Diffuse Mesothelioma Payment Scheme (DMPS) Explained: Who Qualifies and How It Works Alongside a Claim
A mesothelioma diagnosis is already a great deal to take in. Many people then learn that the employer who exposed them to asbestos closed years ago, and they assume there is nowhere left to turn. That is often not the case.
The Diffuse Mesothelioma Payment Scheme (DMPS) is a government scheme of last resort for people diagnosed with diffuse mesothelioma after negligent workplace asbestos exposure in the UK, where the employer and its insurer cannot be traced. It is funded by a levy on insurers. In many families a specialist will still investigate a civil mesothelioma claim at the same time, because a civil award can cover a wider range of losses, and a scheme application can run while that tracing continues. This page is general information, not a decision on eligibility and not a promise of any payment. Start with a free consultation through the Quick Claim Form on mayiclaim.co.uk. Thanks — we’ll be in touch about your enquiry.
What is the Diffuse Mesothelioma Payment Scheme?
The DMPS was created by the Mesothelioma Act 2014 and opened in 2014. Asbestos disease so often appears decades after the dust was breathed in. By then the factory, shipyard or contractor may have vanished, and the old employers’ liability insurer may be just as hard to find. The scheme exists so that people in that position are not left with nothing simply because the paper trail has gone cold.
It is not an everyday benefit and it is not the same as a court award. Payments come from a statutory fund on an age-based tariff. The scheme administrator — currently TopMark Claims Management, part of Davies Group — assesses applications. GOV.UK describes DMPS as the route if you cannot find the employer responsible for your contact with asbestos, or their insurer. A civil asbestos compensation claim can often proceed even if the company itself was dissolved, because the historic insurer may remain liable. The Employers’ Liability Tracing Office (ELTO) exists for that search.
Tariffs are set by the scheme and updated from time to time. A 2025 review led to The Diffuse Mesothelioma Payment Scheme (Amendment) Regulations 2025 (SI 2025/1069), in force from 4 November 2025, which increased each age category by 49% for people first diagnosed on or after that date. That late-2025 increase is already noted on May I Claim’s live mesothelioma compensation for families guide. Indicative official figures, fetched from the statutory instrument on 11 September 2026, currently run from £129,721 (age 90 and over) to £403,969 (age 40 and under). Recoverable benefits and earlier lump sums can be deducted. The official administrator states that the tariff includes a legal-cost contribution of £7,000 where diagnosis was before 4 November 2025, and £13,700 where it was on or after that date. These amounts are indicative only, not a quote for any individual. Check the current official scheme tariff, or talk the numbers through with a specialist, before relying on them.
Who may qualify?
GOV.UK sets out the core tests. You may be able to apply if all of the following apply:
- You were diagnosed with diffuse mesothelioma on or after 25 July 2012.
- The disease was caused by asbestos exposure while working in the UK.
- You cannot trace the employer that exposed you, or that employer’s insurer.
- You have not already recovered damages (or another specified payment) for mesothelioma, and you are not eligible for a specified payment of that kind.
- The application is made within three years of diagnosis.
Eligible dependants may apply if the person has died without receiving a scheme payment — typically a spouse or partner who lived with them or received financial support, or, if there is no spouse or partner, a qualifying child. Where more than one dependant applies, the total still matches the single tariff. Earlier payments under the 2008 scheme or the 1979 Act are normally deducted.
DMPS is built around negligent employment exposure. People whose only contact was washing overalls at home, living near a factory, or working for themselves are more often looking at the 2008 scheme, a secondary asbestos exposure claim, or another civil route. A specialist confirms eligibility against the evidence. This article is guidance only, not a decision on your case.
DMPS vs a civil asbestos claim — can you have both?
The two routes are investigated together more often than people expect. Official scheme guidance tells applicants to speak to a solicitor first about a common-law claim against the employer or insurer, and to use the scheme if that route is not available. The same guidance says you can still make a DMPS application while a civil claim is ongoing, to protect your position.
If an insurer can be traced, a civil claim is usually the fuller remedy. It can include general damages for pain and suffering and special damages for care, lost earnings, travel, equipment and, where appropriate, privately funded treatment. For mesothelioma, UK law can treat a single negligent employer as responsible for the whole of the damage. The courts run an expedited “show cause” procedure for living claimants, and interim payments can be ordered while the full value is assessed. Our asbestos exposure compensation 2026 guide explains how that civil process typically sits alongside government schemes.
The DMPS pays a fixed age-based tariff and recoverable benefits are deducted. If an employer or insurer is found after a scheme payment, the official position is that the compensator must deduct the DMPS sum from the civil damages and repay it to the scheme. Taking a scheme payment, or settling a civil claim too early, can change what else remains available. A solicitor who understands both routes can sequence the work: trace first, protect the scheme deadline, and only then decide which payment to accept.
Other support that may sit alongside
Several other payments can sit next to a DMPS application or a civil claim. They all mention mesothelioma, but they are not the same thing.
The 1979 Act is a government lump sum for certain dust diseases, including diffuse mesothelioma, where IIDB is payable (or would be), every relevant employer has ceased trading, and no damages claim has been brought or settled — usually claimed within 12 months of IIDB entitlement. The 2008 Diffuse Mesothelioma Scheme is a smaller one-off payment for people with UK asbestos exposure who do not qualify under the 1979 Act (typically secondary, environmental or self-employed exposure) and must usually be claimed within 12 months of diagnosis, or of death for a dependant. Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit (IIDB) is an ongoing benefit for employed people with a prescribed disease, including diffuse mesothelioma, and often unlocks the 1979 Act. A specialist will usually map all four routes so deductions are understood before anyone applies or accepts money.
How the application / claims journey typically works
Every household’s paperwork looks a little different, but the path most specialist teams follow is steady.
- Diagnosis and records. Keep the consultant letter and the date you were first told the disease was mesothelioma. That date usually starts both clocks.
- Free consultation through the Quick Claim Form. You are not committing to a claim. May I Claim reviews the outline and, if appropriate, introduces an independent panel solicitor. Thanks — we’ll be in touch about your enquiry.
- Exposure history. An HMRC work history, old P60s, site names and colleague names all help. Memory after forty years is allowed to be incomplete.
- ELTO and insurer tracing. An extended Employers’ Liability Tracing Office search is part of showing that a civil defendant cannot be found — and it is also how many claims against closed employers are won.
- Civil claim and/or DMPS. If an insurer is identified, the civil claim proceeds, often under the expedited mesothelioma “show cause” procedure described on our live mesothelioma claims page. If tracing fails, or while it continues, a DMPS application can be prepared.
- Interim needs. On a civil claim the court can order interim payments for urgent care. Once a complete DMPS application is in, the administrator aims to decide within about four weeks and pay within about two weeks more — around six weeks if everything is supplied at the outset.
- Settlement and deductions. Civil damages, scheme tariffs, 1979/2008 lump sums and recoverable benefits are then aligned so the family understands what will actually arrive.
You do not need a solicitor to file a DMPS form, but official materials say the process can be involved. Instructing a solicitor is usually the calmer route when you are also protecting a civil claim.
Time limits and why speed still matters
For a civil personal injury claim, the usual rule under the Limitation Act 1980 is three years from the date of knowledge — typically the diagnosis, not the decade you first handled the dust. After a death, dependants often have a fresh three years from the date of death. Courts can extend time under section 33, but that discretion is not something to plan around. The DMPS deadline is also three years from first diagnosis — longer than the 12-month windows on the 1979 Act and the 2008 scheme, but still a hard stop. Witnesses move and ELTO traces take time. Starting while the person with mesothelioma can still give a first-hand account is almost always stronger than reconstructing that story later.
How May I Claim helps
May I Claim is independent. We are not tied to one law firm. We introduce people to a panel of specialist no-win-no-fee solicitors chosen for the facts of the case. Our mesothelioma claims page already notes that the panel includes solicitors recognised by the Mesothelioma UK Legal Panel, and that we have been helping claimants reach specialist support since 2014.
The first step is the Quick Claim Form on mayiclaim.co.uk. There is no fee for that conversation and no obligation to go further. If a claim is taken on, it is almost always under a conditional fee agreement: you should not pay solicitor fees if it does not succeed, provided you have been honest and cooperative. Success fees on a successful civil claim are capped by law. How no win no fee works is explained separately if you want the mechanics before you send anything.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a solicitor for the DMPS?
No. The official scheme says you, or someone acting for you, can apply directly. In practice the form asks for a full employment history, proof of unsuccessful employer and insurer traces (including an ELTO search), a witness statement, and details of any earlier claims. Most families are better served by a specialist who can run the civil investigation at the same time.
What if my employer still exists?
If the employer is still trading, or its insurer can be found, the DMPS is unlikely to be the right main route. A civil claim against a living company, or against a historic insurer of a dissolved company, is usually the first investigation. Many closed-employer cases still succeed through ELTO. See our guide on claiming if the employer has closed down.
Does a DMPS application stop a civil claim?
Not automatically. Official scheme guidance allows an application while a civil claim is ongoing, so that your position is protected. If a liable insurer is identified later, a successful civil claim will normally have the DMPS sum deducted and repaid to the scheme. If you have already received civil damages for mesothelioma, you will not usually qualify for DMPS.
How long does a DMPS payment take?
The official administrator says that once a complete application is in, a decision is made within four weeks and, if successful, payment follows within a further two weeks — a minimum of about six weeks. A civil mesothelioma claim often takes longer (commonly 6 to 18 months on live May I Claim guidance) but can include interim payments and a wider award.
Can dependants apply?
Yes, if they meet the scheme’s definition of an eligible dependant and the person with mesothelioma has died without receiving a DMPS payment. If an application is already under consideration when the person dies, the official scheme says it continues as if they were alive, with payment to the personal representative if it succeeds. Dependants may also have a separate civil fatal claim.
Talk to us through the Quick Claim Form
If you or someone close to you has been diagnosed with mesothelioma, you do not need to decide between “the government scheme” and “a solicitor’s claim” on your own. A specialist can tell you, in ordinary language, which doors are still open.
Primary next step: complete the Quick Claim Form on mayiclaim.co.uk. It is a free, confidential enquiry. There is no obligation to proceed.
When you send the form you will be asked to confirm:
- I agree that May I Claim may contact me by phone, SMS or email about this enquiry.
We’ll only use your details to follow up on the claim you’ve asked about. You’re not signing up for cold calls or unrelated solicitor spam. You can ask us to stop anytime.
May I Claim connects you with an independent panel of specialists. We don’t sell your details for cold calling.
Thanks — we’ll be in touch about your enquiry.
mayiclaim is a trading name of R Costings Limited, authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN 836625). This article is general information about the Diffuse Mesothelioma Payment Scheme and related UK claims routes. It is not legal advice, not a decision on eligibility, and not a guarantee of any payment or outcome. Scheme tariffs, time limits and recovery rules can change; check official GOV.UK and scheme materials, or take specialist advice, before relying on any figure.
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