Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit - How do I claim Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit (IIDB)

England, Scotland and Wales

You can download a Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit form from the Gov.UK website. There is a different form depending on whether you are claiming for an accident or industrial disease.

You can also phone your local Industrial Injuries Benefit Centre for a claim form.

Northern Ireland

You can download an application form or:

Phone the Industrial Injuries Branch on 0300 092 3383 for a claim form. Find more information on video relay service. 

Claims for IIDB and extra allowances can be complicated. Before making a claim, you should seek advice from a specialist adviser, as any entitlement to the benefit and the amount you may get will depend on your individual circumstances. You can use our Find an Adviser tool to find advice in your local area.

For most prescribed diseases , meeting the IIDB criteria, you do not have to have worked in an occupation for any minimum length of time. 

There is also generally no time limit for claiming IIDB. You can still claim if your accident happened or disease started many years ago.

There are however some exceptions to the general rule that there is no length of time that a person must have been worked in an occupation with prescribed disease in order to claim IIBD for a few specific industrial diseases.

For Example,

• if you have occupational deafness, you must have worked in an occupation for 10 years and claim within five years of having done so.

• If you have occupational asthma, you must claim within 10 years of working in an occupation.

• If you have cataracts, you must have worked in an occupation for five years or more.

A doctor or other medical professional will assess you after you make your claim. They will assess how your disability affects you. The extent of your disablement will be stated as a percentage and you must usually be assessed as having at least 14% disablement to get benefit, although there are exceptions to this.

What documents do I need to claim Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit?

When you claim IIDB, you have to provide your national insurance number and evidence of your identity.

A claim can be backdated for up to three months if you would have been entitled to it earlier. It does not matter why your claim is late. Request this when claiming.

You cannot ask for IIDB to be backdated if you are claiming for loss of hearing.