How long will my claim take?

• Most FSCS claims take between 5 and 12 months, depending on the type of claim.
• Some claims may take longer if they are complex or require investigation.

FSCS will investigate your claim as quickly as possible. As each claim is unique we can’t predict exactly how long it will be before we can give you a decision.

If you're making a new claim
In the table below, you can see how long we expect new claims to take to complete. This gives you an idea of the amount of time it is likely to take from making an application to receiving a decision.

These timescales are an estimate based on the number and type of claims we’re receiving at the moment. It was last updated on 7 April 2026.

Firm investigations
In some cases, we need to investigate the firm you’re claiming against more broadly before we can look at your individual claim. This could be because we’re checking its financial status or looking into its activities.

• your claim will be marked as ‘Firm investigation underway’.
• Complex investigations can take many months.
• These may exceed the estimated timescales shown above.

If you have a claim in progress
If you have already made a claim, you can see your claim’s current status at any time by logging into your account.

We’ll keep you updated with emails and phone calls where possible. Once we’ve reached a decision, you’ll get a letter to explain it by email or post.

My claim has been showing the same status for a while, why is that?
You might notice that your claim stays at ‘evidence required’ or ‘reviewing evidence’ for a number of weeks. This may be because:

• We are waiting for information from a third party.
• Your claim is being reviewed by another team.
• Specialist advice is needed.

These checks can take several weeks or months depending on complexity.

Find out more about our claims process and the different statuses you may see during your claim. Listen to the podcast below to find out how you can stay updated on your claim.