How to use the deadlines after a declined prosecution calculator
There is no United States equivalent of asking a court to order a prosecution. Korea lets a complainant petition the high court to review a prosecutor's decision not to charge. Here the charging decision belongs to the executive branch, a grand jury acts on a prosecutor's presentation rather than a private citizen's, and private prosecution is generally unavailable, so a court will not compel charges to be filed.
What remains are separate routes with their own clocks: a claim against a federal agency, a civil rights suit, a notice of claim to a state or local body, and the participation rights a crime victim holds in an existing case. Choose a route, enter the starting date, and the tool shows the deadline and the time left. Every figure counts the same way, with the starting day excluded.
Authority: 28 U.S.C. 2401(b) gives 2 years to present an FTCA claim to the agency and 6 months to sue after a written denial; claims under 42 U.S.C. 1983 borrow the forum state's personal injury period; state tort claims acts set their own and often much shorter notice periods; and the Crime Victims' Rights Act, 18 U.S.C. 3771(d)(3), lets a victim move in the district court and seek mandamus, which the court of appeals must decide within 72 hours. Stated as of September 2026.
This calculator is for reference only and is not legal advice. These periods are unforgiving and vary by state, so speak with a licensed attorney promptly rather than relying on the dates shown here.
Frequently asked questions
There is no appeal as such. You can ask the office to review the decision, raise it with a supervising prosecutor or a state attorney general, and in federal matters contact the relevant agency, but none of these is a filing with a deadline that a court will enforce against the prosecutor.
No. A civil suit uses a lower standard of proof and can proceed whether or not charges were brought, which is why the civil limitation period matters even when the criminal file is closed. The two tracks run independently and on different clocks.