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PI Portal Timescales Calculator

Led by Diellza Nika Hyseni and Mentor Nika · Updated 23 October 2026

Work out every date in the low value personal injury portals, in business days: the CNF response, the Stage 2 Settlement Pack and its consideration periods, interim and settlement payments, the Court Proceedings Pack and Stage 3, and the Official Injury Claim dates. From DMD Costs, law costs draftsmen in Westhoughton, Bolton.

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The rules are the Pre-Action Protocol for Low Value Personal Injury Claims in Road Traffic Accidents, the Pre-Action Protocol for Low Value Personal Injury (Employers’ Liability and Public Liability) Claims, the Pre-Action Protocol for Personal Injury Claims below the Small Claims Limit in Road Traffic Accidents and Practice Direction 49F, with CPR 2.8, 6.14, 26.9 and 26.10, checked on justice.gov.uk on 23 October 2026. Business days use the England and Wales bank holidays to the end of the calculator’s lists; a date past them is counted on weekdays and never shown as firm. Where a protocol does not say exactly how a step is counted, the date is marked “our reading”. It is a guide, not legal advice: dates only, never the value of a claim, liability, settlement or the fixed costs.

Key points

DMD Costs’ PI portal timescales calculator is a free online tool that works out the dates the low value personal injury protocols fix in England and Wales: the RTA protocol, the EL/PL protocol and the RTA small claims protocol (Official Injury Claim), with the paragraph each date comes from.
Every period in these protocols is in business days: not a Saturday, Sunday, bank holiday, Good Friday or Christmas Day. A period for a response starts on the first business day after the information was sent (RTA and EL/PL para 5.4; RTA small claims para 1.4(2)).
The CNF response is due within 15 business days in the RTA protocol (30 where the Motor Insurers’ Bureau deals with the claim), 30 in an employers’ liability claim and 40 in a public liability claim, and cannot be varied by agreement.
Stage 2 gives the defendant a total consideration period of 35 business days: up to 15 to accept or counter-offer, then the negotiation period of 20. An offer made 5 days or less before the end adds a further 5 days, which cannot be varied (RTA paras 7.35 to 7.37; EL/PL paras 7.32 to 7.34).
In the RTA small claims protocol the compensator responds on liability within 30 business days of the claim being accepted on the Portal (40 for the MIB), and a failure to respond means liability is taken to be admitted in full. It makes an offer within 20 business days of receiving the medical report and List of Losses.
Since 1 October 2023 the Stage 3 Procedure is in Practice Direction 49F, not PD 8B. The defendant files an acknowledgment of service in Form N210B within 14 days of service of the claim form.
Dates only: the calculator does not value the claim, decide liability, say whether to settle or work out the fixed costs.

How to use the PI portal timescales calculator

Choose the protocol. The RTA protocol, the EL/PL protocol (and whether it is employers’ or public liability), or the RTA small claims protocol; say whether the MIB deals with an RTA claim.
Enter the accident date. Optional: it checks which version of the protocol applies (31 May 2021 for road traffic accidents, 31 July 2013 for the EL/PL protocol).
Enter each step as it happens. The CNF or the claim on the Portal, any interim payment request, the Stage 2 Settlement Pack or medical report, offers, settlement and the Court Proceedings Pack.
Add any agreed extensions. The business days the parties agreed to add to the initial consideration period or the negotiation period.
Read the dates and the exits. Each date shows the rule and how it was counted; the panel lists when the claim leaves the protocol.
Copy it for the file. Copy the dates, the notes and the exit points for the file or the diary.

Which protocol applies

Three protocols run through an online portal. The value bands are the claimant’s own valuation of the claim, and the small claims limits are in CPR 26.9 and 26.10: for a road traffic accident on or after 31 May 2021, £5,000 for the injury claim (£1,000 where the claimant was a vulnerable road user or is a child or protected party, or the accident was earlier, among other cases in CPR 26.10), and £1,500 for any other personal injury claim, with £10,000 overall.

The claim	Protocol	If it does not settle	Rule
Road traffic accident on or after 31 May 2021, injury claim up to £5,000 and overall claim up to £10,000 (adult, not a vulnerable road user)	RTA small claims protocol (Official Injury Claim Portal)	Small claims track, Practice Direction 27B	RTA small claims protocol para 4.2; CPR 26.9(1)(a)(ii)(aa)
Road traffic accident on or after 31 May 2021, above the small claims limit, up to £25,000 (or a child’s whiplash claim)	RTA protocol	Stage 3, Practice Direction 49F	RTA protocol paras 4.1 and 4.1A
Road traffic accident before 31 May 2021, injury claim above £1,000, up to £25,000	RTA protocol as it stood immediately before 31 May 2021 (the same periods)	Stage 3, Practice Direction 49F	RTA protocol para 4.2(1); CPR 26.10(a)
Accident at work or a work disease (employers’ liability), injury claim above £1,500, up to £25,000	EL/PL protocol	Stage 3, Practice Direction 49F	EL/PL protocol para 4.1; CPR 26.9(1)(a)(ii)(cc)
Public liability (an occupier, a council, a business), injury claim above £1,500, up to £25,000	EL/PL protocol	Stage 3, Practice Direction 49F	EL/PL protocol para 4.1

The RTA small claims protocol does not apply where, when the accident occurred, the claimant was a vulnerable road user (using a motorcycle, as a pillion passenger, in a wheelchair or mobility scooter, on a bicycle, riding a horse or on foot), or where on the date the claim is started the claimant is a child, among other exclusions (para 4.3). The EL/PL protocol does not apply to, among others, mesothelioma, clinical negligence, a disease claim with more than one employer defendant, or a noise-induced hearing loss claim against an employer not on Claims Portal Ltd’s list (para 4.3).

How the days are counted

Every “day” in the three protocols is a business day: any day except a Saturday, Sunday, bank holiday, Good Friday or Christmas Day (RTA protocol para 1.1(3) and para 5.3; EL/PL protocol para 1.1(3) and para 5.3; RTA small claims protocol para 1.4). Where a party should respond within a number of days, the period starts on the first business day after the information was sent (para 5.4; RTA small claims para 1.4(2)), so a 15-day period ends on the fifteenth business day after the day it was sent. A CNF sent on Monday 19 October 2026 gives a response date of Monday 9 November 2026. In the RTA and EL/PL protocols, all periods except the CNF response and the further consideration period can be varied by agreement (para 5.5), and where the protocol requires a payment within a number of days, the claimant must receive it before the period ends (para 5.6). The RTA small claims protocol has no equivalent provisions.

Stage 1: the Claim Notification Form

Step	RTA protocol	EL/PL protocol	Paragraph
Electronic acknowledgment of the CNF	The next day after receipt	The next day after receipt	RTA 6.10; EL/PL 6.9
CNF response (insurer)	15 business days	30 (employers’ liability) or 40 (public liability) business days	RTA 6.11; EL/PL 6.11
CNF response where the MIB deals with the claim	30 business days	Not applicable	RTA 6.13 and 6.14
Stage 1 fixed costs, where liability is admitted	10 business days after receiving the Stage 2 Settlement Pack	The same	RTA 6.18; EL/PL 6.16
Claimant’s notice to leave for unpaid Stage 1 costs	Within 10 business days after that period ends	The same	RTA 6.19; EL/PL 6.17

Before sending an RTA CNF the claimant’s representative searches askCUE PI and puts the reference in the CNF (RTA para 6.3A). Where the RTA claim leaves the protocol at Stage 1, it continues under the Pre-Action Protocol for Personal Injury Claims from its para 6.3, which allows a maximum of three months to investigate, or from its para 5.1 where the exit is for inadequate mandatory information in the CNF (para 6.17). Where the defendant says the claim belongs on the small claims track, the accident was on or after 31 May 2021 and the parties agree, it restarts under the RTA small claims protocol at its para 5.3 (para 6.15A). An EL/PL claim continues under the relevant protocol with time running from the acknowledgment (EL/PL para 6.15). The pre-action protocol deadline calculator gives those dates.

Stage 2: the settlement pack, interim payments and the Court Proceedings Pack

Step	Time	Paragraph
Send the Stage 2 Settlement Pack	Within 15 days of approving the final medical report (or any non-medical report), whichever is later	RTA 7.33; EL/PL 7.31
Initial consideration period: accept or counter-offer	Up to 15 business days (extendable by agreement)	RTA 7.35, 7.36, 7.38; EL/PL 7.32, 7.33, 7.35
Negotiation period	The rest of the 35 business days (at least 20; extendable by agreement)	RTA 7.35; EL/PL 7.32
Further consideration period	5 business days after the 35, where an offer is made 5 days or less before the end (cannot be varied)	RTA 7.37; EL/PL 7.34
Interim payment of £1,000	Within 10 business days of receiving the Interim Settlement Pack	RTA 7.18; EL/PL 7.17
Interim payment of more than £1,000	Within 15 business days (30 without a CRU certificate)	RTA 7.19 and 7.25; EL/PL 7.18 and 7.23
Settlement payment	Within 10 business days of agreeing a settlement (without a CRU certificate in force for 10 days: within 30 days of the end of the consideration periods)	RTA 7.47 and 7.50; EL/PL 7.44 and 7.47
Return a non-compliant Court Proceedings Pack	Within 5 business days	RTA 7.67; EL/PL 7.50
Non-settlement payment after the Court Proceedings Pack	Within 15 business days of receiving it (30 without a CRU certificate)	RTA 7.72 and 7.74; EL/PL 7.55 and 7.57
Stage 3 acknowledgment of service (N210B)	Not more than 14 days after service of the claim form	Practice Direction 49F para 8.1

The total consideration period is 35 business days, split into an initial consideration period of up to 15 and a negotiation period of 20. The parties can agree to extend either, which extends the total (RTA para 7.36; EL/PL para 7.33). The further consideration period of 5 days, triggered by an offer made 5 days or less before the end, cannot be varied. If the claim does not settle, the claimant sends the Court Proceedings Pack (Parts A and B), and the claim goes to Stage 3 under Practice Direction 49F (PD 8B until 1 October 2023). The fixed costs at each stage are in Practice Direction 45 and are not worked out here.

The RTA small claims protocol (Official Injury Claim)

Step	Time	Paragraph
Response on liability	Within 30 business days of the claim being accepted on the Portal (40 where the MIB deals with it); no response means liability is taken to be admitted in full	Paras 6.2, 6.3 and 6.15
Interim payment request	Response within 15 business days; payment within 10 of agreement (30 without a CRU certificate)	Paras 9.4 and 9.5
Offer after the medical report and List of Losses	Within 20 business days of receiving them; a dispute that the accident caused any injury within the same 20	Paras 8.5, 8.7 and 8.9
No offer made	The claimant may start proceedings, but not until at least 20 days after sending the information	Para 8.19(2)
Offers and counter offers	Up to 3 each; a response expected within 10 business days; no withdrawal until 10 days have passed	Paras 8.14(3) and 8.18(1)
Settlement payment	Within 10 business days of acceptance on the Portal (30 without a CRU certificate)	Paras 10.2 and 10.3
Court Pack list	Sent at least 5 working days before proceedings; the compensator has 5 working days to review it	Paras 12.4 and 12.6

Unlike the RTA protocol, a missed liability response does not end the protocol: liability is taken to be admitted in full and the claim continues (para 6.15). A claim that cannot be settled goes to the small claims track under Practice Direction 27B. The protocol uses “working days” for the Court Pack list; the calculator counts them as business days.

When a claim leaves the portal

RTA protocol

In the CNF response period, the defendant admits liability but alleges contributory negligence (other than for the claimant’s admitted failure to wear a seat belt), does not respond, does not admit liability, or says the CNF lacks mandatory information or the claim belongs on the small claims track (para 6.15). The claim then continues under the Pre-Action Protocol for Personal Injury Claims from its para 6.3, or from its para 5.1 where the exit is for inadequate mandatory information in the CNF (para 6.17). Where the defendant says the claim belongs on the small claims track, the accident was on or after 31 May 2021 and the parties agree, the claim restarts under the RTA small claims protocol at its para 5.3 (para 6.15A).
The defendant does not pay the Stage 1 fixed costs in time and the claimant gives written notice within 10 days after that period ends (para 6.19).
An interim payment is not made, or is less than requested, and the claimant gives notice within 10 days after the payment period ends and starts Part 7 proceedings (paras 7.28 to 7.30).
In the initial consideration period, the defendant says the claim belongs on the small claims track or withdraws its admission of causation (para 7.39), or does not respond at all (para 7.40).
An offer in the Stage 2 Settlement Pack is withdrawn after the consideration periods (para 7.46).
The defendant does not make the non-settlement payment after the Court Proceedings Pack in time and the claimant gives notice (para 7.75).
The claimant revalues the claim above £25,000 (para 4.3), or gives notice that it is unsuitable for the protocol, for example because of complex issues of fact or law (para 7.76).
A claim that leaves the protocol cannot re-enter it (para 5.11).

EL/PL protocol

In the CNF response period, the defendant admits liability but alleges contributory negligence, does not respond, does not admit liability, or says the CNF lacks mandatory information or the claim belongs on the small claims track (para 6.13). The claim then continues under the relevant pre-action protocol, with the CNF as the letter of claim (except where it left because the CNF contained inadequate information) and time running from the date the acknowledgment was served (para 6.15).
The defendant does not pay the Stage 1 fixed costs in time and the claimant gives written notice within 10 days after that period ends (para 6.17).
An interim payment is not made, or is less than requested, and the claimant gives notice within 10 days after the payment period ends and starts Part 7 proceedings (paras 7.26 to 7.28).
In the initial consideration period, the defendant says the claim belongs on the small claims track or withdraws its admission of causation (para 7.36), or does not respond at all (para 7.37).
An offer in the Stage 2 Settlement Pack is withdrawn after the consideration periods (para 7.43).
The defendant does not make the non-settlement payment after the Court Proceedings Pack in time and the claimant gives notice (para 7.58).
The claimant revalues the claim above £25,000 (para 4.2), or gives notice that it is unsuitable, for example because of complex issues of fact or law or a contemplated Group Litigation Order (para 7.59).
A claim that leaves the protocol cannot re-enter it (para 5.11).

RTA small claims protocol

Either party notifies through the Portal that it reasonably believes the overall claim is worth more than £10,000 or the injury claim more than £5,000; a party becomes a protected party; the compensator says the claim is unsuitable because of complex issues of fact or law, or alleges fraud or fundamental dishonesty (para 4.5(1)(a) to (d)). The claim then continues under the Pre-Action Protocol for Personal Injury Claims from its para 6.3 (para 4.6(2)), or under the RTA protocol from its para 6.1 where para 4.7 applies.
The compensator disputes that the accident caused any injury after the medical report is disclosed (paras 4.5(1)(e) and 8.9): the claimant may start court proceedings without another protocol (para 4.6(3)).
No address for the defendant, with an RTA insurer or the MIB responding, when the claimant prepares the court form under paras 12.7(1) and (2) (para 4.5(1)(ea); see para 12.8(2)), or the court orders the claim out of the Portal (para 4.5(1)(f)).
A failure to respond on liability is not an exit: liability is then taken to be admitted in full and the claim stays in the protocol (para 6.15).

Limitation

The protocols do not stop the limitation period. Where the protocol cannot be completed before limitation expires, the claimant may start proceedings and ask for a stay while the protocol is followed: Stage 3 proceedings under Practice Direction 49F para 16 for the RTA and EL/PL protocols (para 5.7), and the Practice Direction 27B procedure for the RTA small claims protocol (para 5.6). The limitation period calculator works out the three years.

Pre-action protocol deadline calculator, for claims outside the portals
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Sources

Frequently asked questions

Yes. It is completely free, with no sign-up, no paywall and no limit. It runs in your browser, and nothing you type is sent to DMD Costs. It works out dates only: it is a guide to the protocols, not legal advice, and it does not value a claim, decide liability or say whether to settle.

15 business days (RTA protocol para 6.11), counted from the first business day after the CNF was sent (para 5.4). Where no insurer is identified and the Motor Insurers’ Bureau deals with the claim, 30 business days (para 6.13), with no extension if the MIB passes it to an insurer (para 6.14). The period cannot be varied by agreement (para 5.5). The defendant also sends an electronic acknowledgment the next day after receipt (para 6.10).

30 business days in an employers’ liability claim, including a disease claim, and 40 business days in a public liability claim, from the step taken to send the CNF (EL/PL protocol para 6.11). It cannot be varied by agreement (para 5.5). If the defendant does not respond, does not admit liability or alleges contributory negligence, the claim leaves the protocol and continues under the relevant pre-action protocol, with the CNF as the letter of claim (except where it left because the CNF contained inadequate information) and time running from the acknowledgment (paras 6.13 and 6.15).

The defendant has a total consideration period of 35 business days: up to 15 (the initial consideration period) to accept the claimant’s offer or make a counter-offer, and the rest of the 35, at least 20 (the negotiation period), for further negotiation. The parties can agree to extend either. Where a party makes an offer 5 days or less before the end, there is a further 5 days to consider it, which cannot be varied (RTA protocol paras 7.35 to 7.37; EL/PL protocol paras 7.32 to 7.34). If the defendant does not respond in the initial consideration period, the claim leaves the protocol.

Any day except a Saturday, Sunday, bank holiday, Good Friday or Christmas Day (RTA and EL/PL para 1.1(3); RTA small claims para 1.4, which says a bank holiday in England and Wales). Every “day” in the protocols is a business day, and a period for a response starts on the first business day after the information was sent.

£1,000 within 10 business days of receiving the Interim Settlement Pack; where more than £1,000 is requested, the defendant pays the amount requested, £1,000 or something in between within 15 business days, or within 30 where it has no certificate of recoverable benefits in force for at least 10 days (RTA protocol paras 7.18, 7.19 and 7.25; EL/PL paras 7.17, 7.18 and 7.23). The claimant must receive the money before the end of the period (para 5.6). The interim payment provisions do not apply to a child claimant.

Under the RTA small claims protocol the compensator responds on liability within 30 business days of the claim being accepted on the Portal, or 40 where the MIB deals with it (paras 6.2 and 6.3); if it does not, liability is taken to be admitted in full (para 6.15). After the claimant sends the medical report and List of Losses, the compensator makes an offer within 20 business days (para 8.7). Each side should respond to an offer within 10 days, and an offer cannot be withdrawn until 10 days have passed (paras 8.14(3) and 8.18(1)). Payment is due within 10 days of acceptance (paras 10.2 and 10.3).

For an accident on or after 31 May 2021, the RTA small claims protocol applies where the injury claim is worth no more than £5,000 and the overall claim no more than £10,000, unless the claimant was a vulnerable road user or is a child, among other exclusions (paras 4.2 and 4.3). Above the small claims limit and up to £25,000, the RTA protocol applies. For an accident before 31 May 2021, the RTA protocol applies as it stood immediately before that day, where the small claims limit for the injury claim was £1,000 (RTA protocol para 4.2(1); CPR 26.10). The value is for the claimant to assess: the calculator does not value claims.

In the RTA and EL/PL protocols, when the defendant does not respond to the CNF, denies liability or alleges contributory negligence; when the defendant does not respond in the initial consideration period, says the claim belongs on the small claims track or withdraws its admission of causation; when an offer is withdrawn after the consideration periods; when the claimant revalues the claim above £25,000 or gives notice that it is unsuitable; and in some cases after a missed payment and the claimant’s notice. A claim that leaves cannot re-enter (para 5.11). The full list for each protocol is on this page.

In Practice Direction 49F, which replaced PD 8B on 1 October 2023. The claim is made under Part 8 as modified by the Practice Direction, in the County Court; the defendant files and serves an acknowledgment of service in Form N210B not more than 14 days after service of the claim form (para 8.1), and the court gives at least 21 days’ notice of a decision on the papers or a Stage 3 hearing (para 11.2).

No. It works out dates only. The fixed costs for each stage are in Practice Direction 45 (Tables 10 and 11 for the RTA and EL/PL protocols), and the calculator does not value claims, decide liability or say whether an offer should be accepted.

Costs are all we do

DMD Costs prepares and negotiates costs for claimant solicitor firms: we draft the bill, answer the Points of Dispute and negotiate the costs to settlement. This calculator is free for anyone working out portal dates; it does not cover the fixed costs.

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