Free tools · England and Wales
Claims timeline. Every deadline, one view.
Enter the accident date and how the claim arrived. See every protocol deadline, when the limitation period ends, and whether your records need keeping longer.
- Protocol deadlines
- Limitation date
- Nothing leaves your browser
How it works1Enter the accident date2Say how the claim arrived3Read the timeline
- 1Enter the accident dateAnd the date of knowledge, if the claimant learned of the injury later.
- 2Say how the claim arrivedA letter of claim, or a Claims Portal notification for an employers’ or public liability claim.
- 3Read the timelineEvery date in order, with how long is left, and a warning if records are due to go too early.
The rules it follows
- 21 days to reply to a letter of claim, identifying the insurer; then a maximum of three months from acknowledgment to investigate.
- Claims Portal (claims up to £25,000): 30 business days to respond for employers’ liability, 40 business days for public liability, counted from the day after the form was sent.
- Limitation: three years from the accident, or from the date of knowledge if later. For a claimant under 18, three years from their 18th birthday. Courts can extend it.
- Accident book records must be kept at least three years from entry, which can end before a claim is out of time.
Checked September 2026 against: Pre-Action Protocol for Personal Injury Claims · Low value protocol for EL and PL claims · Limitation Act 1980. A guide, not legal advice.
Pre-action protocol evidence deadlines
What the timetable assumes already exists, the records created by statute, and the evidence that cannot be created after the fact.
Read the guideFrequently asked questions
How long does a defendant have to respond to a letter of claim?
Under the Pre-Action Protocol for Personal Injury Claims, 21 calendar days from the date of posting to reply and identify the insurer, and then a maximum of three months from acknowledgment to investigate and respond on liability.
What are the Claims Portal deadlines?
For employers’ and public liability claims up to £25,000, the defendant has 30 business days (employers’ liability) or 40 business days (public liability) to respond to the Claim Notification Form. Business days exclude weekends, bank holidays, Good Friday and Christmas Day, and the count starts on the first business day after the form was sent (protocol paragraphs 5.3, 5.4 and 6.11). Miss it and the claim leaves the portal.
When does the limitation period end?
Normally three years from the accident, or from the date of knowledge if that is later. For a claimant who was under 18, three years from their 18th birthday. Courts have a discretion to extend it.
Does this apply in Scotland or Northern Ireland?
No. It covers personal injury claims in England and Wales. Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own rules.
Is anything I enter saved?
Nothing is uploaded, sent or stored: your dates and answers are worked out in this browser and gone when you leave the page. If you accept analytics cookies, we count when the tool is used and a PDF is made, never your dates or answers.
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