Criminal Injury Compensation Calculator
This calculator estimates potential compensation from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) based on the official 2025 tariff scheme. Simply select your injury type and circumstances to receive an instant calculation.
Estimated Compensation
How to Use This Calculator
Getting an accurate estimate is straightforward when you follow these steps:
- Report Status: Confirm whether you’ve reported the incident to police. Applications must typically be made within 2 years of the incident, and police reporting is usually required.
- Select Injury Type: Choose the category that best matches your situation. If you’re unsure, select the option closest to your circumstances.
- Specify Details: Pick the specific injury description from the dropdown menu. These correspond to the official CICA tariff levels.
- Add Complications: Tick any additional consequences that apply, such as pregnancy or infections resulting from the crime.
- Include Losses: If you’ve been unable to work for over 28 weeks, you may qualify for loss of earnings compensation on top of injury awards.
- Review Results: The calculator will show your estimated total and a breakdown of how it’s calculated.
What is the CICA Scheme?
The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority operates a government-funded programme that provides financial support to victims of violent crime in England, Scotland, and Wales. Established to acknowledge the harm suffered and assist with recovery, the scheme operates independently from criminal court proceedings.
Compensation awards follow a fixed tariff system called Annex E, which lists injuries and their corresponding payment amounts. The scheme covers physical injuries, psychological trauma, sexual assault, and financial losses stemming from criminal acts. Awards range from £1,000 for minor injuries to £500,000 for the most severe cases involving multiple serious injuries and substantial financial losses.
The scheme applies strict eligibility criteria. You must have been ordinarily resident in the UK when the crime occurred, reported the incident to police (usually within 48 hours), and cooperated with investigations. CICA may reduce or refuse awards if you have unspent criminal convictions, contributed to the incident, or failed to cooperate with authorities.
Multiple Injury Calculation Rules
When you’ve sustained more than one injury, CICA applies a specific formula rather than simply adding up individual amounts. This prevents the total from becoming disproportionately high compared to single-injury cases.
• 1st injury (most severe): 100% of tariff value
• 2nd injury: 30% of tariff value
• 3rd injury: 15% of tariff value
• 4th+ injuries: Not included in calculation
For example, if you sustained a fractured jaw (£6,600), fractured nose (£3,300), and minor scarring (£1,000), your calculation would be: £6,600 + (£3,300 × 0.30) + (£1,000 × 0.15) = £6,600 + £990 + £150 = £7,740 total.
Certain additional payments for sexual assault consequences (pregnancy, STIs, loss of foetus) are exempt from this reduction formula and are added at full value to your main injury award.
Injury Categories and Award Ranges
Includes bruising, minor scars, simple fractures of fingers or toes
Fractured bones, dental injuries, moderate soft tissue damage
Skull fractures, loss of single organs, significant sensory loss
Brain damage, paralysis, loss of limbs, catastrophic harm
Varies by frequency, penetration type, duration, and psychological impact
Requires clinical diagnosis; amount depends on severity and permanence
Common Questions
Eligibility Requirements
Not everyone injured by crime qualifies for CICA compensation. The scheme has strict criteria you must meet:
| Requirement | Details | Common Issues |
|---|---|---|
| Residency | Ordinarily resident in UK when crime occurred | Tourists and temporary visitors don’t qualify |
| Crime Type | Violent crime causing physical/mental injury | Property crimes, fraud, and theft excluded |
| Reporting | Reported to police without delay (ideally within 48 hours) | Late reporting may reduce or bar awards |
| Application Timing | Within 2 years of incident (exceptions for children) | Late applications rarely accepted unless exceptional |
| Cooperation | Full cooperation with police and CICA | Refusing to provide information disqualifies claims |
| Minimum Award | Injury must be worth at least £1,000 on tariff | Very minor injuries don’t meet threshold |
| Conduct | Victim didn’t provoke or consent to violence | Contributing to incident reduces or bars claims |
| Criminal Record | Unspent convictions may disqualify or reduce awards | Serious recent crimes often result in refusal |
Loss of Earnings and Special Expenses
Beyond injury awards, you might receive additional compensation for financial losses directly caused by the crime. These fall into two categories:
Loss of Earnings: Available if you’ve been unable to work or had reduced earning capacity for more than 28 weeks due to your injuries. CICA calculates this based on your actual lost income, subject to a maximum annual cap. You’ll need wage slips, tax returns, and medical evidence confirming your incapacity to work.
Special Expenses: These cover specific costs arising from your injuries after the 28-week threshold, including NHS prescription charges, some private medical treatment costs (if NHS care wasn’t reasonably available), and care expenses you incurred. You must provide receipts and justification for each expense.
Application Process Overview
Applying to CICA involves several stages. Here’s what to expect:
You’ll start by completing an online application form on the CICA website, providing details about the incident, your injuries, and the police investigation reference. Supporting evidence like medical records and police reports strengthens your application, though you can submit the initial form without these and provide them later.
CICA reviews your application, checking eligibility and obtaining police and medical records. They may request additional evidence or ask you to attend a medical examination. For mental health claims, a psychiatric assessment is mandatory.
Once they’ve gathered sufficient information, CICA issues a decision letter explaining the award amount and how it was calculated. If you disagree, you have 90 days to request a review, providing reasons and any new evidence. If still unsatisfied after review, you can appeal to an independent tribunal.
Accepted awards are typically paid as a lump sum within days of the decision becoming final. CICA doesn’t make interim payments except in cases of serious financial hardship.
Why Awards Get Reduced or Refused
Many applicants receive less than expected or no compensation at all. The most frequent reasons include:
Sexual Assault and Abuse Claims
These claims follow special provisions recognising the unique nature of sexual violence. The tariff differentiates between non-penetrative and penetrative acts, frequency, duration, number of perpetrators, and resulting psychological harm.
A single incident of non-consensual penile penetration attracts £11,000, rising to £22,000 if repeated over three or more years. If the assault caused permanent severe mental illness confirmed by psychiatric diagnosis, this increases to £27,000 or £44,000 depending on whether serious internal injuries also occurred.
Non-penetrative abuse is also compensated, starting from £1,000 for a single minor act over clothing up to £8,200 for patterns of serious abuse lasting three or more years. The tariff recognises that frequency and duration significantly increase trauma.
Additional payments for pregnancy (£5,500), sexually transmitted infections (£5,500-£22,000), and loss of foetus (£5,500) are added in full without reduction, even when you’re claiming for multiple injuries.