The CICA Two-Year Time Limit: When Can an Exception Be Made?

If you have suffered injury because of a violent crime, dealing with compensation may understandably not have been your first priority. Unfortunately, waiting too long can create an additional difficulty because applications to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) are normally subject to strict time limits.

For an adult at the date of the incident, an application should generally be made as soon as reasonably practicable and normally within two years of the incident. However, the two-year rule is not absolute and exceptions can be made.

The important question is when CICA can allow a late application.

When can CICA extend the two-year time limit?

Under paragraph 89 of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme 2012, an application by someone who was an adult at the time of the incident can be considered outside the usual period where:

because of exceptional circumstances, the application could not have been made earlier; and
the evidence supporting the claim means that it can be determined without the need for further extensive enquiries by a claims officer.
Both requirements matter. It is therefore not enough simply to establish that there was a good reason for delay.

A late applicant should be ready to explain what prevented an earlier application and to provide evidence capable of supporting both the explanation for the delay and the underlying claim.

What amounts to “exceptional circumstances”?

There is no simple checklist that guarantees an extension.

The Upper Tribunal considered the test in R (JA) v First-tier Tribunal (Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority, interested party) [2024] UKUT 121 (AAC). The case concerned whether a person’s lack of knowledge of the existence of the criminal injuries compensation scheme could be considered when deciding whether exceptional circumstances meant they could not have applied earlier.

More recently, the Upper Tribunal has emphasised the importance of approaching the exceptional-circumstances test consistently with the decision in JA. In R (WS) [2025] UKUT 218 (AAC) and R (TB) [2025] UKUT 306 (AAC), decisions were quashed where the First-tier Tribunal had failed to approach paragraph 89 consistently with JA.

The practical point for victims is important: a late claim needs to be considered in light of the applicant’s actual circumstances and the proper legal test.

Evidence can make the difference

Imagine someone suffered serious psychological injury following an assault and did not make an application during the following two years. Simply saying, “I was too unwell to claim”, is unlikely to tell CICA everything it needs to know.

The stronger approach is to explain the sequence of events clearly and identify evidence supporting it. Depending on the individual circumstances, relevant material might include:

medical records;
evidence relating to psychological or psychiatric treatment;
police records;
correspondence showing what happened during the period of delay; and
a clear chronology explaining why the application could not have been made earlier and when the circumstances preventing an application changed.

The evidence required will depend on the individual case.

Do not wait for the criminal case to finish

One potentially costly misconception is that a victim should wait until someone has been convicted before making a CICA application.

That is not the case.

CICA expressly advises victims not to delay an application until criminal proceedings have concluded. A criminal conviction is not required, and CICA determines compensation claims on the balance of probabilities using the available evidence.

Where the two-year deadline is approaching, waiting unnecessarily for a prosecution or trial could therefore put the application at risk.

Different rules apply if you were under 18

There are special time-limit provisions for people who were children when the incident occurred.

Where an incident was reported to the police before the victim’s 18th birthday, the application must normally be received by their 20th birthday. Where the incident was first reported to police on or after their 18th birthday, the normal deadline is two years after that first report. Extensions can still be considered where the Scheme’s requirements are met.

That distinction can be particularly important in claims arising from historic childhood abuse.

Other CICA eligibility rules still matter

An extension of the deadline does not mean that compensation will automatically be awarded.

The Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme has wider eligibility requirements. Among other matters, CICA considers whether the applicant has suffered a qualifying criminal injury, whether the incident was reported to the police, nationality and residency requirements and, where relevant, conduct and unspent convictions.

CICA administers the government-funded Scheme for victims of violent crime in Great Britain, and qualifying injuries must fall within the Scheme’s tariff.

What should you do if the two years have already passed?

Do not assume that you have lost the right to make a claim. Equally, do not assume that CICA will automatically overlook the delay.

The best starting point is to establish:

the date of the incident;
your age at that date;
when the incident was first reported to the police;
why an application was not made sooner;
when the circumstances preventing an application changed; and
what evidence is available to support both the explanation and the substantive claim.

Applications should be made as soon as reasonably practicable. Further delay can make an already late application more difficult to establish.

Speak to Ison Harrison about a late CICA claim

Late CICA applications require careful consideration. The issue is not simply whether two years have passed, but whether the particular circumstances satisfy the test under the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme.

Ison Harrison can assess the circumstances of your case, consider the relevant time-limit and eligibility rules, identify the evidence that may be required and help you present your CICA claim properly.

If you have been injured as a victim of violent crime and are concerned that the CICA deadline has passed, contact Ison Harrison as soon as possible for advice about your options.