Car Crash Lawyer AI

Home › Guides › Whiplash claims

How Whiplash Claims Work in the UK

Since 2021, whiplash compensation in England and Wales has been set by a fixed statutory tariff rather than negotiated. The amount depends almost entirely on how long the injury lasts, and it is modest — from £275 to £4,830 for accidents on or after 31 May 2025. Most claims of this kind now go through the Official Injury Claim portal without a solicitor.

Last updated 5 August 2026 · England and Wales only

The tariff: what the law actually pays

The figures are set by the Whiplash Injury Regulations 2021, made under the Civil Liability Act 2018. They were uprated by the Whiplash Injury (Amendment) Regulations 2025, in force from 31 May 2025.

There are now two tables, and the date decides which applies to you. Where the cause of action accrued on or after 31 May 2025, the higher figures apply. Before that date, the original 2021 figures still govern. A great many guides online still quote only the 2021 numbers.

Accidents on or after 31 May 2025

Duration of injuryWhiplash onlyWith minor psychological injury
Not more than 3 months£275£300
3 – 6 months£565£595
6 – 9 months£965£1,025
9 – 12 months£1,510£1,595
12 – 15 months£2,335£2,435
15 – 18 months£3,445£3,550
18 – 24 months£4,830£4,975

Accidents before 31 May 2025

Duration of injuryWhiplash onlyWith minor psychological injury
Not more than 3 months£240£260
3 – 6 months£495£520
6 – 9 months£840£895
9 – 12 months£1,320£1,390
12 – 15 months£2,040£2,125
15 – 18 months£3,005£3,100
18 – 24 months£4,215£4,345

The second column applies where a minor psychological injury was suffered on the same occasion. Injuries lasting beyond 24 months fall outside the tariff altogether and are valued conventionally.

Duration, not severity — and why that matters

The regulations set the figure by reference to the duration, or likely duration, of the injury, provided the injured person takes reasonable steps to mitigate its effects. Two consequences follow, and both are practical:

Who uses the Official Injury Claim portal

Official Injury Claim is run on behalf of the Ministry of Justice and lets you "claim compensation … for free and without legal help". It applies where all of the following are true:

Outside that, the portal is not the route. Cyclists, motorcyclists and pedestrians are unaffected by the whiplash reforms. Children under 18 and protected parties — people who lack capacity to conduct proceedings — are also excluded.

Scotland and Northern Ireland are not covered. The tariff and the portal are England and Wales only. If your accident happened in Scotland, whiplash compensation is assessed conventionally and none of the figures above apply to you.

What the process looks like

  1. Get medical attention, and get it early

    Whiplash symptoms frequently appear a day or two after the collision. See a GP or attend A&E as soon as they do. A gap between accident and first medical record is the single most common weakness in these claims.

  2. Notify your insurer

    GOV.UK is clear you must report the accident to your insurer even if you are not claiming. Doing so also puts them on notice if the other side claims against you.

  3. Start the claim

    Through the portal if you meet the criteria above. You will need the accident details, the other driver's and their insurer's details, and your own policy information — which is exactly the set of things people struggle to reconstruct months later.

  4. Liability is decided

    The other side's insurer either admits or denies fault. This is the stage that turns on evidence: photographs, dashcam footage, witnesses, and a contemporaneous account. Where nothing can be proven, claims are commonly settled on a split-liability basis.

  5. Medical report

    An independent medical assessment addresses the injury and its likely duration — which fixes your tariff bracket.

  6. Settlement

    The tariff amount, plus any additional heads of loss such as lost earnings, treatment costs, or damage not covered elsewhere.

Do you need a solicitor?

The portal is built to be used without one, and since the tariff fixes the whiplash element there is little to negotiate on that part. A solicitor is worth considering where:

Where claims are actually decided

The tariff is fixed — so the only real variable is whether liability is accepted. That turns on what was recorded at the scene, weeks or months before anyone mentions a claim. Car Crash Lawyer AI captures it while you are still there: photographs in order, a transcribed spoken account, your exact location, the other driver's and insurer's details, and witness contacts. See how it works.

Time limits

The general limitation period for personal injury claims in England and Wales is three years from the date of the accident, or from the date you became aware of the injury. Children and protected parties are treated differently.

Three years is not a comfortable cushion. Medical records get thinner the later you seek treatment, witnesses become untraceable, dashcam footage is long gone, and the other driver's recollection hardens into a version that suits them. A claim brought in time can still fail for want of evidence.

The tariff is fixed. The evidence isn't.

You cannot argue your way to a higher whiplash figure — Parliament set it. What you can influence is whether the other side's insurer accepts liability at all, and that is decided on the evidence gathered in the first ten minutes.

Car Crash Lawyer AI prompts you through the scene, records and transcribes your account while it is accurate, captures your what3words location, runs a DVLA check on the other vehicle, stores your dashcam footage, and emails you an 18-page incident report for your insurer or solicitor.

£11.99 for a year. Set up in advance — nobody installs an app while their neck is starting to hurt.

Get the app — £11.99 a year

Sources

Related guides