claims Program carry a $25 filing fee, and a fee waiver is available. Most cities, counties, and transit agencies in Los Angeles County charge nothing to file.
Can I file one claim against several agencies?
No. Each public entity is separate and needs its own claim, filed with its own clerk or claims office. If a Metro bus and a city traffic signal both contributed to a crash, file with Metro and with the City.
What if the agency never responds to my claim?
Silence for 45 days is a deemed rejection. Without a written rejection notice, you generally have two years from the injury date to file suit. Waiting that long costs you evidence and witnesses, so move sooner if you can.
Does the six-month deadline apply to minors?
The six-month claim deadline still applies to an injured child, but minority is one of the grounds that requires an agency to grant a timely late-claim application. That application must still be filed within one year, so parents should not assume the clock is paused.
Does filing a claim mean I have to sue?
No. The claim only preserves your right to sue. Some claims settle before suit; when a claim is rejected, you decide with your lawyer whether to file within the six-month or two-year window.
Talk to a Santa Monica Personal Injury Lawyer About Your Claim
Every fact you write in a government claim, every agency you name, and every date you miss follows the case into court. Borna Houman Law prepares and files claims against the City of Los Angeles, LA County, LA Metro, Big Blue Bus, Caltrans, and school districts, then handles the lawsuit if the claim is rejected. Learn more about our Santa Monica personal injury lawyer practice. We work on contingency, so you pay nothing unless we recover for you. Our office is at 2530 Wilshire Blvd in Santa Monica, and clients rate us 5.0 across 60 reviews.
Call (888) 42-BORNA for a free consultation.
Borna Houman, Esq., is the founding attorney of Borna Houman Law (California State Bar #352339). He represents injured people across Santa Monica, the Westside, and Los Angeles County.
Disclaimer: This article provides general information about California law and is not legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Deadlines under the Government Claims Act depend on the facts of each case; consult a licensed California attorney about your situation. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome.