If you were in a car accident that wasn't your fault and you're now dealing with neck pain, stiffness, headaches or reduced movement, you may have a whiplash claim. This page walks you through exactly how whiplash claims work in the UK after the 2021 reforms and the May 2025 tariff increase - what you can claim, who has to use the Official Injury Claim portal, what medical evidence you need, and what happens if your injuries turn out to be worth more than the tariff allows.
If you were in a car accident that wasn't your fault and you're now dealing with neck pain, stiffness, headaches or reduced movement, you may have a whiplash claim. This page walks you through exactly how whiplash claims work in the UK after the 2021 reforms and the May 2025 tariff increase - what you can claim, who has to use the Official Injury Claim portal, what medical evidence you need, and what happens if your injuries turn out to be worth more than the tariff allows.
Most claims settle inside six months and you pay nothing unless you win. Start with our free calculator, or read on.
What is whiplash?
Whiplash is a soft-tissue injury to the neck caused by a sudden back-and-forth movement of the head - most commonly in a rear-end car accident. The NHS describes the typical symptoms as:
- Neck pain, stiffness and reduced range of movement
Most whiplash cases settle into recovery within a few weeks. A minority develop chronic symptoms lasting months or longer, which is why prognosis - how long symptoms are expected to last - is the key variable in valuing a whiplash claim.
How whiplash claims work in the UK (post-2021 reforms)
The Civil Liability Act 2018 and the Whiplash Injury Regulations 2021 rewrote the rules for low-value road traffic injury claims in England and Wales. Three things changed:
- Compensation became tariff-based. If your whiplash symptoms are likely to last up to two years and the claim is worth under £5,000, the amount you receive is fixed by statute.
The Whiplash Injury (Amendment) Regulations 2025 then increased the tariff by around 15% for accidents on or after 31 May 2025.
Who has to use the Official Injury Claim portal?
You must use the OIC portal if all of the following apply:
- You were an adult driver or passenger in a motor vehicle at the time of the accident.
You do not use the portal - and your claim goes through the traditional pre-action protocol - if you were a pedestrian, cyclist, motorcyclist, horse rider, or a child. You are also outside the portal if your injury lasts more than 24 months or its value is over £5,000.
If your claim is outside the portal, see our guide to the full personal injury claims process. If you're a cyclist, motorcyclist, or pedestrian hit by a car, the claim goes through the normal route - see cycle accident claims, motorcycle accident claims and pedestrian accident claims.
The 2025 whiplash tariff (accidents on or after 31 May 2025)
These are the statutory amounts set by the Whiplash Injury (Amendment) Regulations 2025, roughly 15% higher than the original 2021 figures. The left-hand column is whiplash only; the right-hand column is whiplash with a concurrent minor psychological injury (e.g. travel anxiety) recorded in the medical report.
- Up to 3 months: £275 / £300
Important: the combined tariff is anchored to the whiplash duration, not to the psychological injury duration. Where the psychological component is present, the slightly higher band applies whether the anxiety lasts weeks or months.
For accidents before 31 May 2025, the original 2021 tariff applies (starting at £240 / £260 for the up-to-3-months band, up to £4,215 / £4,345 at 18-24 months).
What you can claim on top of the tariff
The tariff covers general damages only - the pain, suffering and loss of amenity of the whiplash itself. You can also recover 'special damages' on top:
- Loss of earnings (time off work, reduced hours).
A genuine, well-documented whiplash claim with three or four weeks off work and a few hundred pounds in physiotherapy routinely settles north of £2,500 - far above the headline 'up to £275' tariff.
When your claim is worth more than the tariff
The tariff is a cap, not the automatic value. Your claim is lifted out of the tariff (and out of the OIC portal) and valued under the normal Judicial College Guidelines - currently the 17th edition (April 2024) - in these situations:
- Your whiplash-type symptoms last longer than 24 months.
Neck injuries valued outside the tariff typically sit in the minor-to-moderate neck injury bracket: roughly £4,660 to £8,440 for minor neck injuries with recovery over 2 years, and £8,440 to £46,040 for moderate neck injuries with chronic symptoms. Severe neck cases go higher. See our neck injury claims page and our guide on how much compensation for the full picture.
How to claim - step by step
- See a GP or A&E. Medical evidence is mandatory - don't skip this step, even if symptoms feel mild at first. Keep every record.
How long does a whiplash claim take?
OIC portal claims with admitted liability typically settle in 4-8 months. Whiplash claims outside the portal (via the normal pre-action protocol, or where medical evidence takes longer) tend to settle in 6-12 months. Claims involving chronic symptoms or referral to a specialist for an updated prognosis can run longer - because the claim should only settle once your recovery picture is clear.
Is a whiplash claim even worth making?
The honest answer: for pure sub-3-month whiplash with no special damages, the £275 tariff often isn't worth the hassle. Most real-world claims, though, involve some combination of: time off work, physio, a vehicle excess to recover, travel to appointments, and - often - a longer recovery than the victim initially expected. Once those are in, the total settlement is routinely well into four figures.
Funding - no win, no fee
Every whiplash claim we take on is run on a Conditional Fee Agreement (no win, no fee). There are no upfront fees. If the claim wins, the success fee is deducted from your settlement and capped at 25% of your general damages and past losses. If it fails, you pay nothing. See no win no fee explained for the full funding breakdown.
