How the Injuries Resolution Board works, from the form to the Order to Pay

If you have been injured in Ireland and someone else may be responsible, your claim almost certainly has to go through the Injuries Resolution Board before it can go anywhere else. This guide walks through the whole process in order, using the periods in the Personal Injuries Assessment Board Act 2003 as amended and the Board's own published figures. Every step has its own guide in this chapter if you want more.

The Board is a statutory body, not a court and not an insurer. It does not decide who was at fault. It puts a figure on a claim, on paper, on the assumption that the person you have named is fully liable, and then both sides decide whether to accept that figure.

Why nearly every claim starts here

Section 12 of the 2003 Act says that a personal injury claim cannot be brought to court unless it has first been submitted to the Board and the Board has either assessed it or issued an Authorisation. The main exception is medical negligence, which the Board does not handle at all. Claims involving a fatality go to the Board, but by phone rather than through the online form.

The body has had three names since 2003, which is why searches say PIAB, older pages say the Injuries Board, and the Board's own site says Injuries Resolution Board. It is the same body under the same Act. Our guide on one body, three names explains the renaming, and the Board page is the site's own page on the Board.

Step one: the application

The Board's own making a claim page sets out what it needs. In the Board's words, the application is a "compensation claim" made on its form, and three things go with it:

You name each person or business you say is responsible, the respondent, with an address, and the insurer if you know it. The Board's FAQ says the fee and the reasonable cost of the doctor's report can be recovered in the award. Receipts for expenses can follow later. If you want mediation, you tick the box in Section 7 of the form; there is no extra fee.

The Board says you do not need a solicitor to make a claim. The two guides on the application form, fee and documents and the medical report on Form B go through each item.

One point about time. The two-year limit for a personal injury claim is paused from the date a signed application is made to the Board until 6 months after an Authorisation issues, under section 50 of the Act. The pause applies to the respondents you named. Our guide on how an application pauses the clock has worked examples.

Step two: the Formal Notice and the respondent's 90 days

Once the application is complete, the Board serves a Formal Notice on each respondent under section 13, with a copy of your medical report. The Board's pages give the respondent 90 days from the issue date to respond. The Act itself says "the period specified in the notice"; the Board's practice is 90 days.

The respondent has four choices:

A respondent who does not reply within the period is deemed to have consented to assessment under section 14(1)(c). Consenting, declining or saying nothing is not an admission of liability under section 16. A respondent who consents pays the Board a charge of €1,200 under S.I. No. 557/2025, in force from 1 December 2025; one charge covers both assessment and mediation.

In 2025, 69% of respondents consented, according to the Board's Annual Report release. The guide on the respondent's 90 days covers what a declined consent means for you.

Step three: mediation, if both sides chose it

Mediation has been part of the Board's process since February 2023. The Board's mediation page says it is usually conducted over the telephone through a series of separate calls with an independent Board mediator; you do not have to speak to the other side.

If the two sides agree, the mediator writes the agreement up and both sign it. Either side then has 10 days to withdraw in writing under section 18C(3). If neither does, the Board issues an Order to Pay under section 18C(4). Anyone can leave mediation at any stage with no consequence for the claim, and what is said in mediation is confidential.

The Board's release says 54% of mediations reached agreement in 2025, taking about 3 months. The mediation guide has the detail.

Step four: the assessment and the 9 months

If the respondent consented to assessment, or was deemed to, the Board assesses the claim on the documents. There is no hearing. Section 20 says the assessment is the amount of damages that would follow on the assumption that the respondent is fully liable, and section 20(5) says the Board must have regard to the Personal Injuries Guidelines for general damages. Special damages, such as loss of earnings and expenses, are added where vouched. The Board may arrange its own medical examination.

Section 49 gives the Board 9 months from the date it receives the respondent's consent, or from the end of the notice period where the respondent did not reply. The Board can extend that once, by up to 6 months, by giving written notice with reasons before the 9 months end. Beyond the extended date, an Authorisation issues unless you have consented in writing to the Board continuing. The Board's FAQ says assessments average about 9 months from consent.

The result is a Notice of Assessment, which sets out the figure and any recoverable benefits the respondent must repay to the Department of Social Protection. The guide on how a figure is reached explains each part.

Step five: 28 days and 21 days

This is the step the whole process turns on.

If both accept, the Board issues an Order to Pay under section 38, which has the same standing as a court order. If either rejects, or you stay silent, the Board issues an Authorisation and you may bring proceedings. Where the respondent had accepted and you reject, section 51A on costs applies if a court later awards no more than the assessment. For a child or a person lacking capacity, acceptance needs court approval under section 35.

Whether to accept depends on facts a tool cannot see. The Board's figure is binding on nobody until both sides accept it. In 2025, 47% of assessments were accepted, down from 50% in 2024. The guide on accepting or rejecting within 28 days sets out what each choice means, including section 51A in plain words.

The figures that give the process its shape

All from the Board's Annual Report 2025 release of 8 July 2026, and on the figures register with their dates:

• 20,077 applications in 2025, down 4% on 2024 and 35% on 2019.
• 10,032 awards worth €213 million.
• A median award of €14,020; €12,000 excluding special damages.
• 74% of awards were for minor injuries; 9% were over €50,000.
• 15% of awards involved a psychological injury, which the Board has assessed on its own since 2023.

None of these is a figure for anyone's claim. They say what the Board does across a year, not what it would do with yours.

The whole process as a sequence

Add the stages up and the statutory shape is roughly 90 days plus 9 months plus 28 days before the Board's part is over, before any extension. Our guide on how long a claim takes sets that against the Central Bank's figures for claims that go on to court.

Where this leaves you

The process has fixed periods, and most of them run from a date you can find on a letter: the day you applied, the date on the Formal Notice, the date of the respondent's consent, the date the Notice of Assessment was served. The Board timeline planner takes those dates and lays the periods out as a calendar, with the clock pause alongside, so you can see what is due when.