Getting started
California workers' comp deadlines
The most important deadlines are: 30 days to tell your employer (LC §5400); 90 days for the insurer to accept or deny after you file the DWC-1 (LC §5402); and one year to file an Application for Adjudication with the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board if benefits aren't being provided (LC §5405). Temporary disability is capped at 104 weeks within five years of the injury (LC §4656).
The deadline table
| Deadline | Time limit | Law |
|---|---|---|
| Tell your employer about the injury | 30 days from the injury (for gradual injuries, from when you knew it was work-related) | LC §5400 |
| Employer gives you a claim form | 1 working day after learning of the injury | LC §5401 |
| First temporary disability payment | 14 days after the employer knows of the injury and disability | LC §4650 |
| Accept or deny the claim | 90 days after you file the DWC-1, or the injury is presumed covered | LC §5402 |
| File with the WCAB (statute of limitations) | 1 year from the injury, the last TD payment, or the last medical treatment provided, whichever is later | LC §5405 |
| Request independent medical review | 30 days after a utilization review denial is served (10 days for drugs on the MTUS drug list) | 8 CCR §9792.10.1 |
| Temporary disability limit | 104 compensable weeks within 5 years of the injury (240 weeks for certain severe injuries) | LC §4656 |
| Petition for reconsideration of a judge's decision | 20 days after service (plus 5 days if served by mail) | LC §5903 |
| Reopen for new and further disability | 5 years from the date of injury | LC §5410 |
| Death benefits claim | 1 year from death (with outer limits measured from the injury) | LC §5406 |
The one-year statute of limitations, explained
If the insurer denies your claim or never provides benefits, you generally have one year from the date of injury to file an Application for Adjudication of Claim with the WCAB. If benefits were provided, the year usually runs from the last temporary disability payment or the last medical treatment the insurer furnished. The deadline can be extended (tolled) in some situations, for example when your employer never gave you the claim form or the required notice of your rights. Don't count on an exception: if you're near a year, act now.
Gradual and repetitive injuries
For cumulative trauma, the "date of injury" is the date you first suffered disability and knew, or reasonably should have known, it was caused by work (LC §5412). That date can be years after the harm started. See cumulative trauma.
Deadlines you might not expect
- QME panel steps. Once you receive a panel of three doctors, you have 10 days to pick one and schedule (if you don't have an attorney). Miss it and the claims administrator may choose.
- Objecting to a medical report. Disputes with your treating doctor's findings have short objection windows; read every letter for dates.
- Public employers and outside lawsuits. If someone other than your employer caused the injury (for example a driver who hit you), a separate injury lawsuit usually has a two-year limit, and a claim against a government agency can require a written claim within six months.
Deadlines depend on the facts. If any date below is close or has already passed, talk with a workers' comp attorney or the DWC Information & Assistance unit right away.
What to do next
- Run your dates through the deadline checker below.
- Put the 90-day and 1-year dates in your phone calendar.
- Keep every letter and envelope; service dates start many clocks.
Report and claim deadline checker
Sources
- California Labor Code §5400 (30-day notice of injury)
- California Labor Code §5401 (claim form)
- California Labor Code §5402 (90-day decision; $10,000 treatment)
- California Labor Code §5405 (one-year limit)
- California Labor Code §5412 (date of cumulative injury)
- California Labor Code §4650 (timing of payments; late-payment increase)
- California Labor Code §4656 (temporary disability time limits)
- California Labor Code §5410 (new and further disability)
- California Labor Code §5903 (petition for reconsideration)
- Cal. Code Regs. tit. 8, §9792.10.1 (IMR deadlines)
- DWC fact sheet: Rights and obligations in a claim before the WCAB (PDF)
Official sources checked November 2026. Laws and rates change; check the source for the latest version.
This guide is general information, not legal advice. Every case is different. For free help from the state, call the DWC Information & Assistance unit at 1-800-736-7401.